To teach correct pronunciation and make it easier to memorize the spelling, it is good to break down words into syllables, and present them as such. They already have the idea about syllables from French, so this is not a completely new territory.
When the vocabulary is being learned, the rapid naming (RAN) test comes in handy. This enforces the path between the memory, cerebral 'dictionary', and the speech production areas in the brain. This can be done on paper, or digitally, with fast transitions in powerpoint. Once the vocabulary is set conceptually, to train the retention of spelling, we may mimic the Irregular words reading test, which basically mean speed-reading sight words, the words that will not follow the typical phoneme-grapheme correlations. Instead of classical reading of the text, we may give students the jumbled up lines of the text, which they have to put in order. They will have to understand each line, and the connections between the final and initial word in order to succeed in the task. The accommodations we can easily create in the ALC classroom environment are cutting out paper to cover text and isolate words while the student is reading (i.e. creating a 'reading window'). In addition, we may even retype the text, using a font like comic sans, expand the character and line spacing, and print it out on a colored paper.
0 Comments
There are two major recognitions that get developed in the language acquisition: sound recognition and written word recognition. In order to practice sound recognition, we may ask students questions such as: What word would I end up with if I say 'feet' without /f/? What word would I get if instead of /s/ in 'sun' I say /r/? What rhymes with walk? These are purely phonetic exercises, not meant to reflect the spelling. They can be brought to a higher level and we can use nonsense words, in order to sensitize the students that it is the sounds that are the elements of speech. We do not have the resources to teach our students about phonology, different kinds of syllables, etc., but we can spark their language creativity with this simple and fun Q&A. I found it useful to show similarities of English sounds to the Arabic ones, especially when it comes to 'th' and 'sh'. If you get a chance to tutor someone who is struggling with English, you can create a colourful chart of sounds that are the same, and those that are different - between English and Arabic. Write the sound and the word next to it, like this: At one point we need the students to understand that there are, in a way, two alphabets in English: the written one (graphemes) and the spoken one (phonemes). Most of our young learners already know the English (or French) alphabet before they start their course. This makes them somehow contaminated with the idea that 'B' is /bi:/ and not /b/. Some letters, especially vowels, are at a great disadvantage because of it, and the students will struggle to grasp why 'I' is sometimes /i/, and 'E' is sometimes /e/, but most of the time nowhere to be heard. I have discovered that it is useful to resort to an analogy of names and sounds of letters to names and sounds of animals. 'DOG' is the name of an animal that sometimes makes the sound /wuf/; it doesn't say /dog/ while walking around. Sometimes, this same 'DOG' will make other sounds, like whining, howling, growling and even the barking can be angry or happy. So, the sound that the 'DOG' makes will depend on the circumstances. Likewise, the sounds that the letters make will depend on the context it appears in. There are many possibilities, so it will take some time until we get used to them. Fun Fact: Cats can make about 100 distinctive vocal sounds, while dogs only 10! When it comes to written language, the simplest multi-sensory activity we can do is the 'blind reading'. One variety is in pairs, where one student writes the letters/words on the other student's back (this can be turned into a 'broken phone' chain!); and the other is to actually give students cut-out letters/words they can feel and guess them with their eyes closed.
Word search is a game that will be very frustrating to dyslexic students, but it is a good gauge to see their progress. Free generators are available online. One of the measurement tests for dyslexic children is the so called Bell test. It is a object-search activity. The speed and the eye-tracking shows the severity of the disorder. We can create a similar one, but with words. This will enforce the direct access path as well as encourage the student to follow a left-to-right sequence. To make it harder, we can change the direction of words. Our beloved memory game is now available online!
MEMORY GAME You can create your own based on the relevant vocabulary, that is not only picture-based. The memory game can also be sequencing the cards (pictures, colors, letters, words), covering it, and the student guesses the correct sequence. In order to help the students retain the new vocabulary, we can use hand gestures to help them memorize efficiently. The gestures will reflect the enunciation and pronunciation, as well as perhaps the semantics. This falls into the criteria that the instruction be phonetic-kinesthetic, where the sounds are linked to the movement, thus creating stronger memory imprint. Some childhood activities we used to do with our friends in pre-school and in the first few grades aim exactly at that: they establish strong connections between right and left brain hemisphere. The dyslexic brain has a largely developed right brain hemisphere, while the left one (where the 'language centres' are located) is not covered by strong neural paths. Overcompensation of the right brain leads to even weaker left, which should be addressed in order to slow down the trend.
Some activities that we can incorporate into the foreign language classroom and that will address this issue are:
For both groups of struggling readers, it is advised to use teaching methods that are structured, multisensory, metacognitive, and they have the phonic approach. However, in an inclusion classroom of 15-20 students, of which only two of three might need special support, it is impractical and virtually impossible to cater to the special needs students all the time. It is possible, though, to incorporate some of the 'dyslexia-friendly' activities into the standard curriculum, so that those students will not feel frustrated with a pencil or text on paper. Consequentially, the activities that we do will loosely follow those principles, addressing the issues included in the poor-reading chain: from the left-right brain coordination, memory retention, to reading syllables and adding the visual aids to ease the reading process. The activities may be divided in groups:CoordinationMemoryRecognitionReadingYou can create your own varieties of activities based on the standard tools for detecting reading problems: Bell test, naming test, pseudo words, irregular words reading, or dotting test.
|
AuthorMartina Matejaš is a teacher of English and Yoga. She is keen on understanding the mind-body connection as well as cracking the 'code' of thoughts-emotions-behaviour matrix. Archives
April 2022
Categories
All
|