Dyslexia in the Foreign Language Classroom

Joanna Nijakowska

• Publisher: Multilingual Matters
• Year: 2010
• ISBN:
  9781847694003
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Teaching Language Arts
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

This book addresses specific learning difficulties in reading and spelling – developmental dyslexia. Set in the cross-linguistic context, it presents issues surrounding dyslexia from the perspective of a foreign language teacher. It is intended to serve as a reference book for those involved in foreign language teaching, including experienced in-service teachers and novice teachers, as well as teacher trainers and trainees. It offers an up-to-date and reader-friendly study of the mechanisms of dyslexia and an overview of the current research on the disorder, in theoretical and practical terms. Its aim is to help teachers tackle one of the many challenges they face in the modern classroom: the organization of an effective foreign language teaching process for students with dyslexia.

Chapter 1

Becoming Literate

Defining Dyslexia

Terminological issues

This book is devoted to a developmental cognitive disorder, more precisely, to a specific learning difficulty in reading and spelling - developmental dyslexia. To begin with it is important to ensure terminological and definitional clarity, which would be most helpful for appropriate understanding of the described phenomena. Reading disorders are quite intensively studied and several terms have been proposed in different countries to denote reading deficits of various kinds, in children and adults alike. Apparently, such a situation is a consequence of the complex nature of the skill in question as well as the diverse causes and multiple types of reading and spelling disorders.

Let us focus first on the distinction between acquired and developmental disorders. Acquired reading and spelling deficits result from brain injury or disease and connote either total or partial loss of the already possessed ability to read or spell. The intensity of symptoms largely depends on the size and location of the lesion as well as the age of the person. Acquired alexia and acquired agraphia are spelled out as a total loss of the faculty of reading and spelling, respectively, while acquired dyslexia denotes only a partial disappearance of reading competence, and dysgraphia is a partial loss of spelling ability. To stress again, acquired reading and spelling disorders are connected with deficits in qualifications that a given person, be it an adult or a child, had already possessed prior to brain injury (Bogdanowicz, 1989, 1999; Krasowicz, 1997).

Acquired reading disabilities in adult patients are often taken as a model for interpreting and achieving further understanding of the neurological concept of developmental reading impairments (Borkowska, 1997). However, such an approach is rejected by Hulme and Snowling (2009), who advocate investigating developmental reading disorders in children by relating them to patterns of typical reading development in children. Much as adult models usefully specify what normally constitutes a result of development, they do not describe the development itself. Reading development undergoes certain changes over time as children develop, thus, naturally, younger children are less accomplished in this respect than older children. Developmental disorders would typically involve modified - slowed down - rates and patterns of change. Children with dyslexia will learn to read slowly and with difficulty and this delay in the rate of the development of the reading skill is claimed to be the most salient and striking characteristic of this disorder.¹

Developmental disorders can be divided into specific (restricted) and general difficulties/disorders. General disorders concern deficits in most, if not all, cognitive functions. By contrast, specific disorders refer to situations where impairment in just one or a limited number of skills is involved, while functioning in other areas remains typical. Krasowicz (1997) suggests further division of specific developmental reading disorder into specific decoding disorder and specific comprehension disorder.

In the UK, such a specific (restricted) difficulty, which involves a selective (occurring in a restricted domain) impairment in acquiring a skill that must be learned, is referred to as a specific learning difficulty; whereas global learning difficulty concerns problems in acquiring a wide range of skills and in understanding concepts. In the USA, the terms learning disorders and mental retardation are used to denote specific and global learning difficulties, respectively. In practice, the results of a standardised IQ test (a measure of general intelligence) are used to distinguish between cases of specific and general learning difficulties.² The diagnosis of specific learning difficulties is frequently conditioned by the achievement of IQ score within or near the average range, while general learning difficulties are diagnosed in children with IQ scores below 70.

Specific developmental reading disorder - developmental dyslexia is one of the most intensively researched, best known and understood specific learning difficulties. Specific learning difficulties experienced by children with dyslexia concern acquiring reading and spelling skills, while the ability to understand concepts is normal. In addition, they often demonstrate talents in various areas of study - in science, sport or art (Hulme & Snowling, 2009).

