ABSTRACT
English is becoming a global language for business, entertainment and social communication, so that there is now a significant educational focus upon English as an alternative language (EAL). Social mobility and social change mean that many modern classrooms include children whose most familiar forms of speech are expressed in a range of different languages. Education services may include specialists who are responsible for advising practitioners and for supporting children for whom English is not the first language. However, public services are always in great demand, so members of local communities may also be asked to advice and support. Research into developmental dyslexia in other cultures, languages and orthographies has developed rapidly. Recent research shows that phonological characteristics may play a part even where orthographies are not based on the alphabetic system, although phonological aspects may not have the same dominance in those settings. In addition, there may be specific difficulties associated with particular orthographies.
