Category: Hebrew Language Instruction (Fall 2005)
Robin Schwarz, M. Sp: Ed:LD, an ESL teacher and an LD specialist each for over 30 years, has been researching, writing about and teaching about the intersection of learning disabilities and second/foreign language learning for nearly two decades. She is currently pursuing a doctorate at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA., where she has also run a tutoring service for the general public. She will soon be located in Ohio as a partner in the TLP Group, developer of PowerPath, a system for evaluating adult learners for learning problems.
Anyone who has ever taught a foreign language has had students whose failure to learn has been surprising and disappointing. That students who struggle with learning disabilities (LD) have difficulty with foreign language learning is already a widely accepted reality. But truly puzzling is the student who appears not to have any learning difficulties who is then severely challenged by foreign language learning.
Why do people have difficulty learning a new language? Early studies concentrated on behavioral causes: Anxiety (fear of making mistakes or looking foolish) (Horwitz & Young, 1991), poor study habits, lack of effort, lack of practice or opportunity to practice. Examples of students who appear to suffer each of these causes of failure to learn are readily found. However, more fundamental problems of language processing that are associated with dyslexia or other language-based LD lie at the heart of foreign language learning failure for many (Ganschow & Sparks, 1995; Ganschow, Sparks & Javorsky, 1998).
The fundamental skill: Phonological processing
Of the many brain functions involved in acquiring and using language, most important are phonological processing skills–the processing of speech sounds. (Goswami, 2002). Phonological processing comprises two primary functions: phonological awareness–consciousness that language has meaningful segments of sound, and phonological memory–the ability to retain words in the brain so that they can be processed in some way (Baddeley, Gathercole & Papagno, 1998).
Babies employ phonological awareness as they attempt to sort out words in the speech of people talking to them and then begin to figure out how to create similar word chunks for speaking. Other aspects of sound in language must also be attended to: stress, intonation, (where emphasis is placed on individual words and on words in sentences and other utterances) (Kuhl, 2004; Dupoux & Peperkamp, 1999) and such features as rhyme patterns in English (Gathercole & Willis, 1991). All aspects of phonological awareness strengthen with exposure to language and the rhythm of language (Goswami, 2002; Baddeley et al, 1998), which is why the traditional nursery rhymes and songs are helpful to young children hearing English as their primary language.
Phonological memory permits children to build a store of words, sounds and utterances to which they can refer for understanding speech and on which they can call to build strings of language (Ellis, 1996). Bowey (2001) observed that very young children with strong phonological memory had larger vocabularies and used and understood longer, more complex utterances than those whose phonological memory was less robust. Phonological awareness increases as children learn that language comprises large and small chunks that must be represented with symbols. Then they develop an understanding of how those sound segments–words, syllables, phonemes–are represented by the written code (Baddeley et al, 1998).
Phonological skills usually transfer readily from first language to new language, no matter what first language the learner speaks. That is, if the learner has understood the fundamental structure of the sound chunks of language and how to manipulate and remember them, then s/he will apply that knowledge to a new language easily (Durgonoglu, 2001). Sometimes the application of the first-language phonological skills is erroneous (called negative transfer), but the good language learner will quickly shift and learn the new phonological rules (Geva, Yaghoub-Zadeh, & Schuster, 2000).
When transfer does not appear to happen, language learning is impaired. Phonological processing deficits were identified as the cause of children and older learners having difficulty with foreign language learning (Ellis & Schmidt, 1997; Goswami, 2002; Hu, 2003, Lumme & Lehto, 2003).
Phonological awareness and reading difficulties
Weak phonological awareness has been associated with poor reading and with overall poor foreign language learning in learners from many different backgrounds. For example, children with phonological awareness deficits learning to read in two languages at once had trouble learning to read in English, but not in a more phonologically regular language such as Hebrew or Farsi. (Geva et al 2000).
