As an AMBDA accredited assessor, I am a member of both the British Dyslexia Association (BDA) and the SpLD Assessment Standards Committee (SASC). My assessments are informed by the guidelines published by SASC.

Students who speak English as an Additional Language need to have spent 7 years in an English language environment before they can be assessed for dyslexia. The SASC guidance (2019) offers practical advice about how to administer the assessment and be sensitive to cultural and linguistic impediments while maintaining the integrity of the tests.

It also provides an extensive list of background questions written to elicit information about early language experiences in L1 and L2.

If a child is struggling academically, it may not simply be because they speak an additional language. Fernando and Horobin (2018) speculate that a reluctance to test EAL students may be due to a concern that students acquiring English may exhibit some traits of dyslexic learners such as letter confusion and phonology. A diagnostic assessment examines a broad range of underlying abilities and skills and will result in a profile of learning strengths and weaknesses—information which can be used to support an EAL student who may have additional needs.

If you are a teacher or a SENCO, The Bell Foundation (2024) has published a practical guide on integrated provision for EAL and SEND.

References:

The Bell Foundation. ‘EAL and SEND: A framework for integrated provision in schools’. February 2024. https://www.bell-foundation.org.uk/app/uploads/2024/02/The-Bell-Foundation_EAL-SEND.pdf

Fernando, J. and Horobin, L. (2018) ‘Dyslexia and Languages’, in Eastap, L. and Gregory, J. (eds.) Dyslexia-Friendly Schools: Good Practice Guide. 2nd ed. Great Britain: British Dyslexia Association.

The SpLD Assessment Standards Committee S.A.S.C. (2019) Guidance on the assessment of individuals for whom English is an additional language (EAL) and/or where there is a complex linguistic history: SASC. https://www.sasc.org.uk/sasc-downloads/