Developmental dyslexia has its place in the international classifications of diseases, mental disorders and related health problems. In the ‘International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision (ICD-10)', specific difficulties in learning to read and spell are classified as follows: general category - specific developmental disorders of scholastic skills; specific learning difficulties in reading - specific reading disorders (developmental dyslexia); specific learning difficulties in spelling - specific spelling disorders; specific difficulties in acquiring the technique of writing due to lowered motor ability and motor coordination of hands, which is characterised by a very low graphic level of writing - specific developmental disorder of motor function. For the sake of comparison, in the ‘Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Revision (DSM-IV)', the following notions have been introduced: general category -learning disorders; specific reading problems - reading disorder (or dyslexia); specific writing problems - disorder of written expression; specific technical problems in writing - developmental coordination disorder (Bogdanowicz, 2007).

The notion dyslexia can be understood as a narrow concept, comprising solely of a difficulty in reading or as a whole syndrome of specific difficulties in learning to read and spell, indicating the coexistence of reading difficulties with spelling impairments (pertaining to both poor orthography and graphic level) (Borkowska, 1998; Pętlewska, 1999; Zakrzewska, 1999). Drawing on clinical experience, Bogdanowicz (1999) has suggested that isolated reading and spelling disorders can be diagnosed apart from the whole syndrome of specific difficulties in learning to read and spell. For example, a spelling disorder may arise that coincides with neither a reading disorder nor poor graphic level of writing (developmental coordination disorder). However, according to Szczerbiński (2007), as much as dysorthography (specific spelling disorder) may happen to be dissociated from dyslexia, the reverse case is extremely rare. Most usually, low-level performance of decoding and encoding coexist. Bogdanowicz (1989, 1997b, 1999) uses the term developmental dyslexia to signify the syndrome of specific learning difficulties in reading and spelling as a disorder of written communication. Within this syndrome, she identifies three isolated disorders: dyslexia - to symbolise specific difficulties in learning to read (poor decoding), dysorthography - specific spelling difficulties (poor encoding) and dysgraphia - specific difficulties in acquiring the appropriate graphic level of writing. The above terminology has been widely used in Polish publications (Borkowska, 1998; Juszczyk & Zając, 1997; Knobloch-Gala, 1995; Krasowicz, 1997; Miązek, 2001; Pętlewska, 1999; Sawa, 1999; Zakrzewska, 1999; Zelech, 1997 and others). Much as the abovementioned terminology has gained wide acceptance in Poland, the terms may be interpreted differently in other countries. By way of example, according to Smythe and Everatt (2000), in Italy, dysgraphia denotes motor difficulties, while dysorthography refers to spelling difficulties; however, the term dysgraphia is used as synonymous with spelling difficulties as well. Yet, in Russia, dysgraphia stands for a spelling disorder characterised by inadequate usage of graphemes or syntactic impairments, whereas dyslexia refers exclusively to a reading disorder manifesting itself in a slower rate of reading, paired with numerous persistent errors.

All in all, dyslexia, often qualified by the adjective developmental, is the most popular and internationally accepted expression denoting specific difficulties in learning to read and spell, specifically with regard to decoding and encoding single words, which come into play in children at the beginning of school education (Critchley, 1964; Krasowicz, 1997; Ott, 1997; Reid, 1998). Additionally, apart from dyslexia and developmental dyslexia, several descriptive notions, such as learning difficulties, learning disabilities, specific reading disorders or specific learning difficulties/disabilities, which have been introduced in the international medical, psychological and pedagogical classifications, are internationally recognised as well. Snowling and Caravolas (2007) argue that the characteristics of dyslexia - a delay in reading development - makes us perceive the disorder as dimensional. It means that individuals can suffer from a disorder to varying degrees; children with dyslexia seem to occupy a bottom end of the continuum of normal variation in the skill in the population. However, despite the apparent arbitrariness in putting a cut-off point between dyslexia and normal reading, it is common, and often easier, to use categorical labels such as ‘children with dyslexia' rather than dimensional (descriptive) terms - ‘children with specific severe difficulty in learning to read and spell'. Such diagnostic categorical labels are found useful in communicating the types and nature of difficulties experienced by children (Hulme & Snowling, 2009).