The primary function of phonological memory is to retain speech long enough for the brain to process it (Baddeley, et al, 1998). Foreign language learning is to the brain much like early stages of first language learning–a series of new sounds to be heard and retained. Not surprisingly, those learners who have strong phonological memory are able to retain foreign language vocabulary learned auditorily more easily than those who have weakness in this area (Masoura, & Gathercole, 1999; Service, Simola, Metsanheimo, & Maury, S., 2002; Thorn & Gathercole, 1999). Phonological memory necessarily supports the development of more complex language in a foreign language as well as in first language (Ellis, 1995).
Because sounds perceived and articulated accurately are retained more accurately (Cheung & Wooltorton, 2002; Ishikawa & Nobe, 1998), perception and articulation difficulties can weaken phonological memory. Also, if the learner’s first language has many sounds that differ significantly from or do not even exist in the language being learned, it will be difficult to hear the new language adequately. Children’s brains are generally considered plastic enough to hear new language sounds easily, (Goswami, 2002; Kuhl, 2004) but adult learners’ brains are generally less plastic and are known to have a harder time processing new sounds accurately, retaining them and providing the correct signals for accurate articulation. Consequently, many adult learners of foreign language do not develop a native-like accent (Marinova-Todd, Marshall, & Snow, 2001).
In the end, if the brain cannot perceive and then hold accurate information, oral language learning and production will be significantly more difficult for the learner.
In some learners, one phonological function may be weak and the other strong, resulting in lopsided skill acquisition. Still, weakness in one of these areas is frequently overcome because of the complex nature of learning a first language, but the weakness is never cured because the weaknesses are neurologically-based. As a result, it is not uncommon to find a language learner who has excelled in first language but fails miserably at learning any aspect of a new language (Dinklage, 1997; Ehrman & Oxford, 1995). Even more common are the language learners who have one set of skills developed but the other impaired; a learner may do very well in listening and speaking, but be unable to learn to read and write in the new language. The opposite is also very possible; a learner who is a strong reader and writer of the new language may not be able to speak or understand it, despite enormous effort. (Ganschow, Sparks & Javorsky, 1998).
Other factors affecting foreign language learning
Weak metacognitive skills
While skill with a range of the sound system of language seems to be the key to most language learning, metacognitive skills are also needed, especially in a formal language learning setting (Ehrman & Oxford, 1995). These skills include awareness of how one learns best, having and applying a wide variety of strategies in learning, learning from one’s mistakes, and so on. A learner with poor metacognitive skills may not expand language learning past simple levels in spite of having strong phonological skills, while learners with some of the phonological challenges mentioned earlier might be able to consciously compensate for that weakness by consciously using other learning strategies.
Phonological skills are known to transfer readily in normal language learners, but lack of metacognitive skills may cause some learners to have a harder time with the transfer. If they are not aware of the structure of their own language, or they are not aware of the need to apply what they know to a new language, language learning can be challenging. (Durgonoglu, 2001).
Another metacognitive skill of good learners is the ability to compare one’s first language to the new one in word meaning, syntax and idioms (Parry & Stansfield, 1990). However, for this to be a useful tactic, a good understanding of the first language is necessary. A learner who is struggling with grammar or writing or other analytical activities in language may have a weak fundamental grasp of first language structure, which may in turn result from LD.
Learners who have LD and generally lack self-awareness and metacognitive skills for effective learning are doubly challenged in a foreign language class– once by their weakness in phonological processing (if they have dyslexia) and once by their limited approaches to studying and learning (Schneider, 1999).
Learning styles
Learning styles– preference for learning or doing through one sensory channel over others– are somewhat flexible in first language situations. That is, a person may prefer visual learning but be able to learn auditorily if necessary. They may be less so in foreign language situations, where the learner needs the additional channel of perception (visual auditory, tactile or kinesthetic) to support learning (Erhman & Oxford; 1995). Differences in style between learner and teacher in foreign language class may have more impact because of a lack of other factors, such as years of repetition and physical interaction with the environment that supported first-language learning (Parry & Stansfield, 1990).
