Dyslexia and learning a foreign language: A personal experience

Annals of Dyslexia, 2000 by Simon, Charlann S

Native English speakers with dyslexia are not alone in their difficulty learning a foreign language. Foreign language teachers who teach English have reported on how the learning characteristics of their students with dyslexia differ from those of their classmates. For example, Michaelides (1990) has found that for most of his Greek students who are learning English, the main sources of error are a temporary interference from the mother tongue (e.g., word order) and interlanguage (i.e., unstable structures in the target language). However, for the students with dyslexia, interference seems to persist for a prolonged period of time and may never disappear. Similarly, Lescano (1995) has observed that his English students with dyslexia have perception difficulties and tend to ignore details (e.g., plural forms) in spoken and written language. Instead of focusing attention on linguistic details, the students with dyslexia tend to focus on overall comprehension and production in both their native language and English. Lescano recommended that foreign language instructional programs for students with dyslexia utilize the five channels of sensory perception.

In the 1990s, research in reading and foreign language learning has provided compelling evidence supporting the principles of direct instruction for individuals with dyslexia who are learning to move from oral to written language (Chaney 1990) or from the native language to a foreign language. Sparks et al. (1991) found that Orton-Gillingham multisensory methods were a successful alternative to the "natural" communication approaches used by many foreign language educators for students who have weaknesses in oral and written native language skills that affect foreign language learning. Ganschow, Sparks, and Schneider (1995) reported that the level of language analysis ability (i.e., metalinguistic skills) that a student brings to a foreign language course is a critical factor. This was certainly true in my experience. I have honed my metalinguistic skills through clinical experiences and research on assessment of language disabilities (Simon 1984, 1986, 1989, 1998b; Damico and Simon 1993). These metalinguistic skills helped me in a number of ways: (1) being comfortable with linguistic terminology; (2) recognizing examples of grammatical structures and patterns of sentence construction; (3) analyzing what I did not understand about French language structure, so I could ask clarification questions; and (4) organizing linguistic data in preparation for exams.

A PERSONAL NEXUS: DYSLEXIA AND A FOREIGN LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT

Dyslexia consistently impaired my ability to function in school, starting at the kindergarten level when teachers reported that I did not follow directions and did not perform at a level commensurate with my potential (Simon 1999). In first grade, I failed to learn phonics and was transferred into a "look-say" basal program in second grade, at which time I began to experience some success. By fourth grade, I had developed a strong sight vocabulary that permitted me to complete assignments but not excel. Specific areas of difficulty during my early school years included: