DYSLEXIA IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS

Nijakowska, Joanna. 2010. Dyslexia in the foreign language classroom.

Clevendon: Multilingual Matters. 236 pages, ISBN 978-1-84769-279-5

Becoming multilingual is common situation nowadays. People may

become multilingual by acquiring two language at the same time. They may learn
the languages in their childhood or by learning the second language after
acquiring their first language. It may happen because of various reasons. It is also
can be learnt from the environment or through language classes.
Learning certain language can happen in peoples childhood. They may
come from multicultural family which speak two or more different languages.
They also can learn it from the multicultural environment who speak the target
language. Another way to speak second language is learning in the classroom.
Foreign language learning is one of the compulsory subject in some countries.
While people learn how to speak from the environment in multicultural context,
learning in classes requires to be able to understand in four language competence;
speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
In learning the target language, there are several difficulties which the
learners may have. The problems can occur from the learners themselves, for
example their psychological state like belief on the target language, motivation,
personality, or anxiety. Teachers, somehow, can cause the problems for the
learners, for example the teachers only focus on textbook and make the learners
not interested in participating, or the teacher are too strict. The learning situation
also takes part on learners condition in learning. Less support from the
environment may give difficulties for the learners to produce the language.
Those difficulties can be decreased by doing several strategies and
techniques. But, it will only take effect to the normal learners. The normal term
here means that the learners dont have any learning disability. There are a lot of
studies which can be related to learning disability, one of those examples is
dyslexia. Dyslexia is a specific learning disability in reading. A person with
dyslexia have trouble reading accurately and fluently. They may also have trouble
with reading comprehension, spelling and writing. This learning disability will
affect the dyslexic in comprehend the second or foreign language.
For dyslexic, theyve been struggling to learn their own language as in
their first language. It doesnt mean that they dont have chance to learn the
foreign language. There are a lot of benefits in learning foreign language. We can
communicate with other speakers for sharing stories, cultures, knowledge, and
business. The dyslexic only has difficulties in comprehend the reading, spelling,
and writing; while, in the other aspects, they may have other gifts which can be
the bridge to the future. There are special treatments and techniques to teach the
dyslexic in learning foreign language.
Dyslexia in Foreign Language Classroom by Joanna Njiakowska is a
comprehensive and prominent book which stand out about dyslexia in the context
of foreign language learning. It will give the readers a complete information about
dyslexia based on theoretical and practical issues in the context of foreign
language learning. Dyslexia is one of case studies which are widely conducted by
the researchers. Those case studies only talked about dyslexia in general and how
to overcome them. It is very rare to find the studies which deals with two
practices; dyslexia and foreign language in classroom. Therefore, this book will be
useful for language teachers who deal with dyslexia in general and dyslexia and
foreign language classroom. It will help them to design effective procedures and
techniques in foreign language classroom with dyslexic learners.
Chapter 1 Becoming Literate. This chapter explains about the terminology
related to dyslexia. It is explained by stating various methodological designs
which can be applied in the study of developmental reading disorders
longitudinal versus cross-sectional, group versus case studies. This chapter
describes the process of learning to read and write to show how and where
dyslexia may cause difficulties in these processes. It also explained on how
dyslexic would manifest themselves differently in different languages due to the
differences and similarities between the linguistic features of dyslexic learners
native language and the foreign language they are learning. The elaboration of this
chapter is significant to draw the attention how important we need to know where
to start and how to teach people who suffer dyslexia.
 Chapter 2 Causes of Dyslexia. This chapter describes the causes of
dyslexia well-ordered. It presents the theories from several academic field, such as
genetics, neurology, cognitive, psychology, and psycholinguistics. Though it is
related to others field, the writer can manage to make it easy to understand. It
gives highlight to complex relationship between the theories although not all of
the cases of dyslexia are not successful.
Chapter 3 Dyslexia and Foreign Language Learning. In this chapter, the
writer starts to relate dyslexia and foreign language learning. The writer gives
explanation about Linguistic Coding Hypothesis (LCDH) which are proposed by
Sparks and Ganschow (Sparks et al., 1989). Linguistic Coding Hypothesis
(LCDH) is a model for explaining language problems encountered by poor
foreign language learners. There are three types of linguistic coding deficits:
phonological (involves identifying and distinguishing between speech sounds and
processing the sound/symbol connections), syntactic (involves understanding and
applying grammatical, structural concepts of a language system) and semantic
(connected with understanding meanings). The writer basically states that the
main cause of foreign language learning problems is LCDH. She also describes
the potential problems with the LCDH studies and introduces some alternative
theories as well. Furthermore, the writer describes about the notion which is often
arguable whether a dyslexic should learn foreign language or not. There is a
distinct type of learning disability for foreign languages. The writer convincingly
refutes this notion based on sound research evidence. But, it is still acknowledged
that there is no significant answer to the question whether dyslexia always occur
together with FL learning difficulties and whether FL learning difficulties always
signify the presence of a learning difficulty.
Chapter 4 Symptoms and Identification of Dyslexia. This chapter deals
with the identification and diagnosis of dyslexia. It is still related with Chapter 2,
which explained about the causes of dyslexia. It gives explanation about the risk
of dyslexia, signs if someone is suffering dyslexia, and how emotional-
motivational takes place in dyslexic. Then, it goes to how you can a person has
possibilities becoming dyslexic. These diagnoses are complex and you cannot just
draw conclusion from a single reading test. More importantly, this chapter also
gives on the perspective from bilingual or multilingual side.
Chapter 5 Treatment and Teaching. This chapter explained about the
practical chapters. It deals with the general principles of teaching dyslexic foreign
language learners. It also provides illustration regarding to the principles with
sample language learning tasks. Moreover, it describes the treatment and teaching
of dyslexics with emphasis on methodological issues, especially the Multisensory
Structured Learning Approach. It also discusses other accommodations for
dyslexics such as ignoring spelling mistakes, using technological gadgets, and
enhancing the students motivation.
Chapter 6 Sample Activities for Learners with Dyslexia Learning English
as Foreign Language. In this chapter, the writer gives sample activities for raising
the phonological, orthographic, morphological, and grammatical awareness of
dyslexic learners. It is provided with instructions and illustrations as well.
Unfortunately, the sample activities are limited because it is only suitable for
English beginner learners. Although it still can be implemented with different
various tasks, it is still arguable how to extend certain task design principles to the
target language context.
This book gives complete information for people who dont really
understand about dyslexia. It started with the overview about dyslexia in general,
the causes, the symptoms, and the identification. It is complex, multidisciplinary,
multi-layered approach and it gives the reader a thorough understanding of
dyslexia. Then, the writers relate it with the foreign language learning context and
how a dyslexic can learn in classroom context. The writer finishes her book with
the sample activities and practical chapters. This book is more research-based
rather than practical studies. It can be seen from Chapter 1 to 4. It mainly
discusses about theories perspective. Although the writer presents several aspects
of theories and issues, at the end of each chapter she summarizes them clearly,
giving the reader a clear indication of what is agreed on by most researchers and
what is still a matter of debate. Then, it goes to the practical examples on Chapter
5 and 6. It may help teachers who deal with the dyslexic learners on their needs in
learning foreign language. It can be drawn based on the causes, symptoms, and
identification of dyslexia. Then, they can implement it into the practical examples
which are stated in the end of the chapters. Though it can be referred to the
beginner, teachers may develop the lessons design based on the dyslexic learners.
After all, this book is a comprehensive but quite understandable for people and
teachers.