dyslexic language learners: are we truly catering for their needs?
TRANSCRIPT
Dyslexic language learners:
are we truly catering for their
needs?
How current ELT trends help or hinder their language
development
BY L IC . S I LV IA ROVEGNO MALHAR IN
EDUCAT IONAL CONSULTANT
URUGUAY
Aims To debunk some commonly-held beliefs about LD
To conceptualise dyslexia in the light of current research
To identify potentially problematic areas of difficulty when learning EFL
To propose an integrated approach to pedagogical inclusion
To identify how current ELT trends cater or not for SEN
To come to some conclusions towards ELT for all
To open up questions from the audience
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Learning disabilities are all the same
What are learning difficulties?
LDs affect one or more of the ways that a person takes in, stores, or uses information.
What types then?
Phonologicalprocessing
Memory and attention
Processingspeed
Languageprocessing
Perceptual-motor
procesing
Executivefunctions
Visual-spatialprocessing
Learning difficulties and Attention
Deficit Disorder only affect children.
Adults grow out of the disorders.
Learning disabilities, specially
dyslexia, are only academic in nature.
They do not affect other areas of a
person’s life.
School accommodations give students
with learning disabilities an unfair
advantage over their peers.
What is dyslexia?
•Brain and neurological
functioningBIOLOGICAL LEVEL
•Mental processing and learning
mechanismsCOGNITIVE LEVEL
•Reading and spelling problemsBEHAVIOURAL
LEVEL
•Socio-economic and
instructional factor
ENVIRONMENTAL
LEVEL
What is dyslexia?
International Dyslexia Association
Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that isneurobiological in origin.
BIOLOGICAL LEVEL
It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or
fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding
abilities
BEHAVIOURAL LEVEL
International Dyslexia Association
These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the
phonological component of language that is often
unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities
International Dyslexia Association
COGNITIVE LEVEL
and the provision of effective classroom instruction
ENVIRONMENTAL LEVEL
International Dyslexia Association
and what dyslexia is not?
Dyslexia is not a result of lack of motivation,
sensory impairment, inadequate instructional or
environmental opportunities, or other limiting conditions,
but may occur together with these conditions.
Dyslexia is
√A life-long condition
√A condition inherited from parents (typically
father) to children
√A continuum
√A complex and multilayered difficulty
Dyslexia and EFL: main areas
of difficulty
Maintaining the pace of the class
Unable to respond immediately when called upon spontaneously
Comprehending spoken language especially when spoken quickly or when sounds are too different from native language
Breaking down words of more than one syllable (prefixes, suffixes and compounds)
Understanding and applying grammatical rules
Hearing a word and recognizing it as the same word in writing
Integrated approach to
inclusive pedagogy
Diversity is the norm
Accommodations benefit all students, not just
those with SpLD
Accomodations affect all areas of teaching
and learning
Classroom Management
Environment: Light, temperature, volume, Furniture
equipment
Timing
Communication
Routine and pace
Grouping Use of whiteboard
Material design: Key ideas
Students with LD need structured materials, with
guidance to stay in task and presenting the
different subtasks in sequence.
Lesson planning and delivery:
key ideas
Students with LD do not handle well transitions
The key to success lies in preparing our students
to that transition.
If these preparations are carried out, students
with LD can adjust more effectively to the
classroom situation, focus and stay focused during
the lesson.
PPP (Presentation, Practice, Production
Feature Adaptation
EXPLICIT Aim and function
PREVIEW Pre-exisitng knowledge and lexis
SEGMENT Presentation: text-based
SEQUENCE Practice stage
REVIEW Add R & E stage
TBL (task-based learning)
Feature Adaptation
EXPLICIT Aim and linguistic aspects to be worked
with
PREVIEW Pre task phase
SEGMENT Task phase
SEQUENCE Language Analysis
REVIEW Bring it all together
CLIL
(Content and Language Integrated Learning)
Feature Adaptation
EXPLICIT Aim and content areas and linguistic
ones
PREVIEW Content and Language
SEGMENT Content: graphic organizers
SEQUENCE Content work and linguistic work
REVIEW Bring it all together
Skills- based lesson (pre, while, post)
Feature Adaptation
EXPLICIT Aim, skill, text type
PREVIEW Content and discourse schemata
SEGMENT Text and task
SEQUENCE From global to particular
REVIEW Strategies
Multisensory learning
Active learning combining multiple modes of sensory
input.
Multiple modes of sensory input (attention-
concentration)
Multiple methods of processing (comprehension)
Multiple storage sites (retention)
Multiple opportunities for access (memory)
Assessment: Key ideasoAssess what students can do, avoid tasks that
directly test what they cannot do
oDesign tests that resemble the activities
carried out in class.
AssessmentShould reflect the type of tasks done in class
Structured and sequenced
Provide study guide
Only TL corrected (writing tasks)
Feedback for written work should be given orally
Oral testing as far as possible
Concluding comments
√Pedagogical inclusion means not just working
with sts with LD but with all students alike
√Accommodations are fair and necessary to cater
for learning
√What works for some might not work for others
√All children have the right to learn and make
the most of the opportunities they have at hand