Hi,
I am a high school special educator and have recently joined a small group of Spanish teachers to modify tests/quizzes for Spanish I classes. Currently, not much modification is being done in any of our language classes, and more and more students are signing up to take them because of collge requiremnts. Many give up and fail the courses because so little is being done to accommodate their needs. If anyone has experience/suggestions in this area, I would appreciate hearing from you regarding any information that might be helpful to LD students taking a foreign language.
Thanks!
Linda Porter
Re: foreign language test modifications for LD students
Hi Linda,
Why is foreign language not waived? Or American sign language not instead installed? For ld students English is a foreign language…I know for my two sons it is. Why must they be burdened with this? If a child is classified and documented
as such, my research (unless it is changing) has told me that
it won’t be required in college (or find a more ld friendly college).
There were articles in the 2000 issue of the Annals of Dyselxia
published by the International Dyslexia Association on Reading
and Foreign Language learning. These might be of help to you.
Donna
Re: foreign language test modifications for LD students
i have worked with many ld students enrolled in spanish courses - level I and II. i agree with Robin G. — the problem begins much sooner than test taking! i have learned that the ld students (as well as most of their peers) do not take the time required on a daily basis to learn the language. at the school where i teach level one spanish is mostly vocabulary and we have found that spending 5-10 minutes daily, outside of class, practicing the vocabulary has made a huge difference. incorporating a variety of approaches works great - auditory, visual and kinestheitc. we make flash card, have lots of practice quizzes (written and oral) and play games. by incorprating this daily plan, appropriate accomodations for individual students will become obvious. (email me if you would like specific modifications that we have used.) don’t forget to check out the franklin speller speaking spanish dictionary! 4 yr colleges and universities in this area do not initially waive the hs language requirement for LD students. all college bound students should meet college requirements — you are doing the students a disservice if you do not prepare them for the demands of college courses. of course there are always exceptions and students are considered individually, but in my experience students can succeed in high school spanish courses with a daily study skill routine.
Is it only the tests that need modification? Seems like the wrong end of the process to me. If kids are failing the class in sufficient numbers to prompt this level of effort, then maybe it would make more sense to apply the effort to the instruction? You could be very helpful here I bet- even without a lot of knowledge of Spanish.