Abstract
This study investigates the relation between phonology and orthography in word recognition in college-level readers with different first languages (L1). It also examines whether word recognition processes in L1 influence those processes in the second language (L2), which was English in the study. Participants were divided into two groups according to their L1 (Japanese, Chinese), and were given semantic category judgment tasks in English in order to compare their degree of reliance on L1 phonology and orthography in L2 word recognition. The results showed that Japanese and Chinese L1 readers differed in using phonological and orthographic information in the L2 English task. The results suggest that reading for meaning in English is affected by prior literacy experiences in reading L1.
