Recently, talk of a new type of learning disability (LD)--a foreign language learning disability, or FLLD--has made its way into the LD and foreign language (FL) literature. However, no empirical evidence has been published to support the concept of a "disability" for FL learning by those professionals who use the term. In this article, the author…

Spelling error patterns of 30 disabled readers (grades 3 through 6) were compared to error patterns of 40 younger able readers (grades 1 through 3), and 37 able readers of the same age. Discriminant analyses indicated distinguishing patterns, primarily between the disabled readers and the older able readers. (Author/SEW)

The question of whether it is easier to learn to read through an ideographic, syllabic, or alphabetic writing system is posed. The linguistic nature of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and English are examined in relation to differences in information processing and cultural factors related to reading disability. (Author/SEW)