Teaching languages to people assessed as dyslexic: a study in

brain activity

johnbald.typepad.com/language

Presentation Copyright © John Bald 2009

If they can’t learn the way you’re teaching, can you change the teaching so that they can learn?

Dr Harry Chastey

Brain cells and connections(from The Learning Brain, Blakemore and Frith, 2005)

As we learn, brain cells form connections with each other that build into chunks and networks. These connections are strengthened with practice.

The brain adapts itself to different languages

Reading Aloud in English and Italian, evidence from brain scans

• Left: reading system of English and Italian combined• Centre: sound processing more active in Italian• Right: word form area more active in English

(fromThe Learning Brain, Blakemore and Frith, 2005)

Dyslexia’s Broken Bridges

Centre image shows reduced functions in isthmus and in temporal cortex

As we learn a new language…

• We add to and adapt the structures formed in our brain as we learned our first language

(Professor Suzanne Flynn, MIT. My interpretation of her research, details on MIT website.)

• These structures influence the way we learn the new language, both the parts we find easy, and the errors we make

• The structures of English make it harder for English speakers to learn a new European language than it is for speakers of other European languages.

Learning difficulties interfere by:

• Slowing down language processing

• Making it harder to cope with irregular features

• Sapping confidence and motivation

Children assessed as dyslexic typically

• Find spelling even harder than reading

• Find it difficult to maintain sequence in sounds they don’t understand

• Find it difficult to discriminate clearly between sounds in the new language

Problems similar to those indicated by dyslexia include

• Sensitivity to light, which affects how clearly

children can see print, and hence read. This is also a major cause of headaches.

• Taking shortcuts in speaking which reflect the language children hear from day to day

• Not understanding the detail of written language, and how it contributes to meaning

We tackle all of these problems by:

• Not going faster than children can understand

• Explaining the new language clearly

• Recognising tasks that are likely to cause problems and redesigning them

• Starting young, to provide more time for practice

ICT helps by…

• Allowing us to present spoken language flexibly, in

context, and at a pace children can understand

• Providing a bridge between spoken and written language, so that both can be taught together

• Allowing children to communicate with each other, and to enjoy the prestige of using the new technology. See joedale.typepad.com

• Giving children new opportunities for practice

Useful Programs…

• Clicker 5 + Acapella Speech Engine. www.cricksoft.com

• Zim Zam Zoom www.taughtbysong.com

• Little Tails www.beelingua.com • Pilote Moi www.ketv.co.uk • Sonica Spanish www.rm.com

Sentence Modelling…

• Presents new structures clearly and simply

• Extends opportunities for study, explanation and questions

• Lets children compose written sentences as they do spoken ones,

• Eliminates the to-and-fro brain switches involved in copying • Letting us teach written and spoken language together

• Allows children to say what they want to say

• Lets us present advanced language clearly and flexibly

• Raises achievement in reading and writing

• Is easy to use

Additional Teaching Techniques

• Matching, selecting, naming words and phrases

• Using screen dumps from Clicker for sentence building

• Tracing with the finger – large movements – in preparation for writing

• Providing a supportive context for listening activities at all times

• Telling and retelling simple stories

• Keeping learning personal by enabling children to say what they want to say

• Language Master (Drake Educational Associates), with large cards

Year 7, boy assessed as dyslexic

Year 7, girl, assessed as dyslexic, before sentence building work

Year 7, girl, assessed as dyslexic, after six weeks’ sentence building work

Year 4, higher-attaining girl