MULTILINGUAL READING · 5 min
Why does reading speed change in a second language?
Fluency is more than speed
In a second language, recognising a word, selecting its meaning and fitting it into the sentence may take additional time. Vocabulary, exposure to spelling patterns and distance from a first language can shape eye movements and pace. Differences can remain even in highly functional bilingual readers.
This is not a deficit label. Strong subject knowledge can make a specialist text unexpectedly manageable, while an unfamiliar topic can slow a passage built from everyday words.
Build a baseline inside the target language
Applying an English WPM norm directly to Spanish, German or Turkish is misleading. Languages express the same message with different numbers and lengths of words. Word frequency and syntax also matter.
A fairer approach is to follow change over time using fresh texts of similar difficulty in the same target language. Growing vocabulary and reading widely may be more meaningful than imposing speed alone.
References
- Nisbet, K. et al. (2022). Quantifying the Difference in Reading Fluency Between L1 and L2 Readers of English. DOI: 10.1017/S0272263121000279
- Grabe, W., & Yamashita, J. (2022). Reading Fluency, Reading Rate, and Comprehension. DOI: 10.1017/9781108878944.018
- Brysbaert, M. (2019). How many words do we read per minute? DOI: 10.1016/j.jml.2019.104047