People who speak English natively generally have learned it before they learn to read. So it makes sense that there are some who never learn how to read.

People who speak English as a second language are generally not learning it as an infant / toddler, so they are much more likely to be relying on written text as part of their learning process.

Just take the L.

Do you really think there are people who speak English as a second language but can't read the alphabet?