Διδασκαλία Αγγλικών σε δυσλεξικούς;

Μια άλλη  πρόταση

 Το φυλλάδιο αυτό αποσκοπεί να σας ενημερώσει και να σας προτείνει μια άλλη πρόταση για την διδασκαλία Αγγλικών σε δυσλεξικούς μαθητές.

Γενικά η ιδιαιτερότητα των δυσλεξικών έγκειται στο γεγονός ότι έχουν δυσκολία να αντιστοιχίσουν τον ήχο(φώνημα) με το αντίστοιχο γράμμα (γράφημα), πολύ δε περισσότερο όταν μαθαίνουν  Αγγλικά με  δεδομένο ότι η Αγγλική γλώσσα έχει 26 γράμματα και 44 ήχους.

Ειδικοί επιστήμονες (Crombie, M., 2000, Ganschow, L., Sparks, R. & Schneider E., 1995), οι οποίοι έχουν ασχοληθεί με την διδασκαλία των Αγγλικών ως ξένης γλώσσας σε δυσλεξικούς μαθητές, προτείνουν την πολυαισθητηριακή μέθοδο κατά την οποία ενεργοποιούνται όλες οι αισθήσεις (όραση, ακοή, αφή) έτσι ώστε τα ερεθίσματα να είναι εύληπτα από τον μαθητή και συνεπώς να αποκωδικoποιεί την πληροφορία την οποία δέχεται με μεγαλύτερη άνεση (Μiles T,R., 1999).

 Στηριζόμενοι στο υπάρχον θεωρητικό πλαίσιο  χρησιμοποιούμε ειδική προσέγγιση στην διδασκαλία Αγγλικών σε δυσλεξικούς μαθητές:

v  Τα βιβλία , που είναι σχεδιασμένα για την εκμάθηση των Αγγλικών ως ξένης γλώσσας, και ο ρυθμός μάθησης προσαρμόζονται στις ανάγκες του εκάστοτε μαθητή. 

v  Ο μαθητής στηρίζεται στην όλη του προσπάθεια με την  συστηματική διδασκαλία και εξάσκηση βασικών φωνολογικών, ορθογραφικών και κανόνων συλλαβισμού που θα τον βοηθήσουν να διαβάσει και να γράψει. (Snowling,M., 2001).

v  Η ορθογραφία λέξεων και προτάσεων είναι άρρηκτα συνδεδεμένη με τα διδαχθέντα φωνολογικά σχήματα και ο μαθητής δεν αγωνίζεται να ‘αποστηθίσει’ το πώς γράφονται οι λέξεις ( Snowling,M., 2001).

v  Η δημιουργία και χρήση φωνολογικού λεξικού ( Miles E., 1998 ) βοηθά τον μαθητή να ταξινομήσει το λεξιλόγιό του ανάλογα με τη φωνολογική υπόσταση της λέξης  και να αντιληφθεί το πώς  αυτή ‘δουλεύει’.

v  Το λεξιλόγιο εξηγείται μέσα από ειδικές καρτέλες με εικόνες και  η χρήση   εκπαιδευτικών παιχνιδιών βοηθάει στην αφομοίωση  της σημασίας της λέξης με αποτέλεσμα να  μη ζητείται  η απομνημόνευση λέξεων που ‘αποτελειώνει’ τον δυσλεξικό μαθητή (Crombie, M., 2000).

v  H δομή της Αγγλικής γλώσσας διδάσκεται με την σαφή επεξήγηση των Αγγλικών γραμματικών κανόνων στην Ελληνική, τη χρήση σχεδιαγραμμάτων, πινάκων, χρωμάτων για την κατανόηση της λειτουργίας των καταλήξεων, των μερών του λόγου και της δομής της πρότασης (Hughes M., 2000).

v  Η κατανόηση κειμένου, η κατανόηση και παραγωγή προφορικού λόγου, η παραγωγή γραπτού λόγου στηρίζονται  στη «διαβάθμιση» όλων των παραπάνω συστημάτων και αποτελούν  ένα «αθροιστικό-συσσωρευτικό» αποτέλεσμα αυτών.

v  Η επανάληψη  του γλωσσικού υλικού είναι επιτακτική  και πρέπει να γίνεται σε τακτά χρονικά διαστήματα με ευχάριστους και ποικίλους τρόπους ( χρήση διαδραστικού πίνακα, ασκήσεις στον Η/Υ, ασκήσεις με κίνηση, εκπαιδευτικό παιχνίδι, καρτέλες).

