Post on 07-Nov-2014
description
FEU CAVITE
Department of Education
Teaching Students with Dyslexia
In partial fulfillment of the requirements inENG3N: Foundations of Language Study
Submitted by:
Panganiban, Erika A.Loyola, Maristhel P.Belga, Carl Dervin P.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface 1
Part I:
A. Language and its components 2
B. Students with Dyslexia 3C. Importance of knowing the learnersD. Factors to be consider in teaching language 4(before, during, after teaching)E. How students with dyslexia learned a language
Part II:
A. Underlying theoriesB. Strategies and techniques in teaching English in students with
dyslexiaC. Activities in teaching EnglishD. Activities that supports this teaching framework
Preface
Teaching framework and philosophy are really important background
to our future profession as the next forerunners of the program. This
framework provides general suggestions for teaching English language,
technique and approaches supported by the underlying theories to our target
learners in facilitating activities. It put us into practice in choosing and
making activities that are appropriate in providing the needs of our target
learners as well as the factors to be considered in teaching language and
learning language. It explained the language and its components as the main
medium of learning. It discussed the learners which are students with
learning disability dyslexia, as well as the causes, characteristics and
prevalence of this condition. The importance of knowing the learners and it
answered the question, how does one learn a language. The underlying
theories such as behaviorist theory, critical period hypothesis and socio-
cultural theory are presented in this framework that supported the
suggestions and the things that we believe in. It explained further the
techniques and activities to be used in classroom scenario. It answered also
the question, how will we teach English?. The activities that would be
possibly be included in teaching English also provided and how would these
activities reflect in or teaching framework and philosophy. In the last part of
this framework we created and conceptualized base on the theories we
believe in. teaching framework in line to our target learners, factors to be
considered, underlying theories, strategies and activities that will support the
new teaching framework that we made on how we will teach language to the
students with learning disability specifically dyslexia.
Teachers may think of language, reading and writing as being separate
skills and may believe that the purpose of formal education is to teach
reading and writing but not oral language. Listening, speaking, reading and
writing are all language skills, and success at school requires proficient oral
language skills as well as written language skills. Children have to process
teachers’ instructional talk, which is delivered via oral language, as well as
their peer’s oral language used in class and on the playground. Language
encompasses the elements of listening, speaking, reading and writing, all of
which have an underlying language core. Oral language is the primary
language system and consists of listening and speaking. Written language is
the secondary language system and consists of reading and writing.
Language is recognized as one of the greatest of human achievements
– more important than all the physical tools invented in the past 2,000 years.
It provides a means of communicating and socializing with other human
beings, it enables the culture to be transmitted from generation to
generation, and it is a vehicle of thought. The communication process
between two people consists of sending a message (expressive language)
and receiving a message (receptive language).
Language is an integrated system, and many areas of learning depend
upon mastery of language. As the child matures, language plays an
increasingly important part in the development of the thinking processes and
in the ability to grasp abstract concepts. Words become symbols for objects,
groups of objects, and ideas. Language permits human beings to speak of
things unseen, of the past, and of the future.
To assess and plan instruction for language problems, the teacher
needs to be familiar with the components of language. A common
classification system organizes the components of language according to
form (phonology, morphology and syntax), content (semantics), and use
(pragmatics).
The importance of language has been getting broader and bigger as it
passed through generation to generation. It simply because language can
conquers the world. Language can make rules, can express ideas, and can
unite people as one. It is the basis of understanding between the people and
the world through the process of communication. In short, language can
define culture and culture will define history.
