Transcript English Language Learners With Learning Disabilities

Learning disabilities …
 Are considered intrinsic to the individual
 Are presumed to be due to central nervous system
dysfunction
 Last throughout the person’s life
 Involve significant difficulties in listening, speaking,
reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematics*
To be considered learning disabled, the child must
have average or above average intelligence.
*Adapted from National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities. (1998). Operationalizing
the NJCLD definition of learning disabilities for ongoing assessment in schools.
ASHA 40 (Suppl. 18)
What would make a teacher suspect that a
child might have learning disabilities?
 A teacher would notice a student not making
progress in the areas of:
• Reading
• Writing
• Spelling
• Comprehension
• Math
• Reasoning
• Problem solving
English language learners with learning
disabilities
Children who are English language learners (ELLs)
sometimes have learning disabilities (LD). These
children have two separate challenges as they learn in
school. But those two challenges are intertwined to
such an extent that it is often difficult to determine the
difference between language difficulties and a learning
disability.
There are similar patterns for learning
disabilities across languages.
 In both Spanish and English for example, children
with dyslexia might have trouble:
• Processing sounds
• Hearing sounds in order
• Distinguishing between two similar sounds
• Playing with sounds (e.g., rhyming)
• Reading single words
Steps for distinguishing between language
difficulties and a learning disability
1.
2.
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Screen ELL students when they first come to
school. Use that as a baseline.
Employ research-based teaching strategies
known to be effective with English language
learners.
Adjust and adapt these strategies as needed and
monitor for progress.
If progress is not adequate, seek expert
evaluation.
This is an incredibly complex situation, and researchers are working
to find a better understanding of the overlapping issues involved.
Meanwhile, teachers and schools have to work with these kids;
these steps can help.
The teacher is a detective who starts the
process of identifying a learning disability.
 Gather such information as:
• What was the previous language of instruction?
• Was this child exposed to English before?
• How many years of educational opportunity have they had?
• Have they been responding to that opportunity?
 Discuss this information with experts at the school:
• ELL teacher
• Special ed teacher
• School psychologist
 Decide together if a formal assessment is a good idea.
Assessment in both native language and
English = gold standard
 Gives a complete picture of what the student knows
 Comparison of results can show whether the child’s
difficulties reach across both languages or are an
issue of acquiring a second language
 Called “dual language assessment”
Who can perform dual language
assessments?
 Ideally, a bilingual school psychologist trained in
assessment
 Other bilingual staff members or community
members who are trained to work in tandem with the
school psychologist
A comprehensive dual language special
education assessment looks at …
 Speech-language
• how well children understand concepts
• how well they understand words
• how well they’re able to use words in their first language
and also in the second language
 Reading
• ability to process sounds
• ability to read words
• ability to comprehend what they’ve read
 Writing
 Math
It is vital that the assessment instrument
is …
 Culturally sensitive, not culturally biased
 Accurate, that it really measures the skill it is
assessing
 Vetted for reliability and validity with English
language learners
 Administered by someone who is qualified and
trained to do so
For more information on assessing ELLs for LD, please see
this article on LD OnLine: Learning Disabilities in English
Language Learners, by Dr. Louise Spear-Swerling.
Non-verbal period
ELL students often go through a non-verbal
period in which they’re absorbing
information. This “silent period” can be
confused for a learning disability when, in
fact, it’s just a part of the second-language
acquisition process.
First steps after the LD is identified
 Once a learning disability is identified, an
Individualized Education Plan (IEP) must be
formulated to figure out how to best help the
student.
 For ELL students with LD, it is important that the
plan includes what the language of instruction will
be. And once that decision is reached, it is
important to stick to it. Be consistent with the
language of instruction, and give the student time to
respond to that instruction model.
Educators must consider certain adaptations
when creating an IEP for an ELL student:
 How can we make what we’re trying to teach more
comprehensible?
 Do we need to take smaller steps in getting to the
goal?
 Have we provided enough native language support
so students can understand the information and
reach their goals?
Example: An IEP for third grade newcomer
with dyslexia
 Similar to an IEP for a native English speaker in calling
for work in phonological awareness, phonics, and reading
and requiring ongoing checks of a student’s progress
toward goals.
 Dissimilar (perhaps) in specifying that the language
used to conduct intervention match the language of
instruction in the general education classroom; calling
explicitly for teaching “new sounds” not prevalent in the
native language; requiring teaching of cross-linguistic
relationships — the differences within and across
languages.
Most teachers will have an ELL student in
their classroom at some point.
 What teachers should know:
•
Effective practices in the general classroom also
work with ELL students.
•
It’s important to give ELL students native
language support and to explicitly teach the
connections (similarities and differences) between
the first language and the second.
Monolingual teachers can still help their
ELL students.
 You don’t have to know the language to know the
cross-linguistic relationships
 For example, in alphabetic languages a teacher can
see some shared and unshared components. With
Spanish, many consonants sound the same in
English. But vowel sounds differ, an area in which
the teacher can help students understand the
patterns of differences.
Make sure students are following what’s
happening in the classroom.
 Define basic vocabulary words.
 Use visuals.
