Letters to the Editor
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Letters to the Editor 175 Dear Sir, Expertise from English-speaking countries is currently much in demand across continental Europe, where there is growing concern about dyslexia. World-wide interest in multilingualism and dyslexia has added a particular relevance, not least among international communities and their schools, in which dyslexic pupils must be able to communicate in a number of languages. Yet much of the expert advice presented at international dyslexia conferences and meetings is often lost through major faults in presentation. English lan- guage lecturers may speak too fast, even for trained interpreters; and the content is frequently irrelevant to non-English language audiences. I myself have now been lecturing on the continent about dyslexia for 6 years. I have learned a number of hard lessons. First, a great deal of care must be taken to match the choice of vocabulary and the speed of delivery to the audience. It takes 5–7 years to learn a language well enough to use it as a vehicle for further learning (Cummins, 1984), and very few non-English-mother-tongue audiences are likely to have reached this level of proficiency. It is, in any case, very tiring to concentrate on a foreign language presentation. If understanding is made unnecessarily difficult it is likely that, at best, there will be a constant whispering in the audience while neighbours are asked what it all means; and, at worst, a complete ‘switch-off’ after about 15 minutes. It is therefore necessary to speak more slowly than to an English language audience; to repeat the same point in a number of different ways; and to ask frequently if further clarification is needed. Secondly, it is worth remembering that reading comprehension of English is often better than oral comprehension. Overheads in straightforward English — printed, not hand-written, and using large-sized fonts and wide spacing — are therefore essential. Pictures and diagrams will also be helpful (the usefulness of videos and recordings will depend on the speed and complexity of the language used and the quality of the available equipment). In addition to any handouts you might normally prepare, a simple summary of what is said is an absolute necessity for an international audience. Speakers may of course be lucky enough to have simultaneous interpretation. This, however, is not as straightforward as it seems. The highly skilled inter- preters at major international conferences may have studied the relevant termi- nology in advance; but it is more often the case that the interpreters are volunteers, who have no reason to have studied the specialist vocabulary of reading and writing, even in their own mother tongue. Speakers should there- fore spend time with the interpreters, going through the presentation and possibly explaining technical terms. The interpreters should always have at least copies of the summary and overheads. Those using simultaneous interpretation should also be conscious of the time lag between their own words and reception of the interpretation by the audience — for instance, when speaking to and changing overheads. If interpre- tation into some languages is by relay (e.g. English to French to Spanish) the time lags can be considerable. Thirdly, apparently simple vocabulary can present pitfalls, as when similar- sounding words have divergent meanings in different languages. I was once, for example, asked by a French lady why I had only referred in my talk to those at college or university, and why English colleges catered for such a low level of Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Dyslexia 7: 174–177 (2001)
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Transcript of Letters to the Editor
Letters to the Editor 175
Dear Sir,Expertise from English-speaking countries is currently much in demand acrosscontinental Europe, where there is growing concern about dyslexia. World-wideinterest in multilingualism and dyslexia has added a particular relevance, notleast among international communities and their schools, in which dyslexicpupils must be able to communicate in a number of languages.
Yet much of the expert advice presented at international dyslexia conferencesand meetings is often lost through major faults in presentation. English lan-guage lecturers may speak too fast, even for trained interpreters; and thecontent is frequently irrelevant to non-English language audiences.
I myself have now been lecturing on the continent about dyslexia for 6 years.I have learned a number of hard lessons.
First, a great deal of care must be taken to match the choice of vocabulary andthe speed of delivery to the audience. It takes 5–7 years to learn a language wellenough to use it as a vehicle for further learning (Cummins, 1984), and very fewnon-English-mother-tongue audiences are likely to have reached this level ofproficiency. It is, in any case, very tiring to concentrate on a foreign languagepresentation. If understanding is made unnecessarily difficult it is likely that, atbest, there will be a constant whispering in the audience while neighbours areasked what it all means; and, at worst, a complete ‘switch-off’ after about 15minutes. It is therefore necessary to speak more slowly than to an Englishlanguage audience; to repeat the same point in a number of different ways; andto ask frequently if further clarification is needed.
Secondly, it is worth remembering that reading comprehension of English isoften better than oral comprehension. Overheads in straightforward English—printed, not hand-written, and using large-sized fonts and wide spacing—aretherefore essential. Pictures and diagrams will also be helpful (the usefulness ofvideos and recordings will depend on the speed and complexity of the languageused and the quality of the available equipment). In addition to any handoutsyou might normally prepare, a simple summary of what is said is an absolutenecessity for an international audience.
