1. Linguistic Coding Difference Hypothesis

2. Native language skills
Native language skills play a significant part in foreign language learning success or failure.
A learner who experiences mild or severe difficulties in the native language learning might encounter difficulties in learning a foreign language.
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3. It is claimed that a learner’s skills in the native language linguistic codes or components form the background for successful foreign language learning.
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4. Phonological code
Involves identifying and distinguishing between speech sounds and processing the sound/symbol connections.
The most noticeable deficit concerns phonemic awareness – ability to consciously isolate and manipulate the sounds of the lanugage and relate them to the appropriate symbols.
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5. Syntactic code
Involves understanding and applying grammatical, structural concepts of a language system.
The noticeable difficulties refer to sentence structure decoding skills, sentence structure encoding skills and morphological decoding and encoding skills.
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6. Semantic code This code is connected with understanding meanings.
The difficulties refer to problems comprehending semantic information such as words, phrases with multiple meanings, word associations, difficulties in using adjectives etc.
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7. Linguistic Coding Difference Hypothesis
It is hypothesized that :
foreign language learning is built on native language skills.
the competence of a learner within the three linguistic codes in the native language forms the foundation for foreign language learning.
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8. students with weaker native language skills will demonstrate poor foreign language proficiency.
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9. It is also assumed that :
problems with one language skill are likely to have a negative effect on both the native and foreign language systems.
poor foreign language learners experience most difficulty with the phonological/orthographic rule system of L2. .
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10. Foreign Language Learning Disability vs a continuum of foreign language differences
At –risk foreign language learners are those
who are:
identified with learning disabilities and
experience problems in foreign language learning
not diagnosed as learning disabled (LD) but experience problems in foreign language learning
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11. Research outcomes demonstrate
There are individual differences in language propensities of language learners.
The ability to learn a foreign language exists on a continuum.
Difficulties in learning a foreign language range from mild to severe.
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12. The phenomenon, however, was not grounded support in research studies.
Foreign Language Learning Disability was suggested as a phenomenon used to explain the difficulties in learning foreign languages by learners with a learning disability.
The phenomenon, however, was not grounded support in research studies.
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13. Based on :
Nijakowska, J. (2010). Dyslexia in the foreign language classroom. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. Chapter 3.
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission can not be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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