Some of the students encounter difficulties in learning a language
especially those students with learning disabilities. The target learners of this
framework focus on the students with reading problems which is commonly
known as dyslexia. Dyslexia comes from the Greek word Dys which means
“impaired” and Lexia is derived from the word “lexicon” (the mental
dictionary of word meanings, spellings and pronunciation) and means
“word”. Dyslexia has been around for a long time and has been defined in
different ways. According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, dyslexia is
a learning disability that can hinder a person's ability to read, write, spell,
and sometimes speak. It is the most common learning disability in children
and persists through life. The severity of dyslexia can vary from mild to
severe. The sooner the dyslexia is treated, the more favorable the outcome;
however, is it never too late for people with dyslexia to learn to improve their
language skills. It can be related to brain injury, hereditary, or hormonal
influences. Dyslexia is a language-based disability in which a person has
trouble understanding words, sentences, or paragraphs. This is caused by a
disruption in the neural circuits in the brain and it is said to be persisted into
adolescence and adulthood. This problem may leads to difficulties in many
areas of life as the individual matures. It is not only dealing with reading
problems but students with dyslexia also problems spelling. Students with
this kind of disability can be easily identify if he/she is having a delayed
speech, problems with pronunciation, grammar, reading a single word,
learning a foreign language, difficulty with retelling a story in the right order
of events, and reads below their expected level. It is really important to know
the target learners because it provides us information and ideas in
considering the right and appropriate strategies in teaching English. The
significant work of education also involves connection between the students
and teachers. This connection helps learning to take place effectively. The
background of the students is valuable and the parents, professionals,
paraprofessionals, principal and guidance councilor should be accessible in
student condition. Collaborative effort should be done. A call to awareness
involves in intellectual understanding of student’s needs as well as the
emotional sensitivity to realize their ongoing knowledge. If that’s the case, it
would be easy to the part of the teacher to stimulate learning inputs and
strategies to tap up their skills. Moving beyond foundation skills, the teacher
learns about a child’s work pace, organizational skills so that skills, memory,
verbal expression, ability to sustain attention and creativity. A teacher must
be an evaluator who can evaluate and identify our learner’s strengths and
needs.
There are things and factors that a language teacher must consider
before, during and after teaching. One of this is age based from the theory of
Eric Lenneberg which is the Critical Period Hypothesis wherein age really
matters in acquiring a language. As a teacher, it is important to know the
age of the students whether if they are at-risk or delayed in learning a
language so that the teacher could adjust to the learning style, instructions
and address the special needs of each student. Collaboration with parents
we’re highly needed in developing a language. Both of them contribute to
the academic and non-academic performance of students in school. A
language teacher also needs to consider the doctor’s diagnosis because it is
the doctor that knows more the condition of the child and also the
paraprofessionals and professionals. Diagnosis of dyslexia involves reviewing
the child’s processing of information from seeing, hearing and participating
activities. Instructional support team is really important in developing pre-
referral activities for a student who is encountering difficulties especially in
teaching students with learning disability specifically the reading difficulty
before referring the students for a special education evaluation; teachers use
these interventions with the child. The Present Level of Education
Performance or PLEP must be considered as well as making an initial
assessment to the students. Peer group is also considered as one of the main
factors that aim to help the classroom teacher analyze the students’
academic level and behavioral problems that recommend interventions and
accommodation to the students. Then, the classroom teacher will initiate
the suggested methods.
There are different ways on how we learn a language. Environment has
a huge role in providing a lot of learning stimulus. It really provides shapes
and changes in the behavior that result to learning.
( how does one…)
It was based on many theories in suggesting the appropriate strategies
and approach in teaching language to the students with dyslexia. One of
these theories is the Behaviorist Theory wherein learning can be defined as
the process of leading to relative permanent change or potential behavioral
change. Considering the target learners, students with dyslexia, operant
conditioning of Skinner which refers to an active behavior that operates upon
the environment to generate consequences through reinforcement and other
behavior modification like positive and negative punishment. In this
technique, the teaching style will not be more rigid and much stimulation will
be provided by the teacher. Another theory is the Critical Period Hypothesis
wherein age really affects in learning a language. In this case, the approach
and activities should be appropriate to the level of the learners. Learners
should learn the language inside the puberty age because it is said to be that
it is the best age to acquire language. The age should be considered in
providing activities that assure the students attention and participation in
class discussion. The last is the Socio-cultural Theory where in it emphasizes
the importance of the society especially the adult in the cognitive
development. The zone of proximal development- a distance between an
individual’s ability working independently and working in collaboration with a
more knowledgeable others that should be visible in support to the
Behaviorist Theory. It explains as a whole that the environment really
provides the stimulations and other knowledge and it depends on the age if
the students have a large capability of learning the language with the help of
the teachers, instructional team, parents and peers as more knowledgeable
others. These three theories will support the strategies and techniques in
teaching a language.
Pictures are not only practical and simple to use, they also provide a
sense of consistency because the same set of pictures used at school can
also be used at home. The most widely recognized formal system of
communication is the Picture Exchange System, developed by Andy Bondy
and Lori Frost. In the PECS system, a child present pictures to a partner or
select pictures from a board or portable notebook. The pictures are
inexpensive and portable, allowing the child to use them in a variety of
different situations. While pictures are excellent teaching tool for children
with special needs, the PECS system offers more options because there is a
specific method involved in presenting each sequence of pictures with the
use of official PECS system and special training is required. Another strategy
to use is by applying the RTI method. Response-to-intervention or RTI is a
procedure that is intended to identify students who are having academic
difficulties when the problems first become apparent by using evidenced-
based intervention with students. If students respond well to evidenced-
based interventions, they are thought not to have a disability. Students who
do not respond positively to this instruction or who do not learn adequately
are given more intensive instructions using evidenced-based teaching
method. If the child still does not respond or learn after several levels of
intervention, the child may then be considered for an evaluation for special
education and to determine the child’s category of disability. Although there
are several different versions of RTI, many use three tiers or levels of
intervention. Each tier provides increasingly individualized and intensified
instruction along with continuous monitoring of progress to calculate gains.