Other learning disabilities
It is not just the phonological aspects of dyslexia or weak metacognitive skills that cause foreign language learning to be very difficult for learners with LD. In the United States, LD is considered to comprise a constellation of difficulties that impact learning, and many of these will cause foreign language learning to be a challenge (Schneider, 1999). Since the LD likely causes at least one channel of learning to be severely challenged, the learner with LD must have access to multisensory learning and teaching to compensate. In addition, many learners with LD have a very slow speed of processing compared to their peers and require plenty of time to learn things. Though they eventually process as accurately as other learners, these learners may be slow to follow what is happening in class and slow to respond to activities or questions in a fast-paced class, making them appear to be very impaired.
Other kinds of challenges associated with LD, such as difficulty understanding time concepts or spatial relationships, may play a part in foreign language learning problems, though the connections are not well studied or understood. Similarly, though it seems clear that people with LD are more likely than non-LD learners to have difficulty with such language features as multiple meanings, abstract ideas and words that denote abstract relationships and that they must be taught these ideas explicitly, little study has been done on the impact of these problems on foreign language learning.
Supporting language learning
Language teachers can help learners with challenges be successful by taking some basic steps early in the process.
Since phonological skills are essential to the language learning process, assessing them is the critical first step, regardless of whether the learners have been diagnosed previously with LD or not. There are many tools available in other languages as well. These generally do not require any specialization to administer. To get at weaknesses in core processes that will interfere with foreign language learning, phonological memory especially is best tested using low-frequency words and sentences from the new language (Hebrew) as well. A significant discrepancy in these skills in the two languages is generally a red flag for oral/aural problems in language learning (Schwarz, in press).
Phonological awareness is easier to assess across languages. Three phonological awareness tasks are particularly indicative of possible reading difficulties in a new language. These are 1) perceiving and producing rhyme, 2) decoding nonsense words and 3) manipulation of syllables or phonemes in words (“say ‘carpet’ without ‘car’”; “say ‘snail’ without /n/;” “say ‘exasperate’ without ‘ate’”). (Geva et al, 2000; Meschyan, G., & Hernandez, 2002).[1]
Armed with information from that screening, teachers will know who is likely to face problems and can target those students and problems.
Systematic, explicit, structured instruction in the sound system of the target language helps learners with LD understand and retain the new sounds. (Schneider, 1999). Foreign language classes designed around the Orton-Gillingham method of remediation of reading and spelling in English, which requires just such a systematic approach to teaching reading and spelling, are remarkably successful in helping students with learning challenges acquire solid skills in a foreign language (Ganschow & Sparks, 1995; Schneider, 1999).
Phonological awareness can be increased by boosting students’ metacognitive awareness of the function of sound in language–that sound carries all meaning and changing sounds changes meaning. This awareness helps some students become much more successful language learners (Schneider, 1999). Teachers can make efforts to help the students hear word boundaries in the new language and to identify the critical sound chunks by slowing speech, exaggerating pronunciation and gradually helping learners associate heard speech with written speech through short dictation. Games in which the sole objective is to identify the number of words uttered can provide motivation to listen for word boundaries. In addition, explicit teaching of features that help with perceiving where words begin and end is also necessary.
Additionally increasing the ability of the struggling student to discriminate isolated sounds in the new language (in this case Hebrew) and between languages can boost accurate perception of words effectively. Minimal pair drills (where only one sound changes in a pair–e.g. pit/pat) and multisensory presentation of them are extremely helpful to learners in who cannot hear small but critical differences in sounds in a new language. (Schwarz, 2000)
Explicit teaching of metacognitive skills can go a long way toward helping many students who struggle with a new language. Checking that they know the fundamental structure of English (or other first language) and then helping them learn how to make critical comparisons between English and Hebrew provides them with important learning strategies. Having activities in which students teach each other a wide range of learning strategies can help to broaden what is undoubtedly a narrow range for the less successful ones. Developing greater awareness of one’s strengths, weaknesses and learning style is a learning strategy often directly taught to learners with learning disabilities. It is especially helpful for foreign language learners with LD, whose range of strategies may be unhelpfully limited.
