Dyslexia, English and Pronunciation - International Association of ...

Dyslexia, English and Pronunciation
Although dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in
origin, it is characterized not only by difficulties in spelling and
decoding abilities but difficulties in oral fluency and word recognition.
These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonemic
component of a language. English poses a particular problem regarding
phonological components and how these phonemes contrast with Dutch.
Although dyslexia diagnosis and protocol may address the secondary
consequences such as problems with reading and writing are highlighted, the
approach of substituting written quizzes with oral quizzes can be equally
problematic. In this article, Tricia Diamond argues that teachers should take the
phonemic identification difficulties of dyslexia into consideration during
pronunciation exercises and oral examinations.
Tricia Diamond Some researchers believe that dyslexia is an inherited condition and have
identified a dominant gene on the chromosome 6 which they thing is
responsible. Research has also indicated that dyslexia results from a
neurological disorder. Dyslexics have larger right-hemispheres of their
brain that non-dyslexic. In addition, people with dyslexia have been found
to have neurons in unusual places in their brains. Two of the signs that a child may have dyslexia are difficulties not only
in learning a foreign language but prevalent in their native language.
These two indicators that may have been spotted in grammar school are:
Sequencing Difficulties
Late and Immature Speech Development Sequencing Difficulties Dyslexic children have difficulty in putting letters and words into a
logical sequence. This not only affects their ability to read and spell
correctly but also their ability to pronounce words they have memorised and
learned. When learning words for a quiz, for example, they must be able to
perceive the letters in sequence. Although a teacher may provide the
option of an oral quiz instead of a written quiz, the student will need to
recall the word as represented in the sequence of letters or sentences
approximated in a sting of words. Equipped with a disability which
precludes memorizing in sequence, a word such as name could be pronounced
initially as amen. Sequencing would also affect word order, meaning a
dyslexic in spoken interaction may also reverse word order, saying are they
instead of they are and leading an language teacher into thinking the
student is asking a question instead of making a statement. Sequencing difficulties would also affect a dyslexic's ability to
remembering telephone numbers, months of a year, seasons and the
chronological events of a day in the foreign language as well as in the
mother-tongue classroom. Late and Immature Speech Development Dr Renate Valtin studied one hundred dyslexic and normal children in
Germany and found a higher incidence of late speech development and speech
disabilities in dyslexics. Physicians worldwide incorporated this research
into one of the many symptoms that may indicate a child has dyslexia. In
most cases, a baby should be able to understand simple words and commands
from the age of approximately nine months. Once a child has reached the age
of one, he or she should be able to pronounce their first words. By two,
one should have a vocabulary of up to 200 words, and create simple two-word
phrases or sentences such as 'drink water'. By three one should optimally
have a vocabulary of up to 900 words and be using full sentences without
deleting or forgetting words. One may still mix up consonants but speech
should be comprehensible to strangers. By four, one should be fully able to
talk, although the occasional grammatical error may still appear. If,
however, a child persists in speaking immaturely and makes unexpected
grammatical errors in speech, parents and teachers should consider the
possibility that the child suffers from a learning disability. Missing Rhythms of Sounds Dr Usha Goswami of University College London recently published a study
results that claim dyslexia is influenced by difficulty in identifying the
rhythm of sounds. The fact that dyslexics have subtle spoken language
problems has been scientifically acknowledged but Goswami's research into
the perceptual problem underlying dyslexia is innovative. In the new study, Goswami and her colleagues used a test that measures the
ability to perceive rhythms in non-speech sounds. They compared dyslexic
children with a group of children the same age that did not have reading
problems. The researchers also tested a group of children who learned to
read at an early age and compared them with same-aged children who had not
yet learned to read. Compared with children who did not have reading
problems, dyslexic kids were less sensitive to rhythms in sound. Children
who started to read early were better at picking up rhythms in sounds than
children who had not yet learned to read. Past research focused on the troubles dyslexic children have in breaking
down words into segments or "phonemes" as they learn to read. However,
since the new study found that dyslexic children had difficulties hearing
the rhythm in sounds that were not words, findings suggest that dyslexia
may be based on a disorder in sound perception. Phonemic Awareness in the Classroom The English language is made up of just 40 sounds or phonemes, but these
can be spelt in more than 1000 different ways. Certain letters sound very
much the same - such as "b" and "p." If you consider the minute difference
between "b" and "p", you will realise that the two distinct sounds
represented by these two letters happen within ten hundredths of a second.
One's must be able to recognise these distinct differences at lightening
speed and segment them out of words. This ability is called phonemic
awareness. Phonemic awareness forms the basis of all language, influencing
and determining what we hear, read, spell and how we pronounce words.
Basically, it is the key to understanding, processing and utilising words
within a language. Without phonemic awareness, one will have difficulty learning the
relationship between letters and the sounds these letters represent in
words, as well as applying those letter/sound combinations to eventually
pronounce words. Language teachers must assist all students with phonemic
awareness however the manner in which they address phonemes with dyslexic
students must address their particular language acquisition challenges. How to assist Dyslexic Students develop Phonemic Awareness Video Games Neuroscientist Paula Talla helped developed functional magnetic resonance
imaging (fMRI) to identify the source of difficulty in brain regions that
do not accurately process letter/sound combinations. Her imaging research
has shown that those with dyslexia have decreased activity in the brain's
language-critical area during phonological processing. Using this
information, Dr. Tallal joined forces with neuroscientist Michael
Merzenich, PhD, to create neuroplasticity-based computerized video games
which attempt to "rewire" the brains of dyslexic children. These games
also stimulate the language skills areas of the brain. They have named their video training program Fast For Word. Dyslexic
children earn points, for example, by identifying the minute sound
differences in "ba" from "pa." When a child masters the language task, the
game adjusts its playing level so the child is challenged on a more
advanced level the next day, while simultaneously being monitored via the
Internet by a professional. Other games are designed to improve the speed
of phonemic identification in brain processing and also to specifically
train children in all the rules of English grammar. Of course teachers can assist dyslexic students without the use of video
games as well. Phonemic awareness can be developed in context through
reading and writing activities.
One method would be by discussing letter and sound relationships in the
context of reading passages in the text book. Teachers can open such
discussing through a shared reading experience with the all of the
students. After the other students have read, the teacher could ask the
students to discuss the letter and sound relationships or write them down
in their notebooks. Another method would be to ask the students to make a chard of words with
letter and sound patterns they did not understand after reading a text.
Ask the students to compare these sound patters and letter combinations to
their native-language visually. Teachers can also begin with sound patterns
in the first class of the year by asking all of the students to write down
the letter and sound patterns for their classmates' names in their native-
language and then, as the year progresses, in English. Factors to consider when administering oral quizzes Just as teachers have developed a protocol in assessing a dyslexic
student's written work, a protocol can be developed in assessing a dyslexic
student's oral English skills. English teachers should allow time for self-
correction during oral quizzes. By allowing time for self correction, the
teacher takes into consideration the student's sequencing disability that
he must overcome. Without directed phonemic exercises during the year, however, it is
counterproductive to assume that a dyslexic student will be fluent in
English. A teacher could take this lack of phonemic awareness into
consideration when a dyslexic student mispronounces a word during an oral
quiz. In that respect, the difference between an oral examination and a
written examination is non existent, whereas a teacher must adhere to a
specific protocol on a written examination. Fast For Word
International Dyslexia Association < http://www.interdys.org/ >
Dyslexia Teacher < http://www.dyslexia-teacher.com/index.htm > Literature
Freppon, P.A. & Dahl, K.