A multilingual member of this community (who is also dyslexic) asked us for advice about improving grammar in English. Grammar is something that non-dyslexic people may pick up effortlessly and without conscious awareness as they read and listen to native speakers...
Dyslexia and Foreign Language Learning [Premium]
“…reading, writing, listening and speaking skills in foreign languages are all significantly affected by weaknesses in linguistic coding skills even when the native language has been been well-mastered…” – Elike Schneider and Margaret Crombie in Dyslexia and Foreign Language Learning Because of the significant challenges that dyslexic individuals face with the matching sounds and letters of language (phonology / orthography), working memory, retrieval, sequencing, and rote memorization, it should not be surprising that foreign language is a significant challenge facing bilingual students and college-bound dyslexics facing 2 years of foreign language classes to enter higher education. For moderate to severe dyslexics, foreign language waivers are usually granted; however, for all those in-between, there are strategies that build on dyslexic strengths in visual and multisensory […]
Dyslexia Journal Club – Spelling Strategies – What Does Research Say? [Premium]
In a recent paper from Montreal, research tested dyslexic students ages 9-11 to see which spelling strategies were more effective. The most common strategy children use to spell is phonological, whether they are or aren’t dyslexic. The other common strategies children use for spelling are visuol-orthographic, analogy, and backup. The phonological strategy used phoneme-grapheme correspondence. Analogy was based on the use of known words to spell that share orthographic similarities . Visuo-orthographic strategy involved visual and specific properties of words. A backup strategy was defined as using a personal mnemonic device for one specific word. In this research study, students were tested in tests that included spelling to dictation, and written narrative (summary) after being read a story. Spelling words were classified on the basis […]
Shakespeare and Dyslexia – Making Words Physical [Premium]
Today is National Shakespeare Day, and dyslexia and Shakespeare have been on our minds. We recently mentioned that Lloyd Everitt (yes, he’s dyslexic) is the youngest actor to play Othello at Shakespeare’s own Globe Theater. But we’ve also been thinking about Shakespeare recently because, on our trip down to California, we had the pleasure of stopping by the Oregon Shakespeare Company’s Rebecca Carey, the head of Voice and Text. Rebecca has an accomplished career that includes acting herself as well as teaching and consultant roles with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Oxford School of Drama, Broadway, and American Repertory Theatre. Rebecca is also co-author (with her husband, David Carey) of The Shakespeare Workbook and Video, a brilliant practical course for actors that includes such topics […]