"Dessverre har jeg en slags problemmer med dysleksi'' : the effects of dyslexia on the acquisition of Norwegian as a second language in adults, as seen in written texts from test of Norwegian – advanced level

Abstract

This thesis looks into how dyslexia affects the acquisition of Norwegian as a second language in adults. The materials are written, argumentative texts from test in Norwegian – Advanced Level (Bergenstesten). The analysis covered all levels of text, from spelling and vocabulary via syntax up to content and structure. The texts contained a surprisingly low number of spelling mistakes, considering the participants’ dual status of being L2-learners as well as having dyslexia. Separating which traits and tendencies in the texts are due to dyslexia and which are due to the L2 status of the texts was challenging, particularly because of the lack of a control group without dyslexia. An important finding, however, was that all texts in this thesis present difficulty in structuring of the content, a higher-order function.