 Use hands-on activities.
 Use lots of repetition, rehearsal, and practice.
 Model activities.
Ways teachers can make themselves more
easily understood by ELLs with LD
 Speak slowly, clearly, and naturally.
 Face your students and avoid putting your
hand in front of your face.
 Be careful using idioms, e.g., “back-seat
driver”; ELLs may take it literally.
 Alert your students when something is
particularly important. Consistently use a
phrase such as “A key point is …”
Other possible accommodations for ELLs
with LD
 If possible, provide written notes that will help
your students follow the lessons.
 Lower the level of background noise in your
classroom to help your students hear.
 Allow a long pause between your questions
and your students’ answers. They need time to
think.
Twice the cognitive load
ELLs have twice the cognitive load —
they have to learn a new language AND
learn new content simultaneously.
Books on tape
Books on tape can help with pronunciation
of sounds and words.
For information on books on tape, visit the website of Recordings
for the Blind and Dyslexic: www.rfbd.org
Coordination of professionals
In order for these children to be successful, a team of adults
will have to work together. The team should include as many
of the following people as possible:
Classroom teacher
Special education
teacher
ELL specialist
Parent liaison
School psychologist
Speech therapist
Learning disability specialist
Principal
Establish a plan together and then communicate regularly to
assess progress and reevaluate the plan. For students who
are identified as having a learning disability, this
coordination should be managed by the IEP team.
Benefits of peer-assisted learning
 Stronger English speakers model the language
 More time on task with small groups
 Less intimidating for ELLs with LD
It’s critical to establish these routines very early so that
children are invested.
Perform daily informal assessments.
 Continually check basic vocabulary.
 Offer many opportunities to practice new words.
 Ensure they understand the meanings of new
words.
If they’re not getting it, go back and use smaller steps.
When working with ELLs …
 Take into account cultural differences.
 Don’t assume children know what native English
speakers know.
Progress monitoring
 Progress monitoring tools must be directly related
to the content taught.
 Monitor often — weekly or daily.
 Be diagnostic and prescriptive in teaching. Adjust
instruction based on progress monitoring results.
Resources for teachers of ELLs with LD
 Center for Applied Linguistics (www.cal.org)
 Colorín Colorado (www.ColorinColorado.org)
Check out the section on learning disabilities.
 LD OnLine (www.LDOnLine.org)
Visit the ELL and LD section.
 Reading Rockets (www.ReadingRockets.org)
Video: Parents as Partners
Clip from “Becoming Bilingual,” a part of the “Reading
Rockets: Launching Young Readers” television series.
Rachel Carson Elementary
Chicago, Illinois
Parent involvement
 How can parents who don’t speak English help?
• Speaking with children in their native language helps
them build transferable language skills.
• Reading with children in their native language helps
them build transferable language skills.
 How about parents who can’t read in their native
language?
• Take your child to the library.
• Look through books and talk about the pictures.
• Show a respect and enthusiasm for books and reading.
Parent involvement
 Why might a parent of an English language learner
not visit their child’s school?
It’s intimidating if you do not speak the language of the
school, particularly in cultures where the teacher and school
personnel are held in very high esteem.
How to engage parents of ELLs
 Have small group sessions with refreshments.
 Make the parents who do participate into leaders who can
encourage other parents to attend.
 Offer a parent resource center where parents can come
and learn about the school or use various educational
materials (e.g., books on tape, books in native languages,
etc.).
 Provide translation services.
 Send home materials in their native language.
 Follow up with parents via personal phone calls.
Involving parents in IEP meetings
Remember: A room full of professionals here to analyze your
child can be incredibly intimidating.
 Reassure the parents that you are all here to help.
 Have a translator available at the meeting.
 Take meetings step-by-step, making sure parents
understand everything being discussed.
 Suggest what parents can do at home to help.
 Offer an open-door policy, with an invitation for questions
and frequent communication.
 Offer a list of community resources.
Accommodating parents’ literacy levels
There may be some parents who are not readers even in
their own language.
 Provide adult literacy classes with native language
support.
 Provide parental involvement activities that require
minimal reading.
 Provide alternative means of distributing
information, such as phone calls or voicemails.
Guidelines for successfully teaching ELLs
with LD
 Look at every child as an individual.
 Closely monitor progress. Are they responding to
the intervention?
 Adapt instruction based on progress.
 Track progress in new language and in native
language.
What research needs to be done?
 Follow ELLs in special education over multiple
years and report results.
 Look at what delivery models were used and the
language of instruction.
 Compare to ELLs in general education and to nonELL students in special education.
Future steps for the field
 Design better assessment tools covering as many
aspects of language and literacy and learning as
possible.
 Measure the effectiveness of the accommodations
we give ELLs with LD during assessment and
instruction.
 Determine better ways to increase students’
academic language skills.
 Help teachers understand the language and literacy
opportunities in every classroom.
Some final thoughts on ELLs with LD
 Assess these children regularly and carefully.
 Base instructional decisions upon assessment data.
 Have consistency across languages of instruction.
 Provide opportunities to develop social language
skills.
 Focus intensively on high-level vocabulary and
comprehension skills.