I am involved in teaching foreign languages to dyslexic students at University level. Our language class size does not exceed 15 students. While this helps the dyslexic student we do not have any defined strategies to teach our dyslexic students and find these students are not performing well in class and are getting very poor results. Although the students are working very hard, they are very anxious when asked questions in language class or when involved in group-work.
We are planning to provide additional language-lab classes to increase the multi-sensory language learning element.
One strategy we use is the use of colours on the whiteboard to help with vocabulary and grammar e.g in German:
the bedroom - das Schlafzimmer
We write the parts “das” and “zimmer” in blue and “Schlaf” in green.
This shows the student the “neuter noun gender” link from “das” to “zimmer” and also splits the larger word “Schlafzimmer” for prononciation, vocabulary recognition etc.
Any other strategies we could use?
Rgds
LT
Re: Teaching Foreign Languages to Students with Dyslexia and LD
Don’t have any silver bullets. But I can tell you one thing not to do: don’t use one of the all-oral programs that have been pushed for the last few decades. With all students retention is terrible in these, and with students with a language disability you are just asking for trouble. You need a program with consistency and follow-up, a planned and ordered progression, not one of the fun-and-games approaches. A lot of teaching of patterns, traditional grammar and vocabulary study, and especially asking and answering structured questions can do a lot of good.
Re: Teaching Foreign Languages to Students with Dyslexia and LD
Which reminds me of another basic principle: lots of practice and feedback: lots of short term quizzes. If you give a quiz on what you just learned, then thes tudent is studying :)
Manual teaching Foreign Language to LD
I happened upon this manual on Teaching Foreign Language to LD population and thought I would pass it on.
http://www.smcm.edu/aldiv/ilc/pdfdocs/arnett-english.pdf
teaching foreign languages to LD students
I do not have the precise reference right here, but when I did a Google search for this topic, I found out that the “Annals of Dyslexia” had an article a few years back about a teacher that adopted to Orton-Gillingham multisensory method of reading instruction to a foreign language classroom, Spanish, I believe it was. I also saw something about using this method for German.
I shall search for the reference and send it to you. Feel free to email me, and remind me, so I can send it to you directly.
John
Teaching foreign languages to dyslexics
I do not have the precise reference right here, but when I did a Google search for this topic, I found out that the “Annals of Dyslexia” had an article a few years back about a teacher that adapted the Orton-Gillingham multisensory method of reading instruction to a foreign language classroom, Spanish, I believe it was. I also saw something about using this method for German.
I shall search for the reference and send it to you. Feel free to email me, and remind me, so I can send it to you directly.
John
(I reposted this because I committed some errors— :oops: )
I r3emember reading about a high school which taught foreign languages using the same kinds of multisensory strategies that multisensory reading programs used. This would mean going significantly more slowly and incorporating visual, auditory and kinesthetic elements throughout.
In your shoes, I’d see if I could get either training or resources in some multisensory methods — or surf the web for ‘Multisensory” and “foreign language.”
Unfortunately, dyslexia is (generally) a language disability, so — at least in my experience — a strategy here and and an accommodation there isn’t enough :( Would that somebody would actually find that silver bullet!