The role of L1 reading ability, L2 proficiency and non-verbal intelligence in L2 reading comprehension

Abstract

This correlational study investigated the relative contribution of first language (L1) reading ability, non-native language (L2) proficiency and non-verbal intelligence to non-native (L2) reading comprehension among 64 Hungarian high-school students learning English as a foreign language in Slovakia. Using standardized measurements for all variables, the study concluded that for L1 reading ability to be transferred to L2 reading comprehension, one has to have sufficiently high L2 language proficiency. The correlation between non-verbal intelligence and L2 reading comprehension was significant, albeit not a particularly strong one. The study is consistent with other previous findings, and lends further support to both the linguistic threshold and linguistic interdependence hypotheses.