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The hypothesis that differences between first language (LI) and second language (L2) reading and spelling profiles could be accounted for by lack of proficiency in the L2 or differences in orthographic complexity was explored in a longitudinal study of 45 children acquiring reading and spelling skills concurrently in English (L1) and Hebrew (L2). The children were tested in Grades 1 and 2 on literacy measures in both languages. Neither of these explanations alone sufficed to explain the development of reading and spelling in the two languages. The less complex Hebrew orthography facilitated subjects' decoding performance, but failed to maintain that facilitation in spelling. Depressed second language effects were apparent in spelling but not in decoding, which actually favoured the subjects' L2. Developmental findings showed that, despite L1-L2 differences in orthographic complexity and language proficiency, the profiles of emergent spelling in both languages are strikingly similar. The rate of acquisition of conventional spelling, however, differentiates L1 from L2 performance. The Role of Language ProficiencyThere is ample evidence to show that reading comprehension in second language (L2) is related to L2 proficiency. The role of language proficiency needs to be examined also in considering the development of basic decoding skills in L2. An intuitively appealing hypothesis is that individuals would read more accurately 383

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This study aimed to examine, from a cross‐sectional perspective, the extent to which the simple view of reading (SVR) model can be adapted to the Arabic language. This was carried out by verifying, in both beginning and more skilled readers, whether the unique orthographical and morphological characteristics of Arabic contribute to reading comprehension beyond decoding and listening comprehension abilities. Reading comprehension was evaluated in a large sample of first to sixth‐grade Arabic‐speaking children. The participants' decoding and listening comprehension abilities were investigated together with their orthographic and morphological knowledge. Path analysis indicated that reading comprehension was moderately explained by the SVR (56–38%). Orthographic and morphological knowledge explained an additional 10–22% of the variance beyond that explained by the basic SVR components. These findings demonstrate that certain linguistic aspects of Arabic impact reading processes differently when compared with other languages. The psycholinguistic implications of these findings are discussed in the light of previous findings in the literature. What is already known about this topic? The ‘simple view of reading’ model explains reading comprehension as the product of decoding and listening comprehension. This model explains between 70% and 83% of the variance in reading comprehension in English, in which the contribution of decoding and listening comprehension varies as a function of the level of the readers. Orthographic transparency and other unique characteristics of the languages studied might influence reading comprehension in these languages What does this paper add? Arabic is a diglossic language that is characterised by relatively unique orthographic and morphological features for which the validity of the simple view of reading (SVR) has not been tested. The basic components of the SVR (decoding and listening comprehension) have explained between 56% and 38% of the variance in reading comprehension in children from the first to the sixth grade. Decoding, as one of the basic components of the SVR, failed to contribute to reading comprehension when orthography and morphology were considered. Implications for practice and/or policy This large‐scale cross‐sectional study is the first of its type to assess reading comprehension in Arabic. The study justifies the necessity to assess the suitability of the SVR in languages with very specific linguistic characteristics such as Arabic. The results emphasise the necessity of considering the complex orthography and the rich morphology of Arabic for improving teaching, assessment and intervention.

Whereas most English language sub-typing schemes for dyslexia (e.g., Castles & Coltheart, 1993) have focused on reading accuracy for words varying in regularity, such an approach may have limited utility for reading disability sub-typing beyond English in which fluency rather than accuracy is the key discriminator of developmental and individual differences in reading ability. The present study investigated the viability of an accuracy/fluency-based typology in a regular orthography, pointed Hebrew. We sought evidence of true or "hard" accuracy/rate subtypes in the strict (double dissociation) sense of selective impairment on only one dimension in the presence of normal levels of performance on the other dimension. In a nationally representative sample of fourth graders, we were able to identify a specific accuracy-disabled sub-group as well as an equally specific rate-disabled subgroup. Validating this subdivision, we show that the nature of reading performance in these subgroups and their converging cognitive/linguistic profiles are unique and distinctive on variables other than the measures used to define them. While the rate-specific disability appeared to reflect a general deficit in speed of processing affecting reading rate, and rapid automatized naming of print-related material, the accuracy-only disability subgroup displayed selective deficits in phonological awareness and morphological knowledge. Biosocial, demographic, and instructional factors, furthermore, did not explain the sub-group differences. It appears that both these subtypes are equally prevalent each counting close to 10% of the population.