Speakers may of course be lucky enough to have simultaneous interpretation.This, however, is not as straightforward as it seems. The highly skilled inter-preters at major international conferences may have studied the relevant termi-nology in advance; but it is more often the case that the interpreters arevolunteers, who have no reason to have studied the specialist vocabulary ofreading and writing, even in their own mother tongue. Speakers should there-fore spend time with the interpreters, going through the presentation andpossibly explaining technical terms. The interpreters should always have at leastcopies of the summary and overheads.
Those using simultaneous interpretation should also be conscious of the timelag between their own words and reception of the interpretation by theaudience— for instance, when speaking to and changing overheads. If interpre-tation into some languages is by relay (e.g. English to French to Spanish) thetime lags can be considerable.
Thirdly, apparently simple vocabulary can present pitfalls, as when similar-sounding words have divergent meanings in different languages. I was once, forexample, asked by a French lady why I had only referred in my talk to those atcollege or university, and why English colleges catered for such a low level of
Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Dyslexia 7: 174–177 (2001)
Letters to the Editor176
work. My mistake had been to refer to all ages of dyslexic pupils as ‘students’(French etudiant(e)). The same problems can occur with jokes: they rarelytranslate well and are usually heavily culture-dependent.
Fourthly, the relevance of content to an international audience must beconsidered carefully. It is rare that a lecture successfully delivered in one’s homecountry will be suitable.
� References to legislation or educational practices which are home-countryspecific are generally of no interest whatsoever to audiences abroad— forinstance, references to England’s Code of Practice or Literacy Hour. Theseshould be cut, or better still, equivalent examples used from the countriesfrom which the audience comes. If they are perhaps retained as examplesof how the UK is improving literacy, beware! Nothing antagonizes acontinental audience like a Brit telling them how it should be done. . .
� It is essential to research and offer advice on the issues which actuallyconcern non-English audiences: for example, the problems of dyslexicpupils trapped in the same class for several years as the result of acountry’s ‘doubling’ system, despite above-average intelligence; or thedyslexic primary-aged children who communicate fairly well in the fourlanguages used at a school (say, Letzeburgesch, German, English andFrench) but can write none of them and read only one, with difficulty.
� Information should be sought in advance from organizers and membersof the audience about local practice in schools. For example, I onceincluded information about testing to a group containing German andBelgian teachers, only to be told that this was of no direct relevance totheir work. Teachers, they said, did not test children who ‘appeared tohave special needs’. In Germany they were referred to psychologists, inFrench-speaking Belgium to speech therapists.
� Presentations on dyslexia intended for an English audience are likely tocontain examples of difficulties with the English language; and also aidssuch as spelling and punctuation rules or memory tricks such as ‘num-ber-rhyme’. These, however, will only be of interest to the possibly smallnumber in a foreign audience who teach English as a mother tongue.Even those teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) will need adifferent emphasis: for instance, will they find that an EFL dyslexicstudent has more difficulty with spelling or pronunciation, or both, whenlearning the ‘-ed’ ending?
� Courses for teaching English to dyslexic English children (i.e. the manyOrton–Gillingham-derived structured courses) are not really suitable forteaching English to dyslexic foreign children. In the latter case, courses needto vary depending on the pupils’ mother tongue. The reverse is also true:structured courses for teaching a language to foreign dyslexic students—for example, Esperanza for teaching Spanish to English speakers (thedistinction applies in all languages)—are unsuitable for helping dyslexicstudents with their own mother tongue.
� The problems faced by dyslexics are not the same in all languages.German teachers, for example, do not appreciate being told at lengthabout the phonological problems faced by dyslexic pupils in reading,since these are only of minor importance in a ‘transparent’ language like
Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Dyslexia 7: 174–177 (2001)
Letters to the Editor 177
German. Examples should be drawn from the languages of those present,and preferably should cover more than one language— for example, thesoft ‘c’. Similarly, memory tricks and other aids should be devisedcovering different languages. Help from a bilingual friend can be veryuseful.
� Any book and materials lists, and any software, should be relevant andpreferably not just in English. There is also a great deal of translationsoftware now available, including ‘translation pens’.
These points may all appear very straightforward. Such is the pressureunder which those in the field of dyslexia work, however, that they can besorely tempted, when addressing an international audience, to use existingmaterial with little adaptation.
But the temptation should be resisted. There is an enormous demand forinformation and advice about dyslexia from parents and teachers in manyEuropean countries. Time and thought in preparation can make the differ-ence between a complete waste of time and a great deal of help.
Reference
Cummins J. 1984. Bilingualism and Special Education: Issues in Assessment and Pedagogy.Multilingual Matters: Clevedon.
Felicity PattersonElm Hill House, High Street,
Hawhurst, Kent, TN18 4XU, UK
DOI: 10.1002/dys.194
Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Dyslexia 7: 174–177 (2001)
