from Inquiry, Volume 2, Number 1, Spring 1998, 68-78
© Copyright 1998 Virginia Community College System
Abstract
Today, more than ever before, at-risk learners are enrolling in the community college. We can better serve these LD and ADHD/ADD learners in the foreign language classroom by learning to identify them, defining their language-learning difficulties, and identifying types of appropriate intervention strategies.
Students with learning differences (LD) and attention disorders (ADHD/ADD) are enrolling in greater numbers in colleges and universities, especially community colleges. These non-traditional learners challenge all classroom teachers, especially math, science, English, and foreign language faculty to revise our modus operandi. We, as foreign language educators, are at the head of the list to adopt alternative "multisensory" approaches and adapt our curricula to include intervention strategies. If we do not, we will continue to have our hands tied in teaching at-risk learners with basic reading and language deficits. Whether we use traditional or newer teaching approaches, our students’ struggles to listen, speak, read and write in another language should seize our attention. Schwartz (1997) raises a red flag when she states,
For the student unencumbered by a learning disability, foreign language study is indeed an enriching and rewarding experience. For the learning disabled student, however, it can be an unbelievably stressful and humiliating experience, the opposite of what is intended.
Bacon (1996) notes that foreign language educators have become more aware of language learning differences and are legally and ethically bound to accommodate all students (p. 97). The negative effects of these differences on second language learning and attrition greatly concern the foreign language faculty at the Alexandria Campus of Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC). In addition to focusing on improving retention with strategy-based instruction (Franklin, et. al, 1997), faculty members are also making every effort to transform the classroom into an effective learning environment for all students. In order to achieve these goals, we must describe "at-risk" learners in community college classrooms, define language-learning difficulties, and describe types of appropriate intervention strategies.
At-Risk Learners in Community College Settings
LD and ADHD/ADD students have discovered that the community college is the first step in the pursuit of a college degree. Cocchi (1997) reports that the number of these students entering college as freshmen continues to grow over the years and that these numbers have increased rapidly at two-year institutions to the point where more students with disabilities are attending two-year institutions as opposed to four-year colleges.
NVCC has become the college of choice because of its admissions policies. While entering students are required to take math, reading and English placement exams, no placement or aptitude tests are required of prospective foreign language students. Students who fail to place in math, reading and English must enroll in developmental courses before beginning college level course work. Yet, there are no such developmental courses in foreign language studies.
If a student receives documentation as an individual with LD and/or ADHD/ADD, he/she is entitled to appropriate accommodations and modifications under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Services Act. A "qualified person with a disability" is defined as one who meets the requisite academic and technical standards required for admission or participation in the postsecondary institution’s programs and activities. Unfortunately, most community college students have never been identified as having a learning disability or an attention disorder. Consequently, they do not receive accommodations or modifications that they are entitled to, according to federal law. The Coordinated Campaign for Learning Disabilities (CCLD, 1997) notes that many children and adults remain undiagnosed and go through life with this "hidden handicap." The resulting problems can lead to poor self esteem, failure to thrive in school, and difficulty in the workplace. Unfortunately, most faculty are unable to recognize at-risk students or refer them to the LD counselor.
Language-Learning Difficulties
Learning disabilities affect one in seven people according to the National Institute of Health (CCLD, 1997). These disabilities are neurological in origin and impede a person’s ability to store, process and/or produce information. They affect one’s ability to read, write, speak, or compute and can impair socialization skills.
The most common learning disabilities affecting language include dyslexia, dysgraphia, and auditory and visual processing disabilities. Dyslexia is a language-based disability in which a person has trouble understanding words, sentences, or paragraphs. Dysgraphia is a writing disability in which a person finds it hard to form letters correctly or write within a defined space. An auditory or visual processing disability is a sensory disability in which a person has difficulty understanding language despite normal hearing and vision (CCLD, 1997). The National Institute of Health (1993) categorizes dyslexia and dysgraphia as Academic Skills Disorders.
Attention Disorders
Students diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder with hyperactivity (ADHD) display attention and behavioral problems, while students without hyperactivity(ADD) appear to have more attention and cognitive disabilities. Attention disorders with or without hyperactivity are not considered learning disabilities in themselves. However, because attention problems can seriously interfere with school performance, they often accompany academic skills disorders (Neuwirth, 1994).
