An L1-script-transfer-effect fallacy: a rejoinder to Wang et al. (2003)

Do different L1 (first language) writing systems differentially affect word identification in English as a second language (ESL)? Wang, Koda, and Perfetti [Cognition 87 (2003) 129] answered yes by examining Chinese students with a logographic L1 background and Korean students with an alphabetic L1 background for their phonological and orthographic processing skills on English word identification. Such a conclusion is premature, however. We propose that the L1 phonological system (rather than the L1 writing system) of the learner largely accounts for cognitive processes in learning to read a second language (L2).