Tutela Webinar

The Double Challenge of ESL and Dyslexia: Important Factors for Teachers to Consider

By Azza Daba

Agenda: - What is Dyslexia?

- Identification and warning signs

- Skills required for literacy acquisition

- Is Dyslexia the same across languages?

- Focus on English and implications for ESL learners

- Accommodations

- References and resources

What is Dyslexia?

Controversy

No clear cut definition

Different views around the world

Stigma

Can a diagnosis help?

dys: difficulty Lexia: words

The International Dyslexia Association definition:

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.

Try a dyslexia reading simulation here.

Prior assessment and diagnosis

Yes! No

Prior educational experience

No Yes!

Look at evidence of difficulties

Awareness of orthographic differences between

mother tongue and English

Phonological skills assessment

Look out for red flags

Identifying Dyslexia

Identifying Dyslexia

Warning Signs

- Difficulty matching sounds to letters

- Decoding / blending difficulties

- Inconsistent writing errors

- Problems with memory

- Slow processing

- Impoverished vocabulary in mother tongue

- Difficulty with temporal concepts

- Require frequent repetition

- Organization difficulties

- Avoidance tactics

- Compensatory strategies

- Appear to exert more effort

Myths:

- Letter and word reversals is a key symptom

- Mainly a visual problem

- Lack of motivation in reading is the problem

- A link with certain levels of intelligence

Reading Comprehension

Accuracy and Fluency

Decoding and Sight Word Reading

Oral Language

Phonological Awareness - Sound discrimination - Rhyme - Sequencing - Blending and segmenting -

Letter sound correspondence

Literacy Acquisition

Is Dyslexia the Same Across Languages?

The orthography of a Language determines how dyslexia will manifest.

The 3 main types of orthographies are:

Alphabetic

Syllabic

Logographic

Alphabetic Orthographies:

In shallow (transparent) orthographies more graphemes (symbols) represent single phonemes (sound). In deeper orthographies, it gets more complex with an increase in graphemes representing more than one phoneme or vice versa and grapheme teams representing one or more phonemes. Examples: One phoneme = one grapheme: /m/ = m One phoneme = multiple graphemes: /k/ = k, c, ch, que One grapheme = multiple phonemes: s = /s/ and /z/ Grapheme team = one phoneme: sh = /sh/ Grapheme team = multiple phonemes: ow = /ou/ as in cow and /o/ as in show

Hanspeter Gadler, 2012

Implications for learners M

ULT

IPLE

MA

PPIN

GS

FOR

G

RA

PHEM

ES A

ND

PH

ON

EMES

Letters that have more than one sound, e.g., g, c, s, a, e, i, o, u

Numerous ways to represent one sound, e.g., c, k, ck, ch / e, ee, ea, e_e, ie, ei, y, ey

Letters that team up to make one or more new sounds, e.g., sh, ch(x3), th(x2), ph, ow(x2), ou, oi, oy, aw, au, augh

INC

ON

SIST

ENT

SPEL

LIN

G

PATT

ERN

S

Homophones, e.g., their, there, theyre / to, too, two

Homonyms, e.g., bow, bow / lead, lead

Homographs, e.g., suspect (n), suspect (v)

Multiple origins of words. Burrowed words retain aspects of their some original foreign spellings

SYLL

AB

ICAT

ION

CO

MPL

EXIT

Y

Stressed vs unstressed syllables

Vowel sounds turn into a schwa in unstressed syllables

Incorrect intonation affects communication

Accommodations Teaching Approach:

A structured multisensory approach

Experiential teaching

Assistance with organization

Assistance with weak memory

Provide reference materials (linguistics)

Allow assistive technology / Encourage autonomy (e.g. with finding out word origins)

Explain errors in written work orally

Differentiated tasks or assessments and adaptation of course requirements

The Gillingham and Stillman Language Triangle, 1997

A simple demonstration of how a dyslexic brain tries to access information here.

Accommodations Areas of Strength:

Ability to see an overall pattern

Different perspectives

Creativity and artistic talents

Lateral thinking

* Adult learner

Resources:

The Power of Dyslexia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_qGJ9svUbM

Multisensory Approaches to Foreign Language Learning, Crombie, Thomson & McColl, British Dyslexia Association's International Conference, 2004 - handout

The Five Spelling Rules: http://library.neuhaus.org/webinars/five-spelling-rules

Phonics and Pronunciation Videos: http://www.rachelsenglish.com/

Assistive Technology Apps: http://ncld.org/students-disabilities/assistive-technology-education/apps-students-ld-dysgraphia-writing-difficulties?utm_source=ldorg&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=social

OG Cards App: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/og-card-deck/id709418432?mt=8

The Great Vowel Shift: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyhZ8NQOZeo

The History of the English Language in 10 Minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njJBw2KlIEo

Spelling Technique: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CpZAH6elIc

Etymologies and Word Origins: http://www.etymonline.com/

References: Academy of Orton Gillingham Practitioners and Educators, http://www.ortonacademy.org/ Gillingham A, Stillman, B. The Gillingham Manual: Remedial Training for Students with

Specific Disability in Reading, Spelling, and Penmanship, 1997 Educators Publishing Service, Inc. 8th Edition

International Dyslexia Association, www.interdys.org http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_orthography#Phonic_irregularities http://sidtu.org/tiki-index.php?page=Dyslexia+at+work+in+a+multilingual+environment Moats L, Dakin K. Basic Facts about Dyslexia and Other Reading Problems, The International

Dyslexia Association Special Education Resources on the Internet (SERI): www.seriweb.com Ziegler JC1, Perry C, Ma-Wyatt A, Ladner D, Schulte Korne G. Developmental Dyslexia in

Different Languages: Language-Specific or Universal? J Exp Child Pschol. 2003 Nov, 86(3):169-93