On the Linguistic and Cognitive Factors that Predict Reading Abilities Among Arabic-Speaking University Students

While research on the predictors of reading and reading comprehension is extensive in child and in some adult populations, particularly in alphabetic languages, few studies have examined such factors among Arabic-speaking adults. This study examined the extent to which the same linguistic and cognitive predictors contribute to reading accuracy, rate and comprehension among university students. A total of 120 young adults (aged 18–32) completed a battery of tests to examine their reading skills, phonological awareness (PA), rapid automatized naming (RAN), morphological knowledge, executive functions and verbal long-term memory. Stepwise regression analyses were conducted on reading abilities. We hypothesized that PA, RAN, morphological awareness, and working memory will significantly predict reading accuracy and fluency, and to some extent, reading comprehension. Our results indicated that PA emerged as the strongest predictor of reading accuracy, while RAN most significantly predicted reading speed. Reading comprehension, however, was best predicted by a combination of phonological and morphological abilities, along with inhibitory control and long-term memory. These findings fill a gap in literature and shed light on the linguistic and cognitive mechanisms underlying adult reading skills in Arabic, a language with a complex orthographic system and diglossic situation. The results of this study are discussed in the light of previous reading literature. We propose that additional research, including other linguistic, cognitive and psycho-social factors, will be needed to gain a deeper understanding of the interplay between factors that influence reading in a language with unique linguistic features.