In describing symptoms of an attention disorder among children, adolescents, and adults, the National Institute of Health documents that 20% of children with learning disabilities have attention disorders that cause them to daydream excessively and become easily distracted. A large proportion of affected individuals are males, and the attention deficit is accompanied by hyperactivity. By adolescence, physical hyperactivity usually subsides into fidgeting and restlessness. In adulthood, the problems with attention and concentration are still evident. ADHD adults often have trouble organizing tasks or completing their work. They do not seem to listen to or follow directions. Their work may be messy and appear careless (Neuwirth, 1994).
Language-Based Impediments on Foreign Language Study
Sparks et al. (1992) report that the difficulties that are apparent in a learner’s first language will be evident in learning a second language. Learning disabilities are primarily language-learning difficulties, and not all LD learners have similar profiles or characteristics. There are several language weaknesses in the first language that may have impact on the study of a foreign language. A student may demonstrate some of the behaviors listed below:
Reading
May have poor reading ability or poor comprehension
May confuse similar letters or numbers, reverse them, or confuse their order
May have difficulty reading addresses, small print and/or columns
Writing
May have difficulty writing ideas and/or organizing thoughts on paper
May reverse or omit letters, words or phrases when writing
May have problems with sentence structure, writing mechanics, and organization
May frequently spell the same word differently in a single document
Language
May be able to explain things orally, but not in writing
May misinterpret language or have poor comprehension of what is said
Auditory
May not respond to sounds of spoken language, or may consistently misunderstand what is being said
May be bothered by different frequencies of sound (i.e., music, vacuums, loud noises) or may be overly sensitive to sound
Cognitive
May acquire new skills slowly
May have difficulty following directions, especially multiple directions
May experience visual spatial confusion (i.e., confuse right and left, up and down, under and over, behind and between)
Memory
May be able to learn information presented in one way but not in another
May find it difficult to memorize information, (i.e., phone numbers, days of the week, or months of the year)
Organization
May have difficulty following a schedule or being on time
May have trouble learning about time
Attention
May have a short attention span or be impulsive
May have difficulty conforming to routines
Research on LD and Attention Disorders and Foreign Language Study
The seminal research conducted by Sparks and Ganschow (1993, 1995) on the importance of native language skill, language aptitude differences, and specifically phonological processing help account for successful versus unsuccessful foreign language learning. When there are specific demands to perform tasks requiring phonological processing and phonemic awareness, students with these deficiencies will do poorly when they read, spell words, read pseudowords, and manipulate sound segments in words.
There is ample research on the impact of learning disabilities on the acquisition of another language. To date, there is little or nothing on how at-risk learners acquire a second language. Nonetheless, classroom teachers will observe deficits in one or more of the areas of phonology, syntax, and semantics among learners with dyslexia, dysgraphia, or attention disorders.
Identification of Potential Language-Learning Difficulties
At the Alexandria Campus, as in other campuses of the Virginia Community College System, the LD counselor notifies instructors about documented at-risk students and makes recommendations for accommodation as required by law.
A learning styles inventory instrument is helpful in establishing the preferred learning modality, e.g., a visual, auditory or tactile/kinesthetic (haptic). A student’s learning style may suggest that there may be language-learning difficulties. For example, a student with dyslexia will be a strong auditory and tactile/kinesthetic learner but will not be a visual learner. A student with an attention disorder will prefer to learn through the visual and tactile/kinesthetic modalities. A dyslexic having ADHD/ADD will prefer to learn primarily via the tactile/kinesthetic modality.
When unidentified Spanish-language students begin to display language learning difficulties, the author refers them to the LD Counselor to receive diagnostic services and appropriate documentation. The Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT) is an excellent instrument to help identify weaknesses in the areas of phonology, syntax, or semantics.
Intervention Strategies
At the NVCC Alexandria Campus, a promising retention effort for at-risk Spanish language students is a three-fold effort to provide accommodation, instruction in study skills and language learning strategies, and remediation. For several years, the author has supported at-risk learners with specialized instruction in regular and workshop classes. The author designed Spanish for Special Needs (1-2 credits), a workshop tutorial class, where students receive remediation and compensatory strategies. The techniques for use in mainstreamed and workshop classes are described below.
