Inclusion of learners with specific learning differences in teaching - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Inclusion of learners with specific learning differences in teaching English as a foreign language

Bimali Indrarathne Lancaster University

Introduction

Teacher training project for Sri Lanka

Who? When?

Dyslexia and language learning

Working memory Facts

My research

Input processing Working memory

My research

• Attention is a necessary condition for learning (Leow, 2013; Robinson,

Mackey, Gass & Schmidt, 2012)

• Learners need to pay attention to target language input and

identify the language features in the input (Schmidt’s noticing hypothesis,

1995)

• Do learners need extra support (e.g., from the teacher) to pay

attention to input or can they pay attention to input on their

• wn?

– Explicit? – Implicit?

• Working memory and input processing

– Directing learners’ attention to relevant features in the input (Ellis,

1996)

– Processing input (Ellis & Sinclair, 1996)

My research

P R E T E S T P O S T T E S T Explicit 1 With an explanation of the target structure Explicit 2 No explanation, but participants were informed that there was a target structure highlighted Implicit 1 No information, target structure highlighted Implicit 2 No information, no highlighting

W O R K I N G M E M O R Y T E S T S

Control group

My research

Participants

– 100 undergraduates at a Sri Lankan university – Age between 18-22 – B1/B2 level of proficiency – 20 in a group Pre/post-tests – Sentence Reconstruction items – Grammaticality Judgement items – Free writing task Working memory tests Digit Span, Keep track, Plus minus, Stroop Target structure Causative passive

My research

Eye tracking to measure attention

– Tobii X2-60 portable eye tracker fixed to a laptop

My research

My research

My research

My research

Explicit 1 With an explanation of the target structure Explicit 2

No explanation, but the participants were informed that there was a target structure highlighted

Implicit 1 No information, target structure highlighted Implicit 2 No information, no highlighting

Significantly higher amount of attention Significant improvement in the post-test Significantly lesser amount of attention Very little or no improvement in the post-test

Higher WM: better attention, better performance Indrarathne & Kormos (2016), Indrarathne & Kormos (2017)

Dyslexia, working memory and language learning

ELT Well

Dyslexia, working memory and language learning

“Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability”

(International Dyslexia Association, 2012)

Dyslexia, working memory and language learning

“Dyslexia is a language-based learning difference”

(International Dyslexia Association, 2012)

Some symptoms:

• Slow reading speed
• Spelling issues
• Mixing up words
• Difficult to express themselves clearly
• Poor concentration
• Ineffective organizational skills
• Low self-esteem
• Short memory span (lower WM capacity)

(International Dyslexia Association, 2012)

Dyslexia, working memory and language learning

Explicit 1 With an explanation of the target structure Explicit 2 No explanation, but were informed that there was a target structure highlighted Implicit 1 No information, target structure highlighted Implicit 2 No information, no highlighting

Significantly higher amount of attention Significant improvement in the post-test Significantly lesser amount of attention Very little or no improvement in the post-test

Higher WM: better attention, better performance

Dyslexia, working memory and language learning

Dyslexia facts

• 10% of population (estimated)
• Occurs in people of all backgrounds and intellectual levels
• Runs in families
• Dyslexia is not due to either lack of intelligence or a desire to

learn

• People who are very bright can be dyslexic
• Dyslexia is a life-long condition
• With proper help people with dyslexia can learn to read

and/or write well

(International Dyslexia Association, 2012)

Teacher training project for Sri Lanka

Partners

Project website: http://www.dyslexiaprojectsl.com/

Teacher training project for Sri Lanka

• Will educate ca. 100 English language teacher trainers in the

country

• How to identify learners with dyslexia and how to support them

in the English language classroom

• Training materials
• Free resources and professional development opportunities

available

• Raise awareness among school principals, policy planners and

language testing body of the country

• May/June 2017

Teacher training project for Sri Lanka

Content

• Understanding dyslexia
• Effects of dyslexia on language learning
• Identifying learners with dyslexia
• Classroom management techniques
• Teaching vocabulary and grammar
• Teaching the four skills
• Assessing learners with dyslexia
• Challenges and solutions

References

Ellis, N.C. (1996). Sequencing in SLA: phonological memory, chunking, and points of order. SSLA, 18, 91-126. Ellis, N. C., & Sinclair, S. G. (1996). Working memory in the acquisition of vocabulary and syntax: putting language in good order. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 49A(1), 234-250. ELT Well. (2017). http://eltwell.com/ Indrarathne, B. & Kormos, J. (2016). Attentional processing of input in explicit and implicit learning conditions: an eye- tracking study. Studies in Second Language Acquisition. doi:10.1017/S027226311600019X. Indrarathne, B. & Kormos, J. (2017). The role of working memory in processing L2 input: insights from eye-tracking. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition. (in press) International Dyslexia Association .(2012).Dyslexia basics: fact sheet. Available at https://dyslexiaida.org/dyslexia- basics/ Leow, R. (2013). Attention, Noticing, and Awareness in Second Language Acquisition. In C. A. Chapelle (Ed.) The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics (pp. 1-7). Oxford, England: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Robinson, P., Mackey, A., Gass, S. M., & Schmidt, R. (2012). Attention and awareness in second language acquisition. In

• S. M. Gass & A. Mackey (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of second language acquisition (pp.247-267). London,

England: Routledge. Schmidt, R. (1995). Consciousness and foreign language learning: A tutorial on the role of attention and awareness in

• learning. In R. Schmidt (Ed.), Attention and awareness in foreign language learning (pp 1-63). Honalulu, HI:

University of Hawaii, Second Language Teaching and Curriculum Centre.

Thank you