Impact of Maintaining L1 Reading Skills on L2 Reading Skill Development in Adults: Evidence from Speakers of Serbo-Croatian Learning French

Clarke (1980) hypothesized that effective interlingual transfer of reading skills requires the attainment of some particular threshold of second language (L2) knowledge. Results from a study by Hacquebord (1989) suggested that the interlingual transfer of reading skills also requires active reading of the first language (L1). Results from a longitudinal study carried out over a 1-year period with 52 Bosnians learning French as a L2 supported Clarke’s hypothesis but were only partially in accord with Hacquebord’s. Significant correlations between L1 and L2 reading performance for the subgroup of nonactive L1 readers suggested that failure to maintain L1 reading did not prevent the transfer of reading skills. However, the greater improvement in L2 reading ability by the active L1 readers than by the nonactive L1 readers suggested that maintaining L1 reading enhances the transfer of reading skills.

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