Influence of Previous Literacy Experiences in the First Language (Catalan and/or Spanish) on Learning to Read in a Foreign Language (Standard Arabic)

Learning to read in a second language is conditioned by the linguistic characteristics of the L1 and L2 and their writing systems, and by the learning context and the circumstances of previous literacy experiences. The aim of the present study is to determine which factors most influence the literacy process in a foreign language that is typologically different and has a different writing system from that of the first language in adults (L1 = Catalan and/or Spanish; L2 = Standard Arabic). The results were obtained from reading tests and questionnaires administered to a group of A1 level learners of Arabic (n = 18) with L1 Catalan and/or Spanish. The results show that the morphological characteristics of Arabic, as well as its type of writing system and its non-transparent orthography, impact learners’ reading proficiency. Attitudes and prior experiences have an indirect influence on the L2 literacy process, since they are more closely related to learners’ self-perception of their reading proficiency, which in turn is linked to a poorer attitude towards social reading and towards second language study in general.