DYSLEXIA
Foreword
Having asked all the questions to professionals of the mind in numerous Emotional Literacy training courses, as an ESL teacher in Adult Education I would now like to share with my colleagues this very wise statement that was made by one of them at one point:
As teachers we can be great «mediators» when it comes to students with special educational needs [SEN]
As it happens, we were not taught how to deal with diversity and inclusion when we were first getting trained at college. We learnt about functional language, phonetics, poetry and literature, history and culture, and so on and so forth. However, once we are actually IN the classroom we teachers can find ourselves rather lost when other than «the subject» itself needs to be dealt with. What is interesting is that although we are not specialists we can certainly be mediators. So in this SEN field that is new to us the best thing we can do may be to show an open and respectful attitude to the person we have in front of us and do some basic research to find out how to help these students in their learning processes.
TLC welcome
DYSLEXIA
My first dyslexic student has crossed my path, so I am deeply concerned about how to teach English to this adult person considering the functional diversity.
Dyslexia is a language/based learning difference. It affects the organization in the brain that controls the ability we process the way language is heard, spoken, read, or spelled. Dyslexia can also manifest in difficulties with working memory, attention, and organization. It can be genetic, and ranges on a continuum of mild to severe.
People with dyslexia are not lacking in motivation or intelligence, as a matter of fact, they are typically average to above average in intelligence.
It is estimated that between 5 / 10% of the population has dyslexia, but this number can also be as high as 17%. Dyslexia is fairly common. Visit dyslexia daily.com
Know more about Luz Rello
Dyslexic strengths
Learners with dyslexia often demonstrate strong creative, imaginative and practical skills. They frequently have good visual spatial skills, tend to have good interpersonal skills, and have a sophisticated receptive vocabulary.
To help your students with dyslexia produce a good written text you may want to do a more visual exercise where they are shown a road to plan their task. If the topic is to write about a friend or family member for instance, as it is our case today, ask your students to make notes of their ideas to describe this person, and organise those ideas on the road map. Where on that road would they put what ideas?. The beginning of the road being the introduction and the end of the road the conclusion. In-between they can have several ideas as stops on the road. Ideas can be written on small post-it notes that they would stick along the road where they think work best.
Try these classroom accommodation for dyslexic students:
TO LEARN MORE: www.BrightSolutions.US
You may also like to follow this dyslexia friendly style guide by the British Dyslexia Association.
To be continued…
