Dyslexia and English

Elizabeth Turner, Jayne Pughe

• Publisher: David Fulton Publishers
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781136636448
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

The difficulties dyslexic students experience in the English mainstream classroom and present to their English teacher are examined in detail in this book.

Chapter 1
Introduction

This book is written by two experienced practitioners who teach and support dyslexic pupils in their teaching and learning in a secondary school. It is essentially a practical book in its approach to helping pupils, their parents and mainstream teachers to overcome some of the barriers dyslexia can present in the English mainstream classroom. It is not intended to be theoretical and is based on successful practices and approaches to teaching and learning accumulated over the past thirty years. The authors strongly believe that when dyslexic pupils are taught effectively and efficiently, this has a positive effect on all pupils, and the approaches necessary to support dyslexic pupils in the English classroom are appropriate for all pupils.

Good dyslexic teaching practice is good teaching practice.

(Turner 2001)

Inclusion means being included, being part of and having access to.

(Turner 2001)

Inclusion is an entitlement. Inclusion for dyslexic pupils in the English mainstream classroom can be achieved by using a variety of strategies to support their learning. This book emphasises the importance of these strategies in the core literacy skills of reading, writing, spelling and handwriting and in the applied language and literature. Dyslexic pupils have diverse strengths and weaknesses. When we talk about tackling dyslexia we are talking about good teaching that takes account of learning styles, scaffolds development, is multisensory and is success driven. These approaches benefit all pupils.

We have written this book for the following audience: new English teachers, non-special educational needs specialist English teachers, parents and pupils themselves. We have avoided jargon but have introduced and explained key terms and concepts. This is in order to empower the reader. Knowledge about a child's special needs can often seem to be hidden behind a closed door to non-specialists because of the way 'experts' bandy terms around without explanation. In special needs departments these terms are used so often that professionals forget that they are alien to many people. There are so many acronyms that it can sometimes seem as though we are speaking and writing in a foreign language.

• 'Has the SENCO sent the IEP to the EP?'
• 'No, the ESW gave it to the ASW.'

('Has the special educational needs coordinator sent the individual education plan to the educational psychologist?'

'No, the educational social worker gave it to the ancillary support worker.')

Teaching dyslexic children and conversing with their parents can be at times a hit and miss affair without a positive, practical and sympathetic approach. The onus here is very much on the teacher to provide understanding, access and support in all aspects of pupils' teaching and learning.

Historically, English, especially the language sections, is the area where there is a great fear of failure, and is one of the most difficult dyslexic learners are challenged with in the examination system. This is because dyslexic pupils are confronted with being tested and examined in the areas where they are experiencing the most difficulty. In other words, they are being tested on their weaknesses. No wonder the word 'English' can bring with it such emotional baggage and can be loaded with connotations. 'English' conjures up accuracy in spelling, writing and reading — the things with which most dyslexic learners have experienced difficulty in their day-to-day life.

Helping dyslexic children to manoeuvre their way through the subject that often causes them the most difficulties can be traumatic. You know they need English qualifications for their next steps in life, but they may see English lessons as hour-long sessions that stretch their avoidance tactics to the limit.

This book is divided into sections that cover the English curriculum. This is in order to allow 'dippers' quick access to relevant material. We recognise all too well that time is the teacher's most precious commodity and the book aims to help, not to make even more work. Parents similarly often do not have the time, or if they are dyslexic themselves possibly the skills, needed to wade through heavyweight academic books on the subject. They need and want practical help and understanding to support their children to fulfil their learning potential. Parents want happy children who are successful and who achicve. Teachers and pupils want the same. We hope this book can be a reference book that answers some questions, gives practical tips on what has and what has not worked for us and tackles problems as they arise.

The book is based on experience, and the advice has been tried and tested. We have a combined special needs teaching experience of forty years and we look at the problems, the challenges and successes from both a teaching and a personal point of view.

Elizabeth Turner is dyslexic herself and has two children who are dyslexic and have successfully completed their education to university level (one graduating with a first class honours degree). She has set up, runs and manages a county dyslexia provision based in a secondary school since its conception in 1991. For the past eleven years she has exclusively taught dyslexic pupils in a mainstream setting, so her views are based on personal experience not only of dyslexia in the family, but also of what works and what doesn't in the teaching setting.

Jayne Pughe is an English specialist who started with little knowledge of dyslexia. Her PGCE course had covered special needs briefly and provided the opportunity to work with experienced practitioners in her placement schools. Working with and learning from excellent teachers has been the basis of her success with dyslexic pupils.

Chapter 2
Dealing with Dyslexia in the English Department

Reading

For the public at large, the term Dyslexia is usually restricted to reading difficulties.

