Dyslexia and Learning a Foreign Language: Tips for Teachers

Karen White, Austria

Karen White is a freelance teacher in Austria working with all age groups from 2 - 84 and teaching all types of English: general, business, technical and military. She is also a trainer for children with dyslexia and is interested in finding out ways to help pupils with dyslexia learn English more easily.
E-mail: karen.white@aon.at

Menu

Introduction
Problems
Strengths
General tips
Tips for teaching English
Conclusion

Introduction

According to UN figures 10% of the population has some form of dyslexia. This means that the EFL teacher is likely to have at least one child with dyslexia in every class they teach.
Dyslexia refers to difficulties with information processing which manifests itself in problems with reading, spelling and writing. It‘s not an intellectual disability and most dyslexics have average or above-average intelligence. It can range from mild to severe and not all children with dyslexia have the same problems.

Problems

1. Organisational problems - their school bag, desk and exercise books are usually a mess.
2. Erratic performance - one day they achieve top marks, but the next day they can`t do anything right.
3. Copying, especially from the board or overhead.
4. Reading out loud - they miss out words or lines, loose their place, words jump about, fall off the page or are blurred.
5. Remembering letters, especially when tired
6. Spelling - often very creative!!!
7. Sequencing - they forget the sequence of letters in a word, words in a sentence, sentences in a text. They often write the homework down incorrectly e.g. p. 46 instead of p. 64.
8. Putting thoughts onto paper - their mind races ahead so their ideas become all jumbled up.
9. Understanding what is heard - filtering. All sounds are important, they can‘t filter out
background noise. They have problems distinguishing between sounds and short and long vowels.
10. Remembering instructions - they often only remember the first or last instruction.
11. Answering questions - they don‘t always give the so called correct answer.
12. Handwriting is often not legible. They have problems with spacing and whether letters should be on the line or not.
13. Directions - they have problems with left to right orientation, up and down, top and bottom. This causes problems when reading maps. N.B. A pupil having problems learning directions in English, may have orientation problems. (Some see the clock or geometrical shapes reversed.)
14. Judging distances - they can‘t work out if a word has enough space on the line so they squash up letters or write over the margin.
15. Sensitivity to light - their eyes quickly become tired so writing from an overhead for any length of time can be a problem. White paper can also be a problem.
16. Sensitivity to touch - they don‘t like being touched and their skin is often irritated by labels in lothes or by certain materials.

Strengths

Pupils with dyslexia are not just „problems“, they have strengths too. Some of these strengths include creativity, seeing problems from different angles, skimming, computer skills and not giving up easily when the going gets tough.
Also, with the help and support of the teacher, children with dyslexia can become successful learners.

General tips

What can we as teachers do to help?
One way of increasing motivation is to allow the pupils to use different types of pens e.g. smelly pens, gel pens, pens with funny figures on the top etc. It‘s amazing what a difference this can make. Positive feedback also motivates.

Most pupils with dyslexia need help in organizing their work. They should use clearly marked exercise books or different colours for each area. Different sections in a file should also be clearly marked. A notebook for writing down homework or other instructions can be very useful.

If the student has hearing problems or cannot filter sound, they should sit at the front of the classroom and with one side by a wall. Try not to talk to the blackboard when writing. Some students need to see your lips.

Give out the homework as a note or write on the blackboard, allowing enough time to write it up. If possible, give out grammar notes and vocabulary sheets instead of the pupils copying from the board. For worksheets, use Comic Sans 12 or 14 and recycled paper. Blue print is better than black. There shouldn’t be too much on one page and headlines should be clear. Keep instructions short and clear. Let students use coloured overlays when reading as this cuts out glare. When using the blackboard or overhead, make sure it is clear and not too clustered. Allow plenty of time for reading and copying. Pupils with dyslexia should sit directly facing the board.

When giving instructions, they should be short and in order e.g. take a pencil. Read the question. Draw a circle around the right answer.
Not: Draw a circle around the right answer after you have read the question.
These are some useful general tips for the classroom but what about teaching English in particular?

Tips for teaching English

Sounds and letters
Use all the ways that primary school teachers use for learning letters.
Give plenty of opportunity to feel and make the letters (magnetic letters, pipe cleaners, string, modelling clay, drawing in the sand/mud/dust etc.). Teach printed letters first, then written. Not together.

