Effects of Diglossia on the Acquisition of Underlying Reading Processes: Toward Pragmatic Solutions

Abstract

The purpose of this systematic review was to investigate how diglossia hinders the acquisition of underlying reading processes of Arabic-speaking students and recommend pragmatic solutions that would help Arabic teachers in developing their students’ reading abilities. Results of the included studies showed that Arabic-speaking students lack standard phonemes, phonological and morphological patterns, and letters missing from their local Arabic vernaculars, which in turn, affect their word reading abilities. Nevertheless, it takes six years of systematic exposure to standard Arabic to close the linguistic gap between students’ oral and written language in terms of phonemes, letters, and phonological and morphological patterns. Conversely, the syntactic gap remains wide during the first five years of formal education. Furthermore, results showed that systematic exposure to standard Arabic for 15, 25, or 60 minutes positively impacts Arabic-speaking students’ word reading abilities and reading comprehension at short- and long-terms. Keywords: diglossia, Arabic reading, Arabic-speaking students, pragmatic solutions, Arabic teachers