Especially in the context of inclusion, teachers might be confronted with a heterogeneous student body. This means that students may have different levels of education and bring distinctive preconditions into school.
It may also be the case that some children are suffering from one of the most frequent developmental disorder: dyslexia.
This phenomenon hampers the successful literacy acquisition primarily due to neurobiological maldevelopment and may have a significant impact on the children’s academic evolution and their future life opportunities. Disregarding this disorder or improper handling would lead to future deficits in reading and understanding written material as well as issues with correct spelling and writing. Also, the successful learning of a foreign language such as English would nearly be impossible as the neurobiological deficits prevent the child from processing language properly. But because English is embedded in most of the school curriculums in Germany, the dyslexic child needs to be equipped with necessary prerequisites for learning languages.
For this reason, early intervention needs to be implemented. Various (pre-) school training programs are particularly useful for approaching written language. Once the child has internalized necessary language structures in their mother tongue, the way for learning another language is paved. Methods teachers use in their EFL- classroom significantly influence the learning outcome of the (dyslexic) students. Therefore, respective teachers should intensively familiarize themselves with the dyslexia disorder.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Phonological Awareness
3. The Reading Process: Dual- Route- Model
4. Symptoms of Dyslexia
5. Causes of Dyslexia
6. Treatment Approach: Training Program Hören, Lauschen, Lernen
7. Dyslexic Children in the EFL- Classroom: General Principles
8. Practice- Oriented Activities for Dyslexic Children in the EFL- Classroom
8.1 Training Pronunciation
8.2 Training Vocabulary
8.3 Training Listening and Listening Comprehension
8.4 Training Reading and Reading Comprehension
9. Discussion
10. Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
The primary objective of this term paper is to analyze the characteristics of dyslexia in the context of foreign language learning and to provide actionable, practice-oriented strategies for teachers to support students in the English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) classroom.
- Theoretical foundation of phonological awareness and the reading process.
- Comprehensive analysis of dyslexic symptoms and multifactorial causes.
- Implementation of the "Hören, Lauschen, Lernen" program to foster literacy skills.
- General pedagogical principles for inclusion in the EFL classroom.
- Practical, multi-sensory teaching methods for pronunciation, vocabulary, and comprehension.
Excerpt from the Book
4. Symptoms of Dyslexia
Characteristically, despite normal intelligence, unaffected cognitive skills, and an appropriate teaching, dyslexic children may show deficits in specific language skills such as reading and pronouncing words, spelling and writing.
More precisely, children suffering from dyslexia can have weaknesses in e.g. recognising sounds in words, arranging the sounds and the letters in the correct order, keeping the right line when reading or having issues in fluent reading or pronouncing multi-syllabic words. All these characteristics lead to an impaired reading comprehension, which means that content-related questions couldn’t be answered appropriately. Logically, drawing connections or conclusions of sentences or texts is almost impossible for these children.
With respect to spelling, typical difficulties that may occur are for example remembering spelling rules, making phonological errors or confusing letters with similar sounds such as s and z.
Due to writing skills, dyslexic children are more likely to have an inconsistent writing style and an irregular use of capital and small letters as well as a slow writing speed and reluctance to write (cf. Reid, 2008, 9; Mayer, 2016, 48).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Outlines the scope of the paper, focusing on supporting German students with dyslexia in learning English and emphasizing the importance of phonological awareness.
2. Phonological Awareness: Defines the meta-cognitive skill of understanding sound units, which is essential for successful reading development.
3. The Reading Process: Dual- Route- Model: Explains the two routes of reading—Lexical and Nonlexical—and how they contribute to reading comprehension.
4. Symptoms of Dyslexia: Details the specific challenges faced by dyslexic students, including difficulties with spelling, writing, and phonological processing.
5. Causes of Dyslexia: Discusses the multifactorial nature of dyslexia, highlighting neurobiological and genetic factors.
6. Treatment Approach: Training Program Hören, Lauschen, Lernen: Presents a successful preschool program that can be adapted for the classroom to foster phonological skills.
7. Dyslexic Children in the EFL- Classroom: General Principles: Offers pedagogical strategies, such as patient teacher attitudes and repetitive training, for the foreign language classroom.
8. Practice- Oriented Activities for Dyslexic Children in the EFL- Classroom: Provides concrete teaching methods for training pronunciation, vocabulary, listening, and reading skills.
9. Discussion: Critically reflects on the applicability of these methods, emphasizing that individual needs must be considered by teachers.
10. Conclusion: Summarizes that early intervention and multisensory approaches are key to overcoming literacy obstacles in foreign language learning.
Keywords
Dyslexia, EFL classroom, Phonological awareness, Literacy acquisition, Dual-Route-Model, Inclusive education, Multi-sensory support, Reading comprehension, Spelling difficulties, Teacher intervention, Language learning, Neurobiological deficit, Surface dyslexia, Phonological dyslexia, Educational support
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this term paper?
The paper explores how teachers can effectively support students with dyslexia within the context of learning English as a foreign language in German schools.
What are the central thematic fields covered?
The central themes include the cognitive foundations of reading, the symptoms and causes of dyslexia, and practical classroom-based interventions for teachers.
What is the primary objective of this work?
The objective is to equip teachers with evidence-based strategies to reduce the impact of dyslexia on foreign language acquisition.
Which scientific model explains the reading process here?
The paper utilizes the Dual-Route-Model, which differentiates between the Lexical Route and the Nonlexical Route.
What is the main focus of the practical section?
The practical section covers specific classroom activities for training pronunciation, vocabulary, listening comprehension, and reading skills through multisensory approaches.
What defines the target group and context?
The paper focuses on German students with dyslexia in an inclusion-based school setting, specifically addressing challenges in English language instruction.
Why is the "Hören, Lauschen, Lernen" program relevant for English teachers?
Although developed for German literacy, its techniques for building phonological awareness and identifying sound units are highly transferable to English language teaching.
What is the "Double Deficit Hypothesis" mentioned in the paper?
It is a hypothesis suggesting that children with both phonological dyslexia and a rapid naming deficit experience the most severe reading impairments.
- Citar trabajo
- Anonym (Autor), 2017, Dyslexia. Symptoms, Causes and effective Treatment in the early EFL- Classroom, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/429740
