Heterogeneity in English as a Foreign Language: Skills Among Norwegian 6th Graders with Dyslexia—The Impact of Language Comprehension and Processing Profiles

TL;DR

This study explores how Norwegian 6th graders with dyslexia perform in English as a foreign language, finding significant differences based on language comprehension and processing profiles.

Contribution

The study identifies two distinct subgroups of students with dyslexia based on comprehension and processing profiles, revealing different patterns in EFL performance.

Findings

Students with dyslexia who had higher comprehension (dys+) performed similarly to controls in several EFL tests.

Students with lower comprehension (dys−) scored significantly lower than controls and dys+ in most EFL domains.

Spelling scores were higher for controls and dys+ compared to dys−, suggesting visual processing issues in the latter.

Abstract

Background: English as a first foreign language (EFL) is often difficult for students with dyslexia. This study maps a broad range of EFL verbal and literacy skills in 6th graders with dyslexia compared to a control group. Methods: Participants were 127 controls (CON) and 60 students with dyslexia (DYS), split into dys+ and dys− by their comprehension scores. They were tested with “The English 2 Dyslexia Test” containing seven subtests within three domains: Sentences, Pragmatics, and Literacy. The data were analysed in Part 1: domains and groups, and in Part 2: linguistic skills and spelling by groups. Results: Part 1. CON scored better than DYS on all tests. However, the differences between the two subgroups, dys+ and dys−, were larger than expected. Dys+ scored in line with CON on several tests, while dys− scored below CON on all tests and lower than dys+ on all except for spelling. Part 2. Minor differences were seen between CON and dys+ in linguistic skills, and both CON and dys+ scored higher than dys−. Spelling was scored by the number of graphemes. CON scored higher than both dys+ and dys−, with no difference between the subgroups. Conclusions: The results were discussed in accordance with neurocognitive theories of the auditory and visual timing systems. The overall low scores in dys− were mainly attributed to auditory processing problems, while the specific low spelling scores in dys+ were mainly attributed to visual processing problems. More research is needed on how the behavioural patterns in the two dyslexia subgroups relate to neural correlates in the meeting between EFL and different L1 language typologies and orthographies.

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