The Tier 1 is a high- quality instruction in general education and monitoring
of student progress. Students who do not respond adequately to Tier 1 go on
to Tier 2. Tier 2 is more intensive evidenced-based interventions taught in
small groups, while progress monitoring continues. Often supports teachers,
such as reading specialists, instruct students at Tier 2. Students who do not
respond adequately to Tier 2 go on to the last Tier. The Tier 3 is highly
intense evidenced-based interventions aught in small groups while progress
monitoring continues. Students who do not respond adequately to Tier 3 may
be considered for a special education evaluation. (Bradley, Danielson, &
Doolittle, 2005; Denton, 2006). RTI targets all students considered to be at-
risk for learning failure, including students with learning disabilities and
students who are English- language learners. Students who respond well to
the instruction in the RTI procedure at Tiers 1, 2 or 3 are not considered
eligible for special education services. Students who are not learning with
the RTI interventions are considered to be “non-responders” and may be
referred for a special education evaluation. Another strategy is the use of
Successive approximation or shaping. Successive approximation or shaping
is one way or technique that supports a child as she attempts a task. When a
child is trying to learn a new activity or work on solving a problem that may
be difficult for her, it helps to reinforce her efforts with praise for close
approximations. This praise or “reward”, encourages her to continue trying
to achieve a new goal. The Cueing is also a technique that you can use to
give the child clues about what he/she is expected to do. For example, if
Princess always runs ahead into a learning center instead of waiting her turn,
place your hand on Princess’s shoulder to cue her to wait until it is her turn.
The Universal Design for Learning is an educational framework based on
research in the learning sciences, including cognitive neuroscience, that
guides the development of flexible learning environments that can
accommodate individual learning differences that provides multiple means of
representation to give learners various ways of acquiring information and
knowledge, multiple means of expression to provide learners alternatives for
demonstrating what they know, and multiple means of engagement to tap
into learners' interests, challenge them appropriately, and motivate them to
learn. It is also the key in helping all students achieve is identifying and
removing barriers from our teaching methods and curriculum materials.
Learning English can be done effectively through the use of different
activities. Examples for this are the audio books. A teacher can provide
books that make noise when they are opened. This will help to develop their
reading skills as well as they can enjoy reading while listening. She can also
use board books that have bright pictures so that they can easily distinguish
the message of the story. They say that dyslexic kids are visual learners and
they need images to connect to the words they are reading. Using modeling
clay to form letters, words, correct reversal in numbers and in letters can
provide the visual tactile connection they need. This is called as the Clay
Models for non-picture word. Another activity can be done is writing note
cards which provide the students to look at while and give them something
to hold. Making and reading note cards aloud helps cement the learning
while engaging employs their motor and auditory skills. Making sand trays is
also an effective activity. Sand trays are simply tray-like containers that
contain sand, beans or shaving cream. It allows children to spell words or
draw pictures in the sand, engaging their tactile or visual skills. Teacher can
also expose his/her students in authentic use of language like visiting in a
museum. Through that, the literacy skills will develop strongly and the
interaction between the teacher and the learners.
(activities that supports teaching framework)
REFERENCES
Martin, Lucy C. (2009) Strategies for Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities. California: Corwin Press
Grassi, Elizabeth A; Barker, Heidi B. (2010) Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Students: Strategies for Teaching and Assessment. London: SAGE Publications Incorporation
Berninger, Virginia W.; Wolf, Beverly J. (2009) Teaching Students with Dyslexia and Dysgraphia: Lessons from Teaching and Science. USA: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Corporation
Lerner Janet; Johns Beverly (2009) Learning Disabilities and Related Mind Disabilities: Characteristics, Teaching Strategies and New Directions. USA: WADSWORTH CENGAGE Learning
Mercer, Cecil D.; Pullen, Paige C. (2009) Students with Learning Disabilities. USA: Pearson Education Incorporation
www.clker.com
www.texthelp.com/media/39354/USAdultLiteracy.pdf