Although learners with SpLDs undoubtedly face greater challenges in learning languages, they do not have to be insurmountable, and with the right kind of input and support all learners can succeed in acquiring a new language.
The most important things to keep in mind are that the input should:
- be multi-sensory
- afford many opportunities for recapping and reviewing
- be presented in small manageable chunks, and
- include explicit instruction in grammar, study skills and phonological systems.
Activities that embody these characteristics are not only most helpful for dyslexic learners, all the learners in a class will benefit – indeed, many of the techniques that are usually suggested represent good general teaching practice.
As well as supporting language development, ELT well activities focus on the development of study skills, which are transferable to other contexts outside the classroom.
Including Dyslexic Language Learners
This collection of activities helps learners develop those areas that many neurodivergent people find especially challenging: literacy, memory, organization, phonological processing and speed of processing. Here some example activities that are free to download:
Language Learning and Musical Activities
Music is sometimes called the universal language. The elements of music are also key aspects of language, making it a very powerful tool for language and literacy development.
‘Language Learning and Musical Activities’ (LLAMA) is a collection of 15 varied activities, designed to support literacy and language development.
They take the innovative approach of isolating and highlighting key elements of music (e.g. rhythm, melody, tempo, volume) before building them back into real-life language use.
You don’t need to be a musician to make use of LLAMA – everything you need is provided.
Listen to a sample of the activity ‘The Phoneme Song’.
Why use music to teach language?
Research shows that using musical activities in the classroom helps literacy practices improve, and motivation increases as students experience success, while enjoying learning. The LLAMA collection offers teachers:
- evidence-based teaching techniques
- engaging musical resources that can be used again and again
- materials that can be customised to suit any group of students
- suggestions for differentiation within each activity
- all the resources and explanations needed, so teachers don’t need to be musicians to use the activities
- a starting point to raise awareness of specific aspects of language, and encourage future practice
Read more about the benefits of using musical activities in the language classroom:
English Sounds Fun
Learning English as a foreign language can be challenging – particularly for our neurodivergent learners.
English Sounds Fun is an holistic and self-contained English language programme designed specifically for learners with SpLDs such as dyslexia. It takes a bottom-up approach (working from the sounds of English and matching them to common spelling patterns) as well as a top-down approach (developing social English and then analysing phrases to draw attention to grammar patterns).
It comprises both hands-on and on-line materials in order to engage learners and make the language more accessible. Each lesson focuses on a small amount of new language, building on what has already been learnt.
As well as grammatical structures and vocabulary, English Sounds Fun helps students to develop good study skills, and memory strategies, and builds their self-esteem. Through experiencing success early on, learners come to believe that they can learn English, and so they do.