ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses a number of issues fundamental to the development of literacy skills in first (L1) and second (L2) language. We begin the chapter by situating these issues in a discussion of reading theory that has been associated primarily with the development of reading in L1. We then discuss them in the context of language-specific and orthography-specific parameters. The chapter continues with a description of the sociocultural milieu in which the research reported here was carried out, specifically, children acquiring their primary literacy education concurrently in English (their L1) and Hebrew (their L2). The three subsequent sections address the longitudinal development of three literacy components in L1 and L2: word recognition, spelling, and reading fluency. The chapter ends with a discussion of how central processing and orthography-specific demands are interrelated.
