Country Studied: Netherlands
Area of Focus: Developmental Language Disorder
Types of learning difficulties the Case Study is supporting:
- Reading and writing difficulties
- General or specific learning difficulties
Aims and objectives of Case Study
The aim of this study is to determine whether a new teaching method (CodeTaal) which is tailored to the specific educational needs of pupils with Developmental Language Disorder can result in progress in English being taught as a foreign language in the Netherlands.
It gives us important insight on how these pupils can be treated within an English-as-a-foreign-language context in order for the learning process to be optimal and it also examines how successful the CodeTaal approach is.
The outcomes could be potentially used to further educate foreign language teachers and also to create a breeding ground on which CodeTaal can be cultivated and eventually become a best practice in this field.
The study brings together two research lines:
- Intervention research in language disorders.
- Research on instructed 2nd language learning and foreign language pedagogy.
Short description of Case Study
The case study was held in the Netherlands and was conducted in two different Specialist Primary schools for children with language disorders and hearing impairment (hearing impaired and mentally disabled pupils were excluded). 75 pupils with Developmental Language Disorder between the 4th and 6th grade participated in this 14-week long study.
Intervention classes took place in school 1 and Control classes in school 2. The two schools were in different cities.
All students took a pre-test as well as a post-test. In between, they all received a 45-minute English lesson each week. The Intervention group in the CodeTaal approach and the Control Group in their regular-method lesson.
The CodeTaal approach was created on the hypothesis that making differences and similarities between L1 and L2 explicit should be beneficial to DLD pupils as it activates L1 features that are similar to L2, and consequently, makes L2 more understandable.
The Control Group continued to be taught English with their textbook which followed an approach that teaches English through pop songs.
3 Key learning Principles that were used in this Case Study to support learners with LD
- In the Netherlands, the latest policy on foreign language teaching dictates that all classes be taught in the target language and not use their native language at all within the classroom. This method, effective as it may sound, it completely disregards pupils with Developmental Language Disorder, which means they are expected to learn in the same way as Typically Developing Students. The CodeTaal approach was created to address this issue and help DLD pupils use L1 as the building block on which they can step on and learn English. Dutch and English are similarly structured languages. By understanding the Dutch grammar rule, pupils can comprehend its English counterpart more easily and therefore use it more effectively to produce new sentences according to what they already know.
- In the Intervention group, pupils were called to use what they had learned and produce new sentences in pairs. This took the pressure of individual work off their shoulders. It is a well-known fact that pupils with learning difficulties lack self-confidence in the foreign language classroom on account of their inability to use or even understand the target language. By taking away this responsibility from them, they felt free, more confident and not worried about making mistakes.
- One significant characteristic of the CodeTaal approach is that it involves kinesthetic, visual and tactile dimensions. Unique parts of speech are represented by different color-coded shapes which students are required to attach on black or white Velcro tapes (white for Dutch, black for English) in accordance with the new sentences they have created. In that way, this method becomes a multisensory tool which motivates students to participate, and as a consequence, acquire the English language more effectively and efficiently.
Strategies used as part of Case Study
- Strategies for modifying or creating teaching materials to suit different abilities.
- Creating a positive and supportive classroom environment.
Results and impact
The pre-test and post-test were conducted with each student taking the test on their own in a quiet room in the school by University-educated experimenters unknown to the students. The pre-test was conducted one week prior to the beginning of the study and the post-test one week after. They both involved a Grammatically Judgement Test (GJT) and a narrative task.
Results from the GJT showed that both Intervention and Control Groups scored low in the pre-test with no significant differences between the groups. After the 14-week study, both groups showed improvement on grammatical sentences, but only the Intervention group improved on ungrammatical sentences, meaning they were able to detect grammatical errors in sentences.
Among the various results that this study revealed, something worth noting is that in the narrating part of the test, the Intervention Group did not perform well because a narrative task requires language production not only on a microlevel, but also producing coherent text at the macrolevel. This is a complicated task which can take more than a 14-week intervention process to see actual language gains ready to be used in foreign language production.
Why can this Case Study be useful for the project research?
