Country Studied: Greece
Area of Focus: Dyslexia
Types of learning difficulties the Case Study is supporting:
- Social or emotional difficulties
- General or specific learning difficulties
Aims and objectives of Case Study
Surround yourself with language
You might try leaving the radio on in a foreign language, listening to songs, news reports, or even formal lessons. The more language you are exposed to, the better your ears will get at parsing the speech. This is when you are able to hear where one word starts and stops. Without this skill, it is difficult to make sense of the language to which you are exposed.
You can use your knowledge of sound-letter mapping to write down the new words you hear and look them up in the dictionary (unless you’re learning English in which case the spelling can really throw you for a loop!). You can also label objects in your apartment and put up a few posters with foreign text. Train your brain to hold the foreign letters in working memory for longer and longer intervals to strengthen the visuospatial sketchpad of working memory.
Short description of Case Study
Use the Keyword Method
A mnemonic approach to learning vocabulary can help dyslexic students get the first 300-400 words into long-term memory. It entails finding a word in your native language that sounds like the target foreign word. If you can’t find just one, look for several. The most important factor is that both words start with the same sound. Next, create an anecdote and visualize it to connect the meaning of the word that sounds similar to the meaning of the foreign word.
3 Key learning Principles that were used in this Case Study to support learners with LD
Start with speaking and listening
Regardless of the presence of dyslexia, focusing on speaking from Day 1 will help you gain fluency in a language. How many times have you heard of people studying grammar and vocabulary for years at school but never feeling comfortable enough to hold a conversation? Don’t let that happen to you. Not only are speaking and listening skills easier for dyslexic students to learn, but they are the most useful skills if you plan on traveling abroad.
Focus on phonology
Problems with reading and spelling are often a result of not being able to match sounds to letters accurately. A great way to develop this skill is to watch a foreign film with subtitles in the film’s original language. In this way, you are reinforcing your sound-letter mapping skills as you listen and read the foreign language. Don’t focus on understanding meaning in the beginning, they’ll have plenty of time to worry about that later.
Strategies used as part of Case Study
- Adapting instruction to various learning styles.
- Individualized Learning Plans.
- Guidance on creating and implementing individualized learning plans.
- Collaboration with support services and professionals.
- Strategies for modifying or creating teaching materials to suit different abilities.
- Creating a positive and supportive classroom environment.
Drill minimal pairs
To train their ears to the new sounds, language students often study minimal pairs, which are words that differ by only one sound. This might also be helpful for dyslexic students who are taking a multi-sensory approach. A multi-sensory approach entails hearing words at the same time as you see them, and perhaps writing or typing them on a computer too.
Results and impact
Prioritize intelligibility vs. accuracy
Mistakes are part of the process when it comes to learning a language. Even children mastering their first language have to go through plenty of U-shaped curves before they understand how a rule works and when to make exceptions (consider children learning the simple past in English and inventing words like maked, drinked, and taked). You don’t need to have perfect grammar in order to communicate. In the beginning, making yourself understood is what counts.
Why can this Case Study be useful for the project research?
Dyslexic students who are successful learning a foreign language often experience huge gains in self-confidence, which can extend to other areas of the classroom. Languages also present a great opportunity for them to strengthen cognitive skills, including working memory, and to express their creativity.
Research suggests bilinguals are dynamic thinkers, better problem solvers and even have more developed social skills. In older learners, acquiring a foreign tongue can also help to fight off dementia. This is because learning a language is about strengthening the brain vs. allowing it to atrophy.
Transferability
These techniques can be used accordingly in other institutions if and when they are carried out by an expert.
Resources used as part of Case Study
- Presenting Information to Students: Effective teaching involves offering an overview, delivering the core content, and summarizing key points. Encourage students to verbally recap what they’ve learned, reinforcing understanding.
- Study Skills and Strategies: Dyslexic learners can benefit from tools like mind maps, spider diagrams, and writing frames to organize information. Highlighter pens can help emphasize key concepts, and using a ruler to guide reading can assist those experiencing text distortion.
Critical issues
- Vocabulary Acquisition: Dyslexic individuals often face difficulties when it comes to reading and comprehending new words and texts in a foreign language.
- Memory Retention: Recalling sequences can be challenging, making the memorization of vocabulary a significant struggle.
- Grammar Complexity: They may grapple with the intricate grammar rules and sentence structures in the new language, which can be overwhelming.
- Phonetic Confusion: Dyslexic individuals might experience confusion between similar sounds or letters, such as “b” and “d” sounds, potentially leading to pronunciation issues.
- Spelling Challenges: Struggles with spelling can affect both written assignments and effective communication in the new language.
- Learning New Writing Systems: When faced with a different writing system, such as chinese characters, dyslexic individuals may encounter additional hurdles in language learning that require specialized strategies and support from educators.
Any additional learning that we can take from this Case Study, example:
- Consistently Revisit Your Learning Materials: Frequent revisions not only reinforce new information but also enable you to forge connections between your recent knowledge and what you’ve previously absorbed. This broader perspective enhances your ability to memorize and retrieve information with greater ease.
