Reading Ability, Reading Fluency and Orthographic Skills - The Case of L1 Slovene English as a Foreign Language Students

Oct 15, 2026

Study compares less-skilled and skilled L1 Slovene EFL readers on L2 fluency and L2 orthographic skills. Participants include 93 less-skilled and 102 skilled Grade 7 L1 Slovene students. Results show skilled readers outperform across all fluency and orthography tasks, with statistically significant between-group differences. Correlations indicate positive interrelationships: higher L2 fluency scores align with higher L2 orthography scores in both groups. Findings suggest less-skilled readers require greater L2 exposure and structured learning opportunities inside and outside the classroom.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

L1 and L2 reading development

Role of fluency and orthography

Research purpose

Reading Ability, Reading Fluency and Orthographic Skills: The Case ofL1 Slovene English as a Foreign Language Students Florina Erbeli*1 and Karmen Pižorn2 • This study examined the difference between less-skilled and skilled L1 Slovene English as foreign language (EFL) students in foreign language (L2) fluency and L2 orthographic skills; 93 less-skilled Grade 7 L1 Slovene students and 102 skilled Grade 7 L1 Slovene students participated in the study. The results showed that skilled readers performed better in all fluency and orthographic skills tasks, as the differences between groups were statistically significant. The correlations among all variables showed that L2 fluency and L2 orthographic skills are positively interrelated among both groups, suggesting that higher L2 fluency scores are associated with higher L2 orthography scores. This outcome implies that less-skilled readers need to be greatly exposed to L2 language and be ensured necessary opportunities in-or outside the classroom in L2 learning. Keywords: reading fluency, orthographic skills, English as a foreign language, Slovene skilled and less-skilled readers 1 *Corresponding author. 2 Faculty of Education, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia Bralna spretnost, tekočnost branja in pravopisnespretnosti pri tujem jeziku – angleščini – pri slovenskihučencih Florina Erbeli* in Karmen Pižorn • V raziskavi so proučevane razlike med skupino bralno manj usposobljenih (J1) in skupino bralno usposobljenih (J1) slovenskih učencevglede bralne spretnosti, tekočnosti branja in pravopisnih spretnosti pri angleščini (J2) . Sodelovalo je 93 bralno manj usposobljenih (J1) in 102 bralno usposobljena (J1) učenca sedmega razreda. Izsledki kažejo, da je skupina bralno usposobljenih učencev v primerjavi s skupino bralnomanj usposobljenih učencev dosegla boljši izid pri vseh nalogah, ki somerile bralno spretnost, tekočnost branja in pravopisne spretnosti v J2 . Razlike med skupinama so bile statistično pomembne. Poleg tega koeficienti korelacij med vsemi spremenljivkami pri obeh skupinah kažejo, da tekočnost branja in pravopisne spretnosti v J2 pozitivno korelirajo; višji izid pri nalogah tekočnosti branja je povezan z višjim izidom prinalogah, ki merijo pravopisne spretnosti. Ta ugotovitev je pomembnapredvsem za bralno manj usposobljene učence. Za izboljšanje njihove tekočnosti branja in pravopisnih spretnosti morajo biti deležni dovolj velikega vnosa J2, zato jim je treba zagotoviti možnosti za učenje J2 vrazredu in zunaj njega. Ključne besede: tekočnost branja, pravopisne spretnosti, tuji jezik – angleščina, bralno manj usposobljeni učenci, bralno usposobljeni učenci Introduction People learn to read their first language (L1) in a wide variety of circumstances. Children are prepared for reading at an early age by listening to stories, being read to, and interacting with adults and others about the stories they hear. When children start to learn to read in their L1, they already have a large vocabulary, good control of the grammar of the language, have had many stories in that language read to them, and know the discourse (Nation, 2009) . However, when these children start to read in a foreign language, i.e. L2 (or English in this study), learning to read in an L2 involves a great deal of language learning. Unlike in their L1, in the L2 learning, oral language and literacy competencies develop simultaneously. Children need grammatically and lexically controlled texts, a greater amount of pre-reading activities; they have to learn a different orthographic system; and they need to process the meaning of words while trying to achieve the same main goal of reading as in L1: text comprehension. All these principles draw on one’s cognitive resources (capacity of working memory) that are limited at any given moment; therefore, by learning to read quickly, accurately, i.e. fluently, and not thinking about orthography, vocabulary and syntax, sufficient mental resources becom

FAQs

What does the study compare between student groups?

It compares less-skilled and skilled L1 Slovene EFL students on L2 fluency and L2 orthographic skills.

How many students participated, and at what grade level?

The study includes 93 less-skilled and 102 skilled Grade 7 L1 Slovene students.

What is the relationship between L2 fluency and L2 orthographic skills?

Across both groups, L2 fluency and L2 orthographic skills show a positive correlation, so higher fluency scores align with higher orthography scores.

Oct 15, 2026

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