Foreign Language & Dyslexia

I have read (a few years ago) about a teacher who used multisensory teaching strategies (like she used in teaching reading) with some success. Might be worth a search of the literature (‘multisensory spanish’ as search words, perhaps)… www.eduref.org is I think a link to educational stuff (used to be ERIC before those funds were hacked).

Dear Sue, Thank you so much for the post. jklangtchr

I posted this information in the “teaching to LD forum” as well.

When I did a Google search about teaching and tutoring foreign languages to LD kids, I found a reference to an article in the journal “Annals of Dyslexia” about a teacher that had adapted the Orton-Gillingham reading methodology to her Spanish as a foreign language classroom. I also found a reference to using an adaptation of Orton-Gillingham to German instruction.

I will search for the reference and post it ASAP.

John

[email protected]

Thank you for your response. I look forward to the information. jklangtchr:D

My LD son is in a parochial elementary school where spanish is part of the circul. Therefore, I read Helen’s posting with much interest. It was mostly background but one technique that I thought was very interesting was using pictures instead of English words. The thinking is that the translation is another layer to remember. A few nights ago my husband was acting out my son’s vocabulary words (tired, happy, mad, sick, sad ect) and my son told me that daddy helped him much more than I. I was using much more conventional flash card techniques.

Beth

That makes a lot of sense — to teach it as if it were the first language (especially for younger minds that are better at that — and, lovely PhD project, probably especially for minds that *don’t* automatically process words of a certain language, but are much more able to connect to action or emotion than a word representing them).

I’ve actually heard of a fast language instruction method that uses emotion and emotionally keyed up moments— claims to work faster/ better. For example, the students discuss their most embarrassing moments and read sexually explicit material (for the emotional charge).
Not sure exactly how you would play that down to grade school levels, but I would guess there is something to it.

—des

Since the biggest problem with foreign language learning is boredom and giving up, well, talking about very personal things and reading explicit material would at least keep people in class and awake, so there is that advantage.

But to be honest I see so many “miracle” programs come down the pike, and so many of them die out equally fast, I doubt there’s a magic method. You’re still stuck with hard work and time, period.

I speak as a person with not-so-great hearing, social cueing problems that interfere in any language, and some difficulties with rote memory, who has become fluent in a second language and able to read two others. The occasional person still gives me a hard time about my accent but now I just tell them off, equally nastily as they attack me.

I managed to learn languages by doing *both* an awful lot of classroom and school-type work *and* going to a place where that language is spoken and thoroughly immersing myself. I put in hundreds and hundreds of hours for every little bit of improvement. People don’t see those hundreds of hours, reading books and newspapers and watching TV and going shopping in the second language and working on pronunciation of one sound until my head aches, and reciting grammar over to myself silently, so they say such lovely things as “well, it comes so easy to you” (HA).

Victoria, I don’t think that the approach I mentioned is done as a miracle (or extremely quick) approach. The work is hard, and I think it is the kind of thing they use for foriegn service and the Peace Corps.

—des

I have a second grade girl with dyslexia, I need help with accomodating for her. Any suggestions?

You should repost this as a new thread, not on the foreign language thread (unless she is in a second language?). Good pages to post on are Teaching Reading, Teaching a Child with LD, and Parenting a Child with LD.

Personally I tutor reading and would greatly prefer to lead the student up to the level of the class than to bring the work level down. Look on the Teaching Reading page and the LD In Depth pages for info on how to improve her reading skills. If you have time and energy to work with her yourself, feel free to request my tutoring outlines at [email protected]