Nearly all language teaching these days is done in a lively, interactive, multisensory manner. Multisensory teaching and learning can support the language learners with challenges in many ways: First, in a given lesson, multisensory learning is used to make essential elements available through all learning channels (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, tactile). Second, by re-teaching critical material several times over several weeks with a different sensory emphasis each time, teachers provide challenged learners with the variety of access, repetition and extended time they need for processing and absorbing information. Third, ready access to materials and games that support multisensory learning can encourage valuable self directed learning (Schneider, 1999).
Successful models of foreign language classes for learners with learning challenges have been designed to have a much slower pace of presentation of material than the “regular” classes. (Ganschow & Sparks, 1993; Schneider, 1999) The pace may vary by the needs of the learners. Those with phonological memory problems may require a slow oral pace, while those with phonological awareness problems may require a much reduced grammar and reading load. Teachers often object to this suggestion, saying that they cannot slow down the pace for everyone in a mixed-level class. If this is the case, the class time can be restructured so that sometimes all students are participating, while at other times, learners are able to work individually or in small groups geared to their needs.
Adjusting goals and expectations for learners with LD can be critical for success in the language classroom. Learners who have specific learning challenges cannot be realistically expected to meet the same goals of unaffected learners in the same way at the same time. But they can be helped to meet the fundamental goals of the course or the school, provided their needs are adequately taken into account.
However, to meet the standards, these learners may need alternative ways of showing that they can learn, more time to demonstrate learning, and encouragement to approach learning in ways that are suited to their needs. For example, a student may be able to show that she or he knows the alef bet by both singing it and manipulating letters. Writing it may not be a way this learner can be consistently successful. Or, a learner may be able to read and answer questions in writing, but not be able to answer questions orally very well.
To adjust how a learner will demonstrate learning, the goals of a course may need to be carefully examined. For example, the core requirements of a language course might still be met knowing less vocabulary than is normally required, or writing fewer sentences to show knowledge of the rules of verb conjugation.
Of all the interventions that can be offered to students with learning challenges, nothing is as powerful as the teacher’s believing the learner wants to learn and can learn. The real challenge is working with the learner to find the right recipe for learning– the combination of strategies, accommodations, materials and activities that will help that learner be successful.
References
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Botzung, D. (2003). The Contribution of Phonological Awareness and Working Memory to Reading Disabilities: A Longitudinal Study of Dyslexics and Beginning Readers. Annee Psychologique, 103 (3), 377-409.
Bowey, J. A. (2001). Nonword Repetition and Young Children's Receptive Vocabulary: A Longitudinal Study. Applied Psychology, 22 (3), 441-469.
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[1] Since learners can be quite proficient in their first language but unable to learn the new language, testing these skills in the first language may provide little information about core weaknesses. Also, some languages do not have rhyme as a linguistic feature in the way English does, so it may not be a relevant factor to test in the new language, though there may be weaknesses in this skill on more demanding tasks in English (e.g. “Do applicable/despicable rhyme?” “Can you say something that rhymes with glimmering?” (It can be a nonsense word!)). Similarly, some languages are much easier to decode than English, so readers of those languages who have core phonological awareness weaknesses usually do not show gross difficulties with decoding per se, but compared to a proficient reader, their rate of decoding is noticeably slower (Haynes- in press). The phoneme or syllable manipulation task lends itself to any language.
- Have high expectations of learners
- Adjust goals and expectations
- Slow the pace of instruction where possible
- Broaden the use of multisensory language instruction
- Strengthen metacognitive skills
Weak phonological memory can be strengthened through a variety of fun activities. Strengthening of this skill has been observed to help with vocabulary learning in the new language (Maridaki-Kassotaki, 2002).
- Address phonological weaknesses:
- Evaluate phonological skills