Οι επιστημονικές  έρευνες (Ryan, M., 1994)  και η προσωπική μας εμπειρία έχουν δείξει ότι ο δυσλεξικός μαθητής μπορεί να τα καταφέρει με τον ειδικευμένο δάσκαλο, το σωστό παιδαγωγικό υλικό και πάνω απ’ όλα  εφ’ όσον ο ίδιος  συμφιλιωθεί με τον εαυτό του και πιστέψει στις δυνατότητές του.

 Είμαστε στη διάθεσή σας.

Φιλικά

Κων/να –Ουρανία Μικέλη και συνεργάτες

Ψυχολόγος ΑΠΘ-Καθηγήτρια Αγγλικών

Ειδικευμένη στην Ειδική Μαθησιακή Δυσκολία/ Δυσλεξία (Εθνικό  Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών)

Μεταπτυχιακός τίτλος  στην Ειδική Μαθησιακή Δυσκολία/ Δυσλεξία (Πανεπιστήμιο του Bangor, Wales)

THΛ 6948547505

Βιβλιογραφία

Ganschow, L ., Sparks, R.  & Schneider E., 1995, ‘Learning a Foreign Language:  Challenges for Students with Language Learning Difficulties’, DYSLEXIA, 1:2, 75-95.                                     

Miles, T.  R.  & Miles, E., 1999, Dyslexia:  a hundred years on, Buckingham:  Open University Press.

Snowling, M., 2001 ‘From Language to Reading and Dyslexia’, DYSLEXIA, 7:  1, 37-46.

Miles, E., 1998, The Bangor Dyslexia Teaching System, 3rd edition, London:  Whurr Publishers.

Crombie, M., 2000, ‘Dyslexia and the Learning of a Foreign Language in School:  Where Are We Going?’ DYSLEXIA, 6:2, 112-121.

Hughes, M., 2000, Closing the Learning Gap, Stafford: Network Educational Press Ltd.

Ryan, M., 1994, ‘Social and Emotional Problems related to Dyslexia’, [Online],

       Available:  http://www.dyslexia.gr, [2004, June 12]

Teaching English to Greek Dyslexic Learners

The aim of this article is to present readers with a brief overview of the key main concepts related to this article, that is to say specific learning difficulty/dyslexia and teaching foreign languages to dyslexic learners, and to suggest different dyslexia friendly methods and techniques which could alleviate ‘the problem’ and help Greek dyslexic learners learn English as a foreign language.

Dyslexia

According to the British Dyslexia Association:

 Dyslexia is a combination of abilities and difficulties which affect the learning process in reading, spelling, writing and sometimes numeracy.  Dyslexic people frequently have weaknesses in short-term memory, sequencing, and the speed at which they process information-skills everyone needs to learn effectively in a busy classroom.  Learning difficulties arise if dyslexia is unrecognized and the teaching is inappropriate ( www.bda-dyslexia.org.uk).

Teaching Foreign Languages to the Dyslexic Learner

Teaching a foreign language to dyslexics has been a comparatively recent area for research.   What dyslexic specialists point out is that dyslexic children should be given an opportunity to learn a foreign language.  However, they strongly emphasize that more children are successful when taught using dyslexia friendly teaching methods-and while dyslexia friendly techniques can be applied to children who are not dyslexic, this does not work the other way around (www.bda-dylsexia.org.uk).

Greek dyslexics, in particular, are hampered in their learning of English as a foreign language at all levels (phonological, lexical, syntactical and grammatical) mainly because of the striking differences between Greek and English.  These are outlined below:

·         It may be difficult for them to pronounce sounds that are not used in Greek, such as the /s/ in words like shop/shoe, or the schwa sound in words like about.

·         Learning and remembering vocabulary is difficult.  Due to short-term memory shortcoming, vocabulary has to be presented and revised in different ways before it is assimilated and stored in the long-term memory.

·         Greek is a transparent language, in other words the grapheme matches with the phoneme, and words are pronounced similarly to how they appear in the written form, whereas, in English, frequently they do not.  Greek dyslexics face great problem with the English spelling.

