Multilingual = Multidyslexic? Methods and Implications of Investigating Dyslexia in Three L2 English Speaker

Abstract

Abstract There is plenty of research in the field on native English speakers with dyslexia, but there seems to be no research regarding dyslexic L2 speakers of English. Research has shown that there are linguistic differences between individuals’ L1 and L2s but there is no research showing if that includes the language disorder dyslexia. This research paper aims to investigate if screening tests designed for L1 speakers of English can be used on L2 speakers of English and what the implications of that usage would be. Three dyslexic participants with three different L1s and four non-dyslexic participants with two different L1s were asked to do two reading screening tests and one questionnaire in their L2, namely English. The dyslexic participants were also asked to do a second part of the questionnaire and they were also interviewed regarding their backgrounds. The results indicate that it is very difficult to recognize dyslexia among L2 speakers as there are no guidelines indicating the difference between poor language acquisition and the language disorder dyslexia. The results of this study also indicate that different educational traditions might influence the results of dyslexia screening tests.