109 Mina Suknović University of Belgrade L2 READING SKILL ACQUISITION IN NON-LITERATE ADULT NATIVE SPEAKERS OF ARABIC Abstract: Reading is a complex skill requiring a range of cognitive and metalinguistic processes. This paper presents an overview of literacy defnitions and bottom-up and top-down processes in reading and emphasises the importance of phonological awareness. It describes the outcomes of a study that re-examines the effciency of whole language and phonics based curriculum of an English literacy course for non-literate Arabic natives. The purpose of the paper is to underscore the relevant processes and techniques crucial for developing reading skill, which are to be applied in L2 literacy classrooms, in order to enable and empower students to use a language as a tool which will give them an opportunity to successfully integrate into society as functionally literate individuals. Key words: reading skill, L2 literacy, phonological awareness, bottom-up and top-down processes, phonics, whole language approach Introduction In today’s world of high mobility we are facing an increased need for cultural mediation and social integration where a language is a means to achieve this, but often an obstacle as well. Moreover, there is an attitude in post-industrial countries that immigrants are the main source of economic growth which rests on the misguided assumption that a typical immigrant has spoken and written second language skills (Young-Scholten & Strom 2006: 45). Worldwide statistics on literacy, however, show that 20 million refugees (Oxford Brookes University Development and Forced Migration Research Unit) and 861 million adults are unable to read in their native language or any other language (UN Literacy Decade Project). Bearing in https://doi.org/10.18485/dpls_pld.2020.6.ch6 371.3::003.332.5