Teaching Dyslexic students in the English Language Classroom

Donatella FitzgeraldOxford University Press

Quiz

• Work in pairs to answer the questions!

• Prizes!!!

Answers

• 1. a) Greek : • dys (meaning poor or inadequate) • lexis (meaning words or language)

• b) a slight disorder of the brain that causes difficulty in reading and spelling, for example but does not affect intelligence. (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary 8° edition)

Famous people with dyslexia

• 1 – c• 2 – a• 3 – b

• 4. British Dyslexic Association: ‘There is no magic age’.

• 5: all are indicators• 6: 5% of school age children in Italy (approx

350,000 students)

• 7 b) lower case

• 8 c) mind maps d) Listen and Read

Today`s workshop

• The effects of Dylexia• Associated issues• Dyslexia at school• How teachers can help dyslexic students at

school:• Which activities help dyslexic students learn:

Practical ideas• Support from Oxford University Press

The effects of Dyslexia

• Core difficulty: word recognition, reading, fluency, spelling and writing

• Problems in classroom, workplace• Affect a person’s self image• Demotivate students

• A teacher sent the following note home with a six-year-old boy: "He is too stupid to learn." That boy was Thomas A. Edison.

dysgraphia

dysorthography

Students have difficulties in:• Learning words/letters/sounds• Spelling football/futbol , mirrored letters or reversed

(p-b-d-g-w-n-m)• Reading/word recognition, misreads e.g. “look” and

“lock”, “house” and “horse”. • Pronunciation • Learning sequences of words/letters

Recognizing dyslexic students

The brain

• Left hemisphere

• More analytical

• Right hemisphere• Visual • creative

Dyslexia at schoolStrengths centred at the centre of the brain.

What areas of learning do dyslexic students need help with?

• 1. Reading• 2.

Dyslexic students need strategies to help with:

• Reading• Writing• Spelling• Dealing with symbols• Letters • Numbers• Musical notation• Learning phonics• Following instructions• Listening carefully • Responding accurately and putting things in order

How can teachers help dyslexic students at school?

• Adequate help and encouragement in developing learning strategies

• Give exact and short instructions. • Adopt a multisensory approach to teaching• Apply an individual approach.• Don’t teach similar things one after the other• Let student learn by doing.

• “if the dyslexic child does not learn the way you teach, can you teach him the way he learns?”

• H.T Chasty – consultant in learning abilities and difficulties

A student with dyslexia

• can be a positive, contributing, and valued class member

• is an intelligent person who does not learn in the same way as others

• learns by doing

Students with dyslexia have difficulty in English in the following areas:

• Reading• Learning new vocabulary• Grammar• Writing• Speaking• Confidence

Reading and secondary school

• Speed of reading• Scanning• Dictionaries• Reading for gist• Reading for details• Confuse similar words sun\son

A window Marker

Reading

• Dyslexia friendly text• Thick paper• Matt/not glossy• Cream/soft pastel (blue or pink)

• Plain font eg. Arial or comic sans• Font size 12-14 point• Avoid green/red/pink difficult for colour blinded

students

Grammar

• Grammar tables• Colour coding (always use the same colours).

A morphological chain

The alphabet

• Difficulty in learning sequences• Draw letters on your back• Plastic letters• Putting words in alphabetical order• Alphabet ruler: for using dictionaries

An alphabet ruler

Vocabulary

• Poor memory• Revision techniques• Memo: vocabulary notebook• Learn words as a morphological chain• Road signs (lower case)• Word cards

The shape of the word

Vocabulary in a box

Writing

• Problems planning work• Spelling • Go through their plan orally• Key words• Mind maps

Speaking

• Whole class activities:drills and choral repetition

• Do not pick on a dyslexic student individually

Confidence

• Introduce strategies into everyday class activities.

• Digital books can help

Apply a multi-sensory approach

• Look, listen say• Listen and sing• Look, point and say• Listen and colour• Listen and do• Play the game

Oxford Test Makers

• Change font of tests• Use strutturati exercises• Reduce number of exercises• Print on pale blue/pink/cream paper

Homework

• Difficulty in copying• Write on the board carefully• Write in the same place• Give enough homework to practice the

concept: but not too much!• A homework diary• A homework buddy (facebook)

My Digital Book supporting dyslexic language learners

• All course components with audio• Zoom-in function of all pages• Sounds chart• The alphabet with audio• Numbers with audio• Wordlists with audio• Colour-coded sections

www.oup.com/elt/oxforditalysupport

2012

A student with dyslexia

• can be a positive, contributing, and valued class member;

• is an intelligent person who does not learn in the same way as others;

• learns by doing.

• If you can dream it, you can do it. - Walt Disney