In this book, the terms dyslexia, developmental dyslexia, as well as descriptive notions such as specific learning difficulties, specific difficulties in learning to read and spell, specific developmental reading disorder and learning disorder/disability, are used interchangeably. They denote specific difficulties in print processing, with respect to word decoding and encoding, which children experience in learning to read and spell from the beginning of their school education.

Definition of dyslexia

Educational science qualifies children with developmental dyslexia to the special educational needs (SEN) group, together with particularly intelligent and talented children as well as mentally retarded children, children with neurological diseases, deficits in motor and sensory organs, emotional disorders, culturally (environmentally) and didactically neglected children, and, last but not least, those with speech disorders. It is a frequently observed fact that these children invariably function badly in the school environment when following the routine educational programmes. They typically stand in need of: firstly, a pace of work accommodated to their abilities and needs; secondly, individualised teaching programmes and requirements, and, finally, special methods of teaching, put into practice by qualified teachers (Bogdanowicz, 1995, 1997b; Tomaszewska, 2001).

It is widely acknowledged that dyslexia constitutes a neurological condition with genetic traces and is typically designated with phonological processing impairment at the cognitive level. Essentially, the fundamental dyslexic difficulty relates to the below-standard print processing at the level of single words, more precisely, inaccurate and/ or slow decoding of attempted words as well as incorrect word encoding (spelling). Children with dyslexia fail to recognise printed words at the level expected for their age. Reading is primarily dependent on phonological processing and visual analysis, and some importance is also attributed to general speed of information processing and the ability to integrate information of various modalities. While morphological, syntactic and semantic factors may play a part in decoding, they are most probably language-specific and their role is rather limited here in comparison to the engagement of these processes in comprehension. Children with dyslexia find accurate and fluent reading truly difficult, while impairment of reading comprehension is quite distinct from dyslexia. A consequence of persistent difficulty in skilful recognition of printed words, not specific to dyslexia but rather constituting its result, gives rise to certain difficulties. Frequently, trouble in understanding written texts and organising thoughts on paper may become apparent, which, in the long run, can intensify, inevitably leading to persistent problems in the general process of gaining knowledge. Importantly, notwithstanding some reading comprehension problems brought about by impaired decoding of written text, individuals with dyslexia would be very unlikely to demonstrate any limitations in understanding complex spoken text and concepts. Last but not least, dyslexia is a life-long condition,³ whose characteristic features alter with age and development; symptoms are dynamic in nature, they tend to be evident and then diminish at given points in development. Certain deficits are compensated, for example, attainment of customary accurate reading is within reach, however, even in adulthood, spelling remains a painful task and reading speed seems less susceptible to remediation (Snowling, 2001b).

The complex and diverse nature of dyslexia naturally invites multiple attempts at defining the phenomenon in question. There are several competing etiological theories of dyslexia at large (though one might perceive them as actually complementary to one another), hence a natural tendency towards promoting a definition that would aptly reflect the main assumptions of a given theory. Most relevantly, dyslexia is claimed to be the outcome of the influence that various pathogenic factors exert on the central nervous system, leading to disorders of functions underlying the processes of reading and spelling. Beyond doubt though, difficulties encountered by children with dyslexia are specific, narrow and limited in range as opposed to unspecific, global learning difficulties. Generally, reading disorders are claimed to depend on the occurrence of a substantial mismatch between the reading achievement of a child (operationalised as the score on a standardised reading test) and that expected, given the level of intelligence, education and chronological age. Children with dyslexia experience persistent learning difficulties in spite of adequate intelligence, lack of sensory and motor deficits, and absence of environmental and didactic negligence (Bogdanowicz, 1997b, 1997c; Elliot & Place, 2000; Heaton & Winterton, 1996).

