Three main issues relating to the question of silent speech in reading are considered: (1) How do Chinese speakers process Chinese ideographs in short-term memory? (2) How is Chinese students' learning of written English affected by the transition to an alphabetic language? (3) Are the strategies for encoding written words in short-term memory different for students of diverse language backgrounds? Chinese and Spanish bilingual students were tested for short-term memory encoding strategies on word-recognition tests. Chinese speakers were found to encode Chinese ideographs phonologically, but both Chinese and Spanish learners of English were found to encode English words visually. Implications for the acquisition of reading are discussed in terms of a two-stage model. (Author/CFM)