Classroom Accommodation
Accommodation favors aiding the stronger learning modality during the learning process. The Spanish instructor provides for accommodation through the use of tape recorders, preferential seating, and testing in a quiet environment with allowance for an extended time frame. Students may retake a test until the instructor is confident that there is "mastery of the material." Depending on the severity of spelling and writing deficiencies, dyslexic students may respond orally to written quizzes or tests. Incorrect spelling on vocabulary answers is not marked wrong. Other accommodations may vary according to the learning style. ADHD/ADD learners, who have poor listening skills, receive audio and video scripts for required video and audiotaped assignments. They use the scripts only for the initial listening period. The students take listening tests with their instructor during office hours and may retake a test if necessary.
Compensatory Strategies
Compensatory strategies aim at strengthening and building skills to acquire learning. All at-risk students need training in study skills strategies and language learning strategies. Sedita (1997) observes that most college students have the intact learning processes to create the necessary organizational and study strategies to be successful in their college classes. These are skills in organizing, processing and comprehending what is read or heard, planning homework and long-term assignments, studying for tests, and determining good test-taking strategies. However, at-risk learners do not automatically and instinctively develop these strategies in their first language unless they take study skills classes.
To insure success in foreign languages, students must acquire study skills strategies. Students who procrastinate will often remark, "I don’t know how to study!" Often, the foreign language teacher has to squeeze in study skills strategies and language learning strategies but finds that the students benefit from this instruction, most of all at-risk students. They need to learn how to learn, and there is the added benefit of acquiring study skills useful in their first language.
The Counseling Department at the Alexandria Campus has acquired the Academic Success Video Series for College Students (Dartmouth College, 1997). The series covers strategic learning, time management, reading improvement, and note taking. By visiting Dartmouth College’s Academic Skills Center website (1997), educators can download study skill guides. The author recommends and provides these guides to all students, especially the at-risk learners.
Besides needing study skills strategies, at-risk learners require language learning strategies. The author includes these strategies in the regular Spanish classes, but especially in the workshop tutorials:
Memorizing vocabulary using mnemonic devices and creating 3 x 5 flash cards with cutout pictures or line drawings
Manipulating 3 x 5 grammar cards with the parts of speech to understand and create sentence construction
Color-coding to match subject pronouns with their appropriate verb endings
Listening to audiotaped verb drills to provide for multisensory practice by listening, repeating, reading, writing, and visualizing verbs
Taking dictation to reinforce pronunciation, spelling, and syllabication rules
Creating semantic maps to brainstorm and organize ideas in the writing process
Employing computer-assisted instruction to reinforce vocabulary, comprehension, and grammar concepts
An additional benefit of the workshop is the opportunity to re-teach and review regular classroom instruction since LD students require a longer period of time to process and learn new information.
In recommending strategies instruction, Sedita (1997) insists that LD learners need specific instruction and practice because they will not make it without it, and they also need teachers who understand learning styles, strengths, and weaknesses.
Remediation
In the larger picture of intervention strategies for at-risk learners, remediation should be the first and most important of the three building blocks when providing accommodation, compensatory strategies, and remediation. Yet, it is the most difficult one to implement because it requires specialized training and a one-to-one tutorial approach.
In the regular classroom, the students utilize several strategies to develop a phonemic awareness:
learning the Spanish alphabet
developing phonological and phonemic awareness of every sound, blend, vowel, and diphthong
learning the spelling rules, e.g., ca-co-cu-que-qui spellings for the "hard C" sound
learning to sound out words
learning the relationships of the sounds and letters (sound/symbol)
learning the syllabication rules (linking rules)
When learning to spell, the students write all vowels in red and consonants in black. They receive many dictation exercises that include concrete visuals to provide for a meaningful context.
In the Spanish workshop tutorial class, the students receive multisensory training similar to the Orton-Gillingham Approach (Clark & Uhry, 1995). Kinesthetic activities help to establish visual/auditory associations in learning grapheme-phoneme correspondence, as well as to establish left-to-right letter progression (Clark & Uhry, 1995).