I have found it very useful to use a vocabulary box. Although you can buy one, my pupils have always enjoyed making their own. You need to make a long box out of cardboard and divide it into 5 parts. New words are written on cards, either by you or the child, and go in the first compartment. (On the cards you can have the English word on one side and the translation on the other, or a picture and the word, or a picture + word and translation, or the word and a sentence.) When the child knows the word, the card goes into the second compartment. These words are revised the following day. If the word is correct, it goes into the third compartment. If it is wrong, it returns to the first compartment. The third compartment is revised after 3 days, the fourth after a week and the last one after a month. It is motivating for the child to see the pile of cards in the last compartment growing.

Children can also make their own dictionary or poster of words that they find difficult to remember or spell. Some children like to learn when moving about, jumping on a trampoline or even lying on the floor. Games such as bingo, dominoes, or memory also help. Let the children make the games. They learn at the same time.)

Spelling
Teach the use of a dictionary. Some children won‘t know the alphabet even if they have the same letters in their mother tongue. If necessary, stick the alphabet in front of their dictionary or file/book. Learn a „family“ of words e.g. light, sight, flight etc. but don‘t add words that sound the same but are written differently e.g. height. Use modelling clay/magnetic letters/stones etc. Allow the children to write the words on the computer. Highlight part spelt incorrectly. Use rhyming games and songs. There are also helpful memory tips e.g. with - the „hat“ goes on last, necessary - 1 coat and 2 shoes. Make a story e.g. they: the „y“ is always trying to run away. You are the policeman and must always check that it is there. Write in different ways: use different paper, different pens, finger paints, ketchup, shaving foam, torch in the air in the dark, cut out letters from magazines and stick on paper, modelling clay etc. Let the children make pictures around the word or from the word. They are usually very creative. Put letters on the floor and let the children jump on them to spell out the word. Grammar

1. Tenses: Use colours for the key words of each tense. One tense, one colour. Use models: e.g. past progressive/past simple: John was walking along when he suddenly saw an elephant. The pupils could also act it out. Making it fun makes it easier to remember.
2. Irregular verbs: teach those that are similar at the same time e.g. sell - sold - sold tell - told – told. Use different colours for the different forms.
3. Word order: Use different coloured cards for each part of the sentence e.g. red - adjective, blue - verb, green - article.
4. Modal Verbs: Use colours for the alternative forms e.g red for can and be able to, green for must and have to etc.
5. Questions in the past simple: write the sentence in the past tense e.g. Tom played tennis. For the question, write: Did Tom played tennis and let the pupils cut off the ’-ed’. The action of cutting off the ’-ed’ helps them to remember.
6. Several of my children have had problems remembering which personal pronouns and possessive adjectives go together. One effective way has been to put them all on the floor and let the children jump to the right ones saying them at the same time. They should be put in the same position each time. The pupils remember the position on the floor and which words belong together.

Reading
Read the text yourself first as a good example. Ask for volunteers for reading out loud. When reading, encourage pupils to use a ruler or bookmark or even a reading window. This helps them to keep their place. If the books are printed on white paper, put coloured plastic sheets over the page to stop the glare and also to prevent words from jumping around.

Learning for exams
Pupils with dyslexia need help with organizing their time. Also check that they have all the notes needed. If they have problems remembering the order of a text, put parts of the text (sentences, paragraphs) onto separate pieces of card. The pupils should put them in order. The children could also draw a picture for each paragraph to help them remember. Teach the pupils how to read exam questions exactly.

Tests and exams
Find other ways to test pupils, not just written tests e.g orally, making a poster of a grammar point, recording answers, a project, participation in class etc. Dictations are a horror for children with dyslexia. If they are compulsory in your country, you can help the children by staying in one place when speaking, using short sentences and making short that the classroom is quiet. As far as possible, cut down distractions, such as background noise, to a minimum and don‘t wear extra bright colours or an interesting piece of jewellery. If it helps the pupils, allow them to have a stress ball on the desk or a ball under the table. Listening comprehensions should not include background noise and allow the use of a marker for reading comprehensions. When giving a presentation or talk, teach the pupils to use visual clues instead of written notes to speak from.

Homework
Allow written homework to be done on the computer. Try to give other forms of homework too such as recording a story they have written themselves, making a poster or preparing an oral presentation.

Conclusion

Finally, remember that each child is an individual and has strengths as well as weaknesses. Showing understanding for a pupil goes a long way to helping that child to cope with their problems and be successful.

The Dealing with Difficult Learners course can be viewed here
The Special Needs and Inclusive Learning course can be viewed here