Transcript Languages_and_dyslexia

Teaching languages to people
assessed as dyslexic: a study in
brain activity
John Bald
Presentation Copyright © John Bald 2015
johnbald.typepad.com/language
Brain cells and connections
(from The Learning Brain, Blakemore and Frith, 2005)
As we learn, brain cells form connections with
each other that build into chunks and networks.
These connections are strengthened with
practice.
Eric Kandel
In Search of Memory: the Emergence
of a New Science of Mind (NY, 2006).
(www.bookfinder.org)
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Brain cell
(from Neuroscience and Education, Teaching and Learning Research Project, 2007)
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures 2012
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures 2012: Birth
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures 2012: Six months
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures 2012: Three years
The brain adapts itself to
different languages
Reading Aloud in English and Italian, evidence from brain scans
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Left: reading system of English and Italian combined
Centre: sound processing more active in Italian
Right: word form area more active in English
(from The Learning Brain, Blakemore and Frith, 2005)
As we learn a new language…
• We add to and adapt the structures formed in
our brain as we learned our first language
(Professor Suzanne Flynn, MIT. My interpretation of her
research, details on MIT website.)
• These structures influence the way we learn the
new language, both the parts we find easy, and
the errors we make
• The structures of English make it harder for
English speakers to learn a new European
language than it is for speakers of other
European languages.
English speakers need to adapt to:
• New relationships between written and spoken
language, including spelling and pronunciation.
• Gender in nouns that have no physical gender, and
in associated pronouns and adjectives.
• Greater variation in verb forms than in English
(except for Mandarin!)
Learning difficulties interfere by:
• Slowing down language processing
• Making it harder to cope with irregular features
• Sapping confidence and motivation
Children assessed as dyslexic typically
• Find spelling even harder than reading
• Find it difficult to maintain sequence in sounds
they don’t understand
• Find it difficult to discriminate clearly between
sounds in the new language
Problems similar to those indicated by
dyslexia include
• Sensitivity to light, which affects how clearly
children can see print, and hence read. This is
also a major cause of headaches.
• Taking shortcuts in speaking which reflect the
language children hear from day to day
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Not understanding the detail of written
language, and how it contributes to meaning
We tackle all of these problems by:
• Not going faster than children can understand
• Explaining the new language clearly
• Recognising tasks that are likely to cause
problems and redesigning them
• Starting young
ICT helps by…
• Allowing us to present spoken language flexibly, in context,
and at a pace children can understand
• Providing a bridge between spoken and written language, so
that both can be taught together
• Allowing children to communicate with each other, and to
enjoy the prestige of using the new technology.
• Giving children new opportunities for practice
Copying, c1700 BC
(From The History of Writing, S.R Fischer)
Copying errors from a Year 7 mixed-ability class
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Quel as âge tu.
O habite tu
Ou j’habites-tu
Où habite a Londres.
Common t’appelle tú_
Je onzo age
Ja un douze
Quel âge as-tu?
Où habites-tu?
J’habite à Londres.
Comment t’appelles-tu?
J’ai onze ans
J’ai douze ans
(experienced teacher, pupils had models of the sentences
they were trying to write, from which they could copy.)
My First Steps in Spanish.
• Colours. Rojo, azul, verde, amarillo, marrón introduce most
of the variations between Spanish and English
pronunciation, and the accent. As with French, say
together, study, look away and write on sleeve.
• Explain ¡Buenos Días! as a greeting, and what it means.
• Sing Ser to 10 green bottles, with actions, explaining how
Spanish takes advantage of its word endings to omit the
short words we have to put in front of verbs.
• Introduce masculine/feminine, via the idea of boys’ and
girls’ words for younger children. Eg soy una niña/un niño.
• Build sentences about family/pets, around tengo/no tengo.
Explaining Spanish verbs
• Children need to understand how verbs work. Most verbs
“do” things. Some verbs say how they are – I am old. French
calls these “verbs of state”.
• Spanish takes a shortcut – unless there is a need to
emphasise it, the pronoun is incorporated into the verb.
• Verbs are important words, so each one has a name
(infinitive). The names of all Spanish verbs end in r.
• Spanish verbs can be sung to Ten Green Bottles, using the
same gestures as for the French
• Negatives are easy – just begin with no.
…and a way of teaching flow in French
• Explain that vowels are voice sounds, and that two
together can be jerky – say je ai . Can they hear the jerk?
• Demonstrate the technique of dropping the first vowel and
replacing it with an apostrophe. Write apostrophe on the
board. Who thinks it’s an English word? Explain that
apostrophe comes from the Greek word for gap, and that
we have a gap when we take out a letter. So, we have j’ai.
• Have children study j’ai, then clean it off/minimise it, and
have them trace it with their finger on their sleeve or
desk. Nearly all will get it right. Praise.
• Write and explain the sentence J’ai un chat, noting the
letter at the end of the word that is not pronounced.
Repeat the tracing.
Progress in sentence building
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Extend outwards from family and pets to other areas of interest.
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Encourage expression through recording, playbacks, blogging, podcasting.
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Make and cultivate links to a school in a country that speaks the language.
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Develop understanding of the shared Latinate and Greek words that are
the foundation of much European public language.
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Explore software, internet connections and websites, Youtube, Wickipedia,
Taught By Song, Little Tails, BBC sites, news sites...google translate
...(discuss...)
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Introduce children’s books, make talking versions using Mantralingua (or
other) talking pens, Mantralingua talking tablet, IPC.
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Set up a languages section in the library.
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Start a club. Please, start a club. And invite parents.
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Think about Flame/CLIL, perhaps beginning with Take 10 (Devon)
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Sign the staff up for British Council Comenius Courses in the holiday.
Generous grants, good teaching, good food, good learning.
Sentence Modelling…
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Presents new structures clearly and simply
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Extends opportunities for study, explanation and questions
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Lets children compose written sentences as they do spoken ones,
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Eliminates the to-and-fro brain switches involved in copying
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Letting us teach written and spoken language together
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Allows children to say what they want to say
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Lets us present advanced language clearly and flexibly
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Raises achievement in reading and writing
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Is easy to use
With Clicker…
Extensions suggested by Y4
Additional Teaching Techniques
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Matching, selecting, naming words and phrases
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Using screen dumps from Clicker for sentence building
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Tracing with the finger – large movements – in preparation for writing
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Providing a supportive context for listening activities at all times
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Telling and retelling simple stories
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Keeping learning personal by enabling children to say what they want to
say
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Language Master (Drake Educational Associates), with large cards
Year 7, boy assessed as dyslexic
Year 7, girl, assessed as dyslexic, before
sentence building work
Year 7, girl, assessed as dyslexic, after six
weeks’ sentence building work
Year 4, higher-attaining girl