The Effect of Arabic Proficiency on the English Writing of Bilingual-Jordanian Students.

This study investigates the relationship between first language (Arabic) proficiency and second language (English) performance in the writing skill of Jordanian bilingual second secondary school students. Despite the linguistic distance between English and Arabic, it is postulated that Arabic writing skills can be transferred positively to the target language (English). The researchers used the composition prompt tests instrument for this purpose; one test was in Arabic and the other was in English. The data was collected in the second semester of the academic year 2005-2006. The population was from two leading public secondary schools in the First Directorate of Amman in Jordan. The participants were 20 male students who were chosen on the basis of the students' achievements in the previous years. As a result of the study, a significant relationship was found between the two languages. Those students who got high marks and were proficient in Arabic writing performed well in the counter skill (English). This result