Dyslexia and learning a foreign language: A personal experience

Abstract

Individuals with dyslexia can expect to have difficulties learning a second language since second language learning builds on native language learning. The factors that have a negative impact on learning one's native language have a similar impact on learning a foreign language (e.g., difficulties with phonemic awareness, retrieving and processing linguistic information, working memory, metalinguistic explanations, stabilizing sound-symbol relationships). This participant observer report provides (1) a brief review of research on how dyslexia complicates learning a second language; (2) a description of how dyslexia has affected my educational experiences; (3) a description of personal experiences learning a foreign language between 1992-1998; and (4) recommendations for individuals with dyslexia who are faced with fulfilling a foreign language requirement and for their foreign language instructors.