The Role of Morphological Awareness in Reading Comprehension and the Effectiveness of Morphological Intervention for Arabic–English Bilingual Dyslexic Children in the UAE

Abstract

Reading difficulties among bilingual children with dyslexia are influenced by multiple linguistic factors, yet the contribution of morphological awareness to reading comprehension remains underexplored, particularly in Arabic–English bilingual contexts. This study investigates the relationship between morphological awareness and reading comprehension in Arabic–English bilingual dyslexic children in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and evaluates the effectiveness of a morphological awareness intervention in improving literacy outcomes. A randomized controlled design was employed with 64 bilingual children aged 9–12 years who had been identified with dyslexia. Participants were randomly assigned to either a Morphological Awareness Training Group (MATG; n = 32) or a Phonological Awareness Training Group (PATG; n = 32), with both groups receiving twelve weeks of structured small-group intervention. Morphological awareness was assessed through measures of morpheme segmentation, morphological analogies, and morphological spelling, while reading comprehension was evaluated at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and a twelve-week follow-up assessment. Quantitative analyses revealed that the MATG achieved significantly greater improvements in morphological awareness (d = 1.04) and reading comprehension (d = 0.78) than the PATG following the intervention. Multiple regression analysis further demonstrated that morphological awareness was a significant independent predictor of reading comprehension (β = .41) after controlling for phonological awareness and vocabulary knowledge, providing evidence that morphology contributes uniquely to reading development beyond traditional phonological skills. Importantly, intervention gains were maintained at the twelve-week follow-up, indicating the durability of the instructional effects. Qualitative observations also suggested increased learner confidence and more effective application of word-analysis strategies during reading tasks among students receiving morphological instruction. The findings support morphological awareness as a critical component of literacy development in bilingual dyslexic learners and demonstrate the effectiveness of explicit morphological training as part of evidence-based reading intervention. The study contributes to bilingual literacy research and offers practical implications for special education, reading instruction, and intervention programme design for Arabic–English bilingual children with dyslexia.