·         English grammar is very different from the Greek one.  Word order in English  (subject +verb +object) is fixed, whereas in Greek it is not.  Verb usage causes a great headache to Greek dyslexics because some grammatical concepts can have a different connotation in both languages.

·         Homophones:  words that sound and look the same but have a different meaning, for example, sympathetic and συμπαθητικός /sympathitikos/  (in English and in Greek).  In English, sympathetic means feeling showing or resulting from sympathy.  In Greek, συμπαθητικός /sympthitikos/ means likeable.

Recommendations for teachers

English language teachers should be aware of some basic principles which have to be taken into account when they are going to teach English as a foreign language to Greek dyslexics.

As Ganschow et al (1995) point out teaching foreign languages to dyslexic students should be multisensory.  The use of multisensory input can activate learners’ all senses thus making input more comprehensible and scaffolding their effort.

Research has also shown that the deductive way, using knowledge about things that are generally true in order to think about and understand particular situations or problems (Hornby, 2000) is the one that is appropriate for dyslexics’ needs, because everything has to be explained to them clearly and concisely so that they can build up gradually.

 Assessing students’ learning styles, put simply the way one learns, in the first place, teaching them at all stages according to their preferred styles, and supporting them with activities, which also tap Multiple Intelligences  (Gardner’s theory  (1984)  according to which the human brain possesses a number of intelligence centres which can be enriched through learning experiences) is of the utmost importance. 

Moreover, movement between different activities can have a beneficial effect on students’ attitude towards learning.

 ‘Learning how to Learn’ should take place at the end of the learning experience and could aim to help students meditate on the learning process. 

Finally, emotionally speaking building up students’ shaken self- esteem and confidence and motivating students to learning at the same time can be seen as one of the prime features that teachers should concentrate on. 

Bibliography

Ganschow, L ., Sparks, R.  & Schneider E., 1995, ‘Learning a Foreign Language:  Challenges for Students with Language Learning Difficulties’, DYSLEXIA, 1:2, 75-95.                                    

Gardner, H., 1984, Frames of Mind:  the theory of multiple intelligences, London: Heinemann

Hornby, A.  S., 2000, Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary of Current English, 6^th edition, Oxford:  Oxford University Press.

Tips for secondary school teachers, 2004 [Online] Available: http://www.bda-dyslexia.org.uk, [2004, June 10]

Dyslexia Friendly Approaches to Teaching English to Greek Dyslexic Learners

Students who have oral and/or written language learning difficulties in their mother tongue may have problems learning another language in school.  This does not mean they should avoid the study of a new language.  With the appropriate instruction most students can experience success. 

In specific, teaching English to Greek dyslexic learners can be an onerous task to both teachers and students alike. The former do not know how to approach their students, whereas the latter may feel like “fish out of water” in class since being unable to follow, they may become uninterested in the process of learning English.

 Ιn this series of  articles, we shall discuss the feasibility of employing effective methods of teaching English to dyslexic pupils as well as all the others in class. To begin with, the Linguistic Coding Deficit Hypothesis will be discussed in brief. Secondly, friendly dyslexia strategies and approaches such as deductive instruction and the Multisensory Structured Language Approach (Part I) will be described.

The Linguistic Coding Deficit Hypothesis

 Research has shown that dyslexic learners may be faced with difficulties in foreign    language learning.

Sparks and Ganschow  (1993) proposed the The Linguistic Coding Deficit Hypothesis according to which:

Native language learning serves as a foundation for FL learning success; and students who experience FL learning problems have overt or subtle deficiencies in one or more of the linguistic codes- phonological, syntactic, and /or semantic.  Rote memory problems may exacerbate the linguistic coding problems (P.98).

In other words, an individual’s skill in native language components of linguistic coding –phonological, syntactic and semantic- constitutes the foundation of successful foreign language learning.  Consequently, problems in learning a foreign language could result from subtle or overt difficulties in it. The most noticeable deficit concerns phonemic awareness, which refers to the ability to isolate and manipulate consciously the sounds of the language and relate them to the appropriate written symbols.

