Skip to main content

Dyslexia in a second language

5 minute read · updated October 28, 2026

8 sources: 1 government or law, 3 peer-reviewed research, 4 charity or professional body

Dyslexia can affect reading in any language, but how it shows up depends on how each language is written.[1] Assessing it in a second language is harder, because limited exposure to that language can produce similar difficulties, so assessors look at literacy in the first language too and record the person's language history.[2][3]

See your own reading experiences in one clear summary.Take the free 8-minute reading check

Many adults read and work in more than one language. This page explains what research says about dyslexia across languages and what that means for assessment. It cannot tell you whether a difficulty you notice in a second language is dyslexia.

Writing systems change how dyslexia shows up

The 2025 UK Delphi panel agreed that the way dyslexia shows up differs depending on a language's writing system, sound structure, grammar and word structure.[1] Readers of Spanish, Finnish or Italian, where spelling closely follows sound, tend to become accurate early, so the National Center on Improving Literacy says their difficulties appear mainly as slow reading; readers of English or Danish more often have trouble with both accuracy and speed.[4]

For that reason, the International Dyslexia Association suggests that in languages with regular spelling, reading fluency and spelling may be better indicators than accuracy.[2] A reader can therefore seem to have few difficulties in one language and more in another.

What studies of multilingual adults found

A 2011 study by Lindgrén and Laine tested 20 multilingual university students with dyslexia and 20 without in Swedish, Finnish and English. It found that language proficiency and how irregular a language's spelling is both affected how clearly difficulties appeared, and that problems surfaced most clearly in English, the less familiar foreign language with the least regular spelling.[5] A companion study by the same authors found the most prominent group differences in reading and writing on accuracy measures, in both languages it compared.[6]

The Delphi panel agreed that dyslexia can affect learning another language, but its authors note this is less well evidenced than other effects: a meta-analysis of studies on learning English as a foreign language found highly variable results.[1]

Why assessment in a second language is harder

Limited exposure to a language and dyslexia can look alike on a reading test. The IDA advises assessing reading and writing in a person's native language: difficulty in the native language may point toward dyslexia, while good literacy in the native language alongside difficulty in English may reflect limited high-quality instruction in English.[2] It also suggests comparing performance with people who share a similar language background.[2] That guidance was written for school students.

In the UK, SASC's report format makes language history a required section, and warns that learning English as an additional language, or growing up with several languages, may account for some of the scores an assessor sees.[3] A 2012 BDA research report on bilingual school children found that difficulties with acquiring a second language can mask a possible specific learning difficulty, and stressed the importance of knowing the learner's first language and how literate they are in it.[7]

Dyslexia and a different language background are not either-or. The NCIL guide says a person can have dyslexia and also have learned in more than one language, and calls for assessment that does not exclude people learning English as an additional language.[4]

Language history an assessor may ask about

  1. Which language did you speak first, and which do you speak at home now?
  2. In which languages were you taught to read and write, and from what age?
  3. How long have you lived where the assessment language is spoken?
  4. Do you read and write as comfortably in your first language as in this one?
  5. Were any earlier assessments done, and in which language?

Quick answers

Does dyslexia look the same in every language?

No. In languages with regular spelling, difficulties often show mainly in reading speed, while in English they often affect accuracy and speed.[4]

Is it harder to learn a foreign language with dyslexia?

The 2025 Delphi panel agreed dyslexia can affect learning another language, but its authors say evidence on foreign-language learning is highly variable.[1]

Should I be assessed in my first language?

The IDA recommends looking at reading and writing in the native language as part of assessment.[2] Ask assessors whether they can test in, or take account of, your first language.

Can the BDA assess me if English is my second language?

Its service asks that you have lived in an English-speaking country for seven years and speak English regularly.[8]

Review status

Source-checked, not expert-reviewed

Drafted with AI assistance. Each factual claim was checked against the source it links to on 2026-10-28. No clinician, psychologist or dyslexia specialist has reviewed this page. See the claims register.

Sources

  1. [1]Toward a consensus on dyslexia: findings from a Delphi study. Carroll, Holden, Kirby, Thompson, Snowling and the Dyslexia Delphi Panel. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (doi:10.1111/jcpp.14123), 2025. Accessed 2026-10-28. Peer-reviewed research
  2. [2]English learners and dyslexia (Internet Archive snapshot of 2026-07-15). International Dyslexia Association. Accessed 2026-10-28. Charity or professional body
  3. [3]Diagnostic Assessment Report for Specific Learning Difficulties (report format, no comments version). SpLD Assessment Standards Committee (SASC), 2025. Accessed 2026-10-28. Charity or professional body
  4. [4]Explaining IDA's new definition of dyslexia: questions and answers (Reading the Room discussion series). National Center on Improving Literacy (developed under a US Department of Education grant), 2026. Accessed 2026-10-28. Government or law
  5. [5]Multilingual dyslexia in university students: reading and writing patterns in three languages. Lindgren and Laine. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics 25(9): 753-766 (doi:10.3109/02699206.2011.562594), 2011. Accessed 2026-10-28. Peer-reviewed research
  6. [6]Cognitive-linguistic performances of multilingual university students suspected of dyslexia. Lindgren and Laine. Dyslexia 17(2): 184-200 (doi:10.1002/dys.422), 2011. Accessed 2026-10-28. Peer-reviewed research
  7. [7]Dyslexia and multilingualism: identifying and supporting bilingual learners who might be at risk of developing SpLD/dyslexia. Mortimore, Hansen, Hutchings et al. for the British Dyslexia Association and Bath Spa University, 2012. Accessed 2026-10-28. Charity or professional body
  8. [8]Can I be assessed if English is not my first language?. British Dyslexia Association. Accessed 2026-10-28. Charity or professional body

Related reading

Which reading situations come up most for you?

Find out in 8 minutes. Free, no sign-up, skip any question. Your answers stay in your browser.

Start the free reading check

This educational questionnaire summarizes what you tell us about reading and writing. It does not screen for, diagnose, or rule out dyslexia or any other condition.