The author has observed that LD learners have great difficulty distinguishing between the E and I vowels in Spanish. They also do not hear vowels, diphthongs or letters in words until they are overtly taught. The students report that once they have been trained in recognizing the sound-symbol association, they can then see the consonants and vowels in their heads after they have heard them. They also learn to sound out a word to spell it correctly, e.g., words or conjugated forms of verbs. (This type of remediation is not required by ADHD/ADD learners. Yet, a similar pattern in reverse affects ADHD/ADD learners, who need to see a script before they can understand what they have heard.)
In the future, the author will include strategies using a visualizing and verbalizing process that enables learners with attention disorders to image oral and written language, recall and relate it, and reorganize and verbalize concepts. This process helps to remediate areas of weakness among ADDHD/ADD learners in listening and reading comprehension, and to develop skills for speaking and/or writing (Bell, 1991).
Technology as a Multisensory Medium
Technology is a powerful medium for the classroom teacher who wants to provide multisensory learning. The learner can employ more than one learning modality, e.g., visual, auditory, and tactile/kinesthetic, to capitalize on strengths and build up the weaker avenues of learning. It is especially beneficial as an individualized learning component.
The use of captioned video combines listening, reading and visualization (images). The Elementary and Intermediate Spanish classes currently use Destinos, a video-based course. ADHD/ADD learners, having weak auditory skills, have a difficult time developing listening comprehension skills unless they view the videos with captioning. These learners remark on the ease of listening comprehension when they view captioned video and when they listen to audiotapes with scripts to guide them. When dyslexic learners listen to audiotapes or view videos, a script or the closed caption on the screen is also very beneficial to strengthen reading comprehension.
Otto & Pusak (1996) citing Garza’s (1991) research support the notion that the use of multiple language processing modalities (through captioning) helps to increase the memorability of the content. Garza’s research evidenced an increased general comprehension and higher retention of pertinent vocabulary that helped to improve language skills when captioned video was used. Garza’s rationale for using captioning to help students relies on a more highly developed skill to strengthen another skill and opens up many possibilities for accommodating LD learners.
Interactive computer software is another ideal medium for multisensory instruction. The students hear (auditory modality), see a screen (visual modality), and use the keyboard (tactile/kinesthetic) to type in responses. Software programs that have reading narratives are very helpful in listening and reading comprehension. Students can click words, phrases, or a whole script on the screen to hear what they are reading.
A word-processing program with a spell check feature can provide accommodation in spelling and writing. For example, if students type lists of verb forms, they will retain the correct spelling and usage because they have employed the tactile/kinesthetic modality. Wanderman (1997), a dyslexic, says that when an individual touch types, he/she remembers not the spelling of a word, but a kinesthetic sequence. Even though the rules of spelling or grammar construction are unknown, improvement in spelling and sentence patterns occurs as the touch typing improves. Wanderman states that dyslexics who write with pen and paper find it difficult, do it awkwardly, if at all, do not enjoy it, and avoid writing. Consequently, their writing fails to improve from lack of practice.
Conclusion
Many LD and ADHD/ADD students are succeeding in learning Spanish and lowering attrition rates due to intervention strategies. With the administration of a learning styles instrument, the author has been able to identify possible at-risk learners, accommodate them according to their learning style, and provide intervention strategies. The students have learned self-advocacy in requesting accommodation. They have capitalized on their strengths and built up the weaker modalities through compensatory strategies. These learners have overcome a "learned helplessness" acquired from previous unsuccessful learning experiences and gained study skill strategies useful in other academic courses. Many have learned to read and write in Spanish due to remediation efforts. In the words of one student about the tutorial sessions, "This workshop is awesome." What is more important, these learners have recognized that their learning disabilities are only learning differences!
The future for the at-risk foreign language learner is hopeful. Hynd in Gaddes & Edgell (1994) reminds educators that the study of individuals with learning disabilities has continued for well over a century. Only within the past several decades have learning disabilities been formally acknowledged through laws and regulations that require the provision of services to those who experience severe difficulties in learning (p. vii). Schwartz (1997) is hopeful that more research will be done, more teachers will address the issues in teaching foreign language learners, and more solutions will be created for the student facing the challenge of learning a foreign or second language and the teachers who teach them.
Thus, as the Decade of the Brain comes to a close and the new millennium enters, all learners should be assured that their teachers will impart knowledge about other languages and cultures despite learning differences.