The following definition was recommended by the World Federation of Neurology in 1968:

Specific developmental dyslexia is a disorder manifested by difficulty in learning to read and write despite conventional instruction, adequate intelligence, and socio-cultural opportunity. It depends on fundamental cognitive disabilities that are frequently constitutional in origin. (Bogdanowicz, 2002a: 56; Borkowska, 1998: 41; Krasowicz-Kupis, 2008: 49; Ott, 1997: 3)

The neurobiological, constitutional character of the disorder and limited range of difficulties are highlighted here. However, the feature that earned this definition the unfavourable attitude of practitioners is its clearly exclusionary character (Snowling, 2001b). Exclusionary definitions are described as negative, they are frequently heavily criticised because exclusionary criteria may be ambiguous, which in turn multiplies doubts (Krasowicz-Kupis, 2008). Nevertheless, at least to some extent, exclusionary definitions can be useful for introductory clinical diagnosis, especially when additional explanations with regard to the concepts included are added in order to avoid ambiguity.

For example, on the one hand, rightly enough as one would think, instruction is brought to light in this definition, which potentially conveys crucial implications for diagnosis. More precisely, since inadequate teaching too often produces intense difficulties in print processing of other than a dyslexic character, it is of extreme importance to verify the methods of teaching that a person being assessed towards dyslexia was exposed to in order to escape misclassification (Szczerbiński, 2007). On the other hand, what exactly is ‘conventional instruction'? What kinds of methods and techniques do the authors conceive of as conventional? The same holds true for ‘adequate intelligence', one might wonder why children with an IQ below average may not qualify for the diagnosis of dyslexia.⁴

‘Socio-cultural opportunity' lacks precision as well. There is enough evidence to claim that experience can alter the way genes are expressed in children predisposed to dyslexia. Variable patterns of gene expression can be responsible for differences in health and brain development, which in turn may exert diverse influence on behaviour. Importantly, environmental factors operating at biological, cognitive and behavioural level can add to the risk of developing reading impairments in children. Poor socio-economic background as well as poor literacy environment (literacy-related activities, children interest in books, reading experience opportunities at home, parents' educational level and literacy problems, schooling, print exposure) seem to generate greater chances for the occurrence of reading problems, though with probably greater impact on comprehension than decoding skills (Frith, 2008; Hulme & Snowling, 2009). Nevertheless, as stressed by Hulme and Snowling (2009: 329): ‘We are not born with genes that make us dyslexic, nor are we born into the environment that makes us dyslexic. We may, however, be born with genes that give an increased risk of developing dyslexia, but this risk will in turn be moderated by environmental factors'. The influence of both genetic and environmental risk factors as well as their interaction on development seems undeniable.

The discrepancy between IQ level, age and scholastic attainments of children with dyslexia are elucidated in another definition, provided by Thomson and Watkins:

Developmental dyslexia is a severe difficulty with the written form of language independent of intellectual, cultural, and emotional causation. It is characterized by the individual's reading, writing and spelling attainments being well below the level expected based on intelligence and chronological age. The difficulty is a cognitive one, affecting those language skills associated with the written form, particularly visual-to-verbal coding, short-term memory, order perception and sequencing. (Thomson & Watkins, 1990: 3)

Again, children with dyslexia are claimed to exhibit a typically unexpected, considerable mismatch between the low level of their reading skill, age and generally high intellectual ability. In this definition, a reference is also made to the emotional aspect of dyslexia. Importantly, emotional causation of the disorder is definitely denied. It needs stressing that even though emotional-motivational disturbances frequently accompany dyslexia, they are not responsible for the occurrence of the reading failure, quite the contrary, they may follow from it.⁵

The following, widely cited, definition was compiled in 1994 by the Orton Dyslexia Society Research Committee in conjunction with the National Centre for Learning Disabilities and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development:

Dyslexia is one of several distinct learning disabilities. It is a specific language-based disorder of constitutional origin characterized by difficulties in single word decoding, usually reflecting insufficient phonological processing. These difficulties in single word decoding are often unexpected in relation to age and other cognitive and academic abilities; they are not the result of generalized developmental disab...