The method this study uses (the CodeTaal approach) could be an excellent tool to be used primarily as part of a research project and secondarily as a helpful instrument inside the foreign language classroom.
Our main objective is inclusion within a foreign language classroom. The present study was conducted as part of Special Education only. Since it became evident that the CodeTaal approach works, it would be interesting to further continue the research, but in a mixed-abilities environment this time, so as to ascertain its level of functionality. It seems to be a promising approach that could “rock the boat” of today’s status quo approaches.
Most modern-day foreign language learning methods exclude the use of L1 within the classroom. It is generally frowned upon since they consider total immersion an imperative part of the learning process even from the first-year learners. However, pupils with learning difficulties have a hard time following the lesson, let alone learn anything within this context.
The CodeTaal approach respects the learner with difficulties by letting them use their native tongue to their benefit. By relating words, grammar rules and syntactic rules of their L1 to L2, it becomes easier for them to understand and ultimately use. This could be more beneficial to younger learners, the ones that have just started to form sentences.
Apart from aiding young learners with difficulties, this method could provide teachers with a technique which is potentially easier to impart knowledge. When trying to explain a grammatical phenomenon in a foreign language, teachers are often met with confused looks. By allowing them to relate a rule to their native tongue’s equivalent, it instantly becomes more understandable to pupils with difficulties and thus making teachers’ job a little bit easier.
Transferability
The method (Code Taal) this case study used to conduct its research was created on the assumption that by making similarities and differences between L1 and L2 explicit, we help learners with Language Developmental Disorder by activating L1 features that are similar to L2.
Given the fact that a lot of European languages are Latin-based or Cyrillic, they bear many similarities between them. It is therefore safe to say that these similarities could be used the same way Code Taal used Dutch and English similarities in favor of the students, concluding that transferring the Code Taal approach to other languages can be beneficial for foreign language learners with difficulties, too.
Moreover, this study was conducted on pupils with Developmental Language Disorder and as mentioned previously, the results were positive. This means that the approach could be transferred to pupils with learning difficulties, too, and have a similar, if not better, outcome.
Resources used as part of Case Study
For the most part, this study was conducted with tangible materials without the need of assistive technologies. The researchers used a white Velcro tape for Dutch sentences and a black Velcro tape for English. They also used color-coded shapes which represented different parts of speech.
The only modern-day technology they used was Power Point which was utilized in the Grammaticality Judgement Test. It showed a bear making mistakes which then the students had to help by pointing out the errors it had made.
Critical issues
In order for the showcased method in this case study to work, the most important issue to consider is the similarities between the mother tongue and the targeted foreign language. If there are no significant similarities in vocabulary, grammar or syntax, then it its success is compromised. There need to be specific correspondences between the two languages for Code Taal to work.
Additionally, the lessons need to follow a cohesive structure of consecutive information so that there is a natural flow from one lesson to the next. In doing so, we make it easier for pupils to take their previous knowledge and apply it to the new. The lessons should be interconnected in order for students to build knowledge step by step.
Lastly, teachers must be well-prepared and provide explicit information, relevant to the goals they have set as a group or even individually. Each lesson must be carefully planned and delivered to avoid misconceptions and tasks must be constructively criticized so that learners learn from their mistakes.
Any additional learning that we can take from this Case Study, example:
Full immersion in the targeted foreign language, as fruitful a method as it may be with typically developing children, it definitely lacks power when dealing with learners with difficulties. If we insist on only using the foreign language within the classroom, we surely discriminate against those who find learning languages hard. We only manage to add to their disappointment. Each classroom needs to be assessed according to its students’ abilities. Teachers should be able to evaluate each pupil individually and plan their lessons accordingly. Yet full immersion in L2 is not the way to go in mixed abilities classes.
Also, adding a tactile or a kinesthetic dimension to the lesson, sometimes enhances participation and engagement with the material. Learners of young ages feel the need to use their bodies and not be pinned down to a chair. This is even more true for learners with difficulties. Allowing them to move about and use their hands, gives them a motive as they find it a fun way to learn for a change.
