Neural deficits in second language reading: fMRI evidence from Chinese children with English reading impairment

► Chinese kids with impaired English reading were compared to typically ones. ► Both phonological and orthographic tasks were adopted. ► Impaired kids show reduced activity in occipitotemporal regions in orthographic task. ► They also show reduced activity in parietotemporal regions in phonological task. ► Similar neural deficits are involved in English as both L1 and L2.