Inductive or deductive instruction

As far as the foreign language teaching is concerned, Schneider (1999) suggests that natural approaches to teaching foreign languages are used in the foreign learning classroom.  That is to say, classes are instructed in authentic situational contexts where the target language is used as much as possible and students are supposed to respond spontaneously in a foreign language.  Vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation and spelling patterns are said to be acquired inductively.  In other words, the teacher tries to elicit rules by directing students through focus questions and make students discover the rule themselves.

However, working inductively frustrates dyslexic learners, sets up barriers to their understanding resulting in finding the procedure boring so they can easily get distracted.  This, in its turn, can place them under negative stress.  For example, they can be embarrassed because they are unable to answer questions, they can perform poorly in a test, or they can feel incompetent because they think they are stupid since they do not understand how to complete tasks successfully.

Moreover, Sparks et al (1992c) and Crombie (2000) state that it is wrong to assume that dyslexics can learn a foreign language in the same way as they acquire their mother tongue.

 Therefore, dyslexic learners require explicit, structured and deductive instruction. Research has shown that the deductive way, using knowledge about things that are generally true in order to think about and understand particular situations or problems (Hornsby, 2000,) is the one that is appropriate for dyslexics’ needs, because everything has to be explained to them clearly and concisely so that they can build up gradually.

The Multisensory Structured Language Approach (Part I)

Ganshow et al (1995) point out that teaching foreign languages to dyslexic students should be multi-sensory, phonic, structured, cumulative and systematic.

Sparks and Miller  (2000) also suggest that the Multisensory Structured Language approach could be the appropriate one because it could pay off for students’-at-risk difficulties.

Their suggestion is based on the findings of surveys conducted by Sparks et al (1998), Sparks and Ganschow  (1993), Sparks et al  (1992c) which showed significant gains in native language phonological skills and Foreign Language Aptitude in both languages  (English and Spanish).

Furthermore, Sparks and Miller (2000) used the Multisensory Structured Language approach to teach transparent languages (the phoneme corresponds to the grapheme explicitly) to ‘at-risk students’ since MSL caters for all learning styles.

According to Sparks and Miller (2000) a typical lesson that aims to teach Spanish to native English speakers consists of:

·   oral warm-up drills(listening, speaking, vocabulary) 1-2 min

·   blackboard /writing drills of new and previously taught phoneme- grapheme correspondences) (phonology/ orthography) 10-12 min                                                          

·   grammar and meaning units (syntax, morphology) 10-15 min

·   vocabulary and dialogue( syntax, morphology, semantics) 10-15 min

·   reading/ communicative (phonology/ orthography, syntax, morphology, semantics)  10 min  (P. 130).

The article will be translated into Greek--Το  άρθρο θα μεταγλωττιστεί στα Ελληνικά

Bibliography

Crombie, M., 2000, ‘Dyslexia and the Learning of a Foreign Language in School:  Where Are We Going?’ DYSLEXIA, 6:2, 112-121.

Ganschow, L ., Sparks, R.  & Schneider E., 1995, ‘Learning a Foreign Language:  Challenges for Students with Language Learning Difficulties’, DYSLEXIA, 1:2, 75-95

Hornby, A.  S., 2000, Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary of Current English, 6^th edition, Oxford:  Oxford University Press.

 Sparks, R.  & Ganschow, L., 1993, ‘The effects of Multisensory Structured Language Instruction on Native Language and Foreign Language Aptitude Skills of At-Risk High School Foreign Language Learners:  A Replication and Follow-up Study’, Annals of Dyslexia, 43, 195-214.

Sparks, R., Ganschow, L., Pohlman, J., Skinner, S.  & Artzer, M., 1992c, ‘The Effects of Multisensory Structured Language Instruction on Native Language and Foreign Language Aptitude Skills of At-Risk High School Foreign Language Learners’, Annals of Dyslexia, 42, 25-53.

Sparks, R.  & Miller, K., 2000, ‘Teaching a Foreign Language using Multisensory Structured Language Techniques to At-Risk Learners:  A Review’, DYSLEXIA, 6:  2, 124-130.

Rania Mikelis is a psychologist and an English language teacher who has specialized in Special Learning Difficulty/Dyslexia. Theresa Mikelis is an MA TEFL and M.Ed holder(Specific Learning Difficulty/Dyslexiα).  They are mainly interested in helping dyslexic learners cope with their difficulties in English.