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This study investigates the within-and cross-language relations between orthographic processing and spelling for children learning to read in languages that share the same Roman script: namely, English and French. We examined these relations in a group of 152 children attending grade 1 in a French immersion program. Measures of English and French lexical orthographic processing (e.g., dream-dreem; jaune-jeaune) as well as English and French spelling were administered. Control measures included nonverbal ability, English phonological awareness, as well as rapid automatised naming, vocabulary, and word reading in English and French. We found a within-language relation between orthographic processing and spelling in each of English and French. Cross-language transfer from French orthographic processing to English spelling was also observed; there were no relations in the other direction. Our results suggest that orthographic processing is important for spelling development among bilingual children learning English and French. What is already known about this topic• Orthographic processing plays an important role in monolingual children's word reading and spelling • Orthographic processing in one language is significantly related to word reading in the other language in bilingual children who are acquiring languages that share the same script • The extent to which orthographic processing is related to spelling is not clear in bilingual children What this paper adds• Orthographic processing contributes to spelling within English and French in a novel group of bilingual children in French immersion • Orthographic processing in French transfers to spelling in English

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