(West 1991: 79)

There is a popular misconception among laypeople that being dyslexic means that you cannot read, or have great difficulty with reading. Furthermore, people often believe that letters and words somehow appear written or spoken in the wrong order. Dyslexia has been and still is the butt of many jokes and black humour, which perpetuates this myth. DYSLEXIA RULES KO is an example of the type of humour and the sort of misunderstanding that is circulating and often misleads the general population. Having said that, we will appear to contradict ourselves by saying that there arc and will be dyslexic pupils who do experience severe reading difficulties and will always have some problems with mastering the mechanics of reading. However, the important point here is that these dyslexic pupils are the minority and not the majority. We consider dyslexia to be on a continuum - that is, you can be dyslexic from a mild level through to moderate and severe levels. We would expect the severe reading difficulties to appear at the severe end of the continuum and vice versa.

There are many dyslexic learners who have mastered the mechanics of reading successfully and to all appearances are no

Figure 2.1 A Continuum or Dyslexia

different from their non-dyslexic peers when it comes to reading ability. However, what we have noticed from our hands-on teaching with dyslexic youngsters is that although fluent dyslexic readers can read competently and in many instances with great skill, frequently they read at a slower rate than their non-dyslexic counterparts. It takes them longer to read in detail and to comprehend what they have read. In other words, these are the pupils who read slowly and frequently lose meaning in the process. They appear at times to 'bark at print' and may have difficulty recognising and adapting their reading style to the reading purpose. Do not presume that these pupils know, as if by some osmotic process, the most appropriate and efficient reading method to use for a given task. They need to be taught explicitly the skill of choosing which reading method best suits a task and need to be able to identify the purpose and adapt their reading style to it.

Supporting students means teaching them exactly what type of reading to use and giving them practice in that skill.

(Turner 2001: 65)

Detailed reading

Detailed reading, as the name suggests, means just that - attention to detail. Every word must be read carefully so that there is no ambiguity. Examination questions, instructions and legal contracts are the best examples of the type of reading material that requires this technique. All pupils would benefit from being taught when detailed reading is needed and why. What might seem obvious to you as a parent or teacher may not seem so obvious to the pupil, who may be thinking, learning and seeing things in their mind's eye in a different way. A multisensory approach with an emphasis on the kinaesthetic and visual channels would be one of the best ways to approach this. We often use the test shown in Figure 2.3 as a starting point to illustrate the importance of following test instructions. Pupils get very annoyed when they fall into the trap of not reading carefully. By not following the written instructions in this test to the letter, they waste their own time!

Figure 2.2 Matching Reading Style to Purpose

Pupils are told they are having a test under strict examination conditions and the test will last five minutes. Pupils are issued with an individual question paper that is placed question side down. The invigilator starts the test and the pupils turn their paper over and complete it. At regular one-minute intervals the invigilator tells the pupils how much time is left. This is to put the pupils under time pressure. When the time is up all pupils put their pencils down. It amazes us that in a class of 30, the majority will not use a detailed reading approach when reading instructions for a 'Test on Following Instructions'. They usually only make this mistake once!

Skimming

This involves looking at the 'big' picture and using clues on the page to help to get the gist or feeling of a passage, extract or book. It is quick reading, 'skimming' over the surface of the page. It is the reading we do when we want to get an idea or overview of a written passage or piece of work. It is not involved with detail. Skimming is used to read articles in newspapers and magazines. It is used frequently when we read for pleasure. The message to get across here to the pupil is IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO READ EVERY SINGLE WORD on the page IN CERTAIN SITUATIONS. Pupils need to know it is perfectly in order and not only effective but also efficient to skim. Some pupils will need to be told this explicitly and taught this skill. Other pupils may need to be given 'permission' to use this technique. If they have struggled with reading and read laboriously, word by word, they may assume that all readers read this way and all reading material should be read in the same way. Most instructions for comprehension exercises require the pupil to read the passage through once or twice. This is often cited as the first instruction. We would argue that this is not the most effective or efficient way to attack comprehension. Our target is for maximum efficiency with minimum effort. From practical experience of teaching in secondary schools, we can say that this idea appeals to many teenagers! We teach our pupils to look for clues. They look at headings, words in bold or italic, instructions, pictures, diagrams and any summaries first. This is to gain a general impression or overview. It will give them some idea about the passage. We then direct them to the questions and encourage them to skim the

Figure 2.3 Following Instructions Test

passage and annotate where the answer to each question may be. We recommend the use of highlighter pens for this task. Obviously, any questions requiring inference from the passage would need to be left to a later stage after the first skimming of the en...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• Dedication
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Dealing with Dyslexia in the English Department
• 3 Dyslexia and English Grammar
• 4 Creating a Dyslexia-friendly Learning Environment
• 5 Developing English Skills for GCSE
• 6 Preparing for and Succeeding with National Examinations in English
• 7 Conclusion and Summary
• Resources
• Bibliography