Websites
There are several LD and ADHD/ADD online websites that are helpful to most discipline:
ADHD/ADD
http://www.seas.upenn.edu/~mengwong/add
Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder (C.H.A.D.D.)
http://www.chadd.org/
Dartmouth College Academic Skills Center
http://www.dartmouth.edu/admin/acskills/
The Foreign Language Teachers’ Guide to Learning Disabilities
Instant Access TreasureChest
http://www.fln.vcu.edu/ld/ld.html
International Orton Dyslexia Association
http://www.interdys.org/
http://www.kidsource.com/heath/
Lindamood/Bell
http://www.lblp.com/
National Attention Deficit Disorder Association
http://www.add.org/
U.S. Department of Education
http://www.ed.gov/
Yale University Resource Office on Disabilities
http://www.yale.edu/rod/
WETA Public TV
http://www.ldonline.org/
References
Bacon, S.M. (1996). Choices in postsecondary foreign language programs. In B.H. Wing (Ed.). Foreign languages for all: Challenges and choices. (pp. 91-114). Lincolnwood, IL: National Textbook Company.
Bell, N. (1991). 2nd ed. Visualizing and verbalizing. 2nd ed. Paso Robles, CA: Academy of Reading Publications.
Clark, D.B. & Uhrey, J.K.(1995). Dyslexia: Theory & practice of remedial instruction. 2nd ed. Baltimore: York Press.
Cocchi, W. (1997). The Community College Choice: The PostSecondary LD Report. [Online] Available: http://www.ldonline.org/
The Coordinated Campaign for Learning Disabilities. (1997). Commonly asked questions about learning disabilities. [Online] Available: http://www.ldonline.org/
Dartmouth College. (1997). Academic success video series for college students. [Online] Available: http://www.dartmouth.edu/admin/acskills/
Franklin, L., Hodge, M. E., & Sasscer, M. F. (1997). Improving Retention with Strategy-Based Instruction, .Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges. Vol.1,(2).
Hynd,G.W. (1994). In W.H. Gaddes & D. Edgell (Eds.). Learning disabilities and brain function: A neuropsychological approach. 3rd ed. NY: Springer-Verlag.
National Institute of Health (1993). Learning disabilities: Decade of the brain. [Online] Available:http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/general_info/gen-nimh-booklet.html#anchor63520euwirth. S. (1994). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Decade of the brain. NIH [Online] Available: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/add_adhd/add-nimh-booklet.html
Otto, S.K. & Pusak, J.P. (1996). Technological chocies to meet the challenges. In B.H. Wing (Ed.). Foreign languages for all: Challenges and choices. (pp. 141-186). Lincolnwood, IL: National Textbook Company.
Schwartz, R.L. (1997). Learning disabilities and foreign language learning: A painful collision. [Online] Available: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/foreign_lang/painful_collision.html
Sedita, J. (1996). A call for more study skills instruction. [Online] Available: http://www.ldonline.org/
Sparks, R, & Ganschow, L. (1993). The impact of native language learning problems on foreign language learning: Case study illustrations of the linguistic coding deficit hypothesis. The Modern Language Journal, 77, 58-74. (1995). A strong inference approach to causal factors in foreign language learning: A response to MacIntyre. Modern Language Journal, 79, 235-244.
Sparks, R., Ganschow, L., Pohlman, J., Skinner, S., & Artzer, M. (1992). The effect of multisensory structured language instruction on native language and foreign language aptitude skills of at-risk high school foreign language learners. Annals of Dyslexia, 42, 25-53.
Wanderman, R. (1997). How computers change the writing process for people with learning disabilities. [Online] Available: http://www.ldonline.org/
Dr. Margarita Esparza Hodge is a Professor of Spanish at the NVCC Alexandria Campus.
Dr. Hodge and Dr. Jose G. Montero (NVCC, Annandale) received a VCCS Professional Development Grant in the Spring, 1997 to train in remediating phonemic awareness difficulties among dyslexic learners. The VCCS Grant made possible the purchase of a software program, Climbing with Phonics, for dyslexic learners at the Annandale and Alexandria Campuses. In the near future, Drs. Hodge and Montero expect to design Spanish software for Spanish language LD students.