Patterns of Writing Difficulties in Both Arabic and English Languages among Students with Learning Disabilities: Similarities and Differences

Abstract

This study analyzes mechanical, content-related, and handwriting challenges in writing among Jordanian students with Learning Disabilities (LDs) in both Arabic and English. The investigation is guided by the Linguistic Interdependence Hypothesis, the Simple View of Writing (Berninger & Amtmann, 2003), Paivio's (1990) Dual Coding Theory, and the Motor Control Theory (Smits-Engelsman et al., 2001).  A mixed (qualitative and quantitative) research approach was used to examine the writing of 60 fourth-grade students from Amman district with medically proven learning disabilities.  The study shows that, although students with LDs struggle with grammar, punctuation, and spelling in both languages, they find the complicated Arabic script and the irregular English spelling patterns particularly challenging. In all languages, handwriting difficulties such as letter formation and readability were also major challenges attributed to language-specific traits, punctuation, word spacing, and grammatical structures varied in use, which emphasizes the need for focused interventions to improve bilingual writing instruction. These implications have significant consequences for teachers, legislators, and curriculum designers. This study fills in a research gap in comparative writing challenges and promotes better teaching plans for individuals with Learning Disabilities in multilingual environments, thereby benefiting the field. The research showed that students with LDs have comparable issues with mechanical aspects, handwriting, and content preparation in both Arabic and English writing. This finding supports the Linguistic Interdependence Hypothesis. The analysis indicated that different strategies were needed because Arabic uses cursive writing with complex word structures, while English has irregular spelling patterns.