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

Abstract

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 necessaryopportunities in- or outside the classroom in L2 learning.