[SENco-forum] Possible dyslexia & learning a foreign language

Some SpLD students cannot map (or blend) even basic combinations
(bl/blue/black) and need a lot of onset/rime work with word families to get
both aspects to stick. This lack is often overlooked especially when they
appear to be able to 'read' albeit at a low level.  My only criticism of
synthetic phonics is that it does not seem to always include this area.
Some children do not understand how to map or blend consonants and this
needs to be taught just as vowel digraphs are.

Some cannot 'see' whole words and so struggle with learning any words let
alone irregular ones - 'real book' reading is a disaster for them.  This
difficulty means there is no right or wrong feeling to their spelling so
there is no point asking them to check their work unless the misspelled word
is pointed out ( my daughter prefers Word underlining as the computer is
non-judgemental) to give them another chance to apply taught spelling rules
or strategies. Self checking without such support no only causes her
unnecessary stress but is likely to get her to 'amend' the wrong words.

Others have problems in both areas, as does said daughter.  They have poor
phonological awareness in some areas (blends, vowel digraphs, trigraphs and
spelling clusters i.e tion) but not at the basic level single sounds,
ch/sh/th or word manipulation cat/pat or cat/can.    It is in the early
stages when teachers are looking for difficulties and many bright children
with SpLD still get over looked.

MFL learning gives her real difficulties as she has problems mapping English
let alone French. for her there is absolutely no difference between
September/Septembre unless she touches each individual letter!  She has been
excused a 2nd language and uses this additional time in the SEN dept.,
working on English, getting help with homework and learning to touch type.

Sharon

 --Original Message-----
From: Maggie Downie [mailto:maizie2004 at yahoo.co.uk]
Sent: 07 October 2006 22:50
To: SEN at tringham.net; Amanda; Becta Senco
Subject: RE: [SENco-forum] Possible dyslexia

  I agree with you about mapping sounds to letters, but why complicate it
with 'blends'?  Why not just teach them to blend all through the word? Then
theyl'll be able to deal with any grapheme in any position.

  Maggie

  SEN at tringham.net wrote:

    A recent report showed that English students with SpLD were poor at
learning
    languages because it didn't start by mapping sounds to letters and
building
    on that. The students felt they were constantly at sea. Most will be
able
    to understand individual letter sounds but then need work on blends or
    'clumps'. Work through a good SpLD programme with lots of fun and games
    anyway - no harm done.

    Sharon Tringham

    -----Original Message-----
    From: senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk
    [mailto:senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk]On Behalf Of Amanda
    Sent: 07 October 2006 17:36
    To: senco-forum
    Subject: [senco-forum] Possible dyslexia

    Hello everyone

    Anyone got any experience of testing then working with someone with some
    sort of language difficulty whose first language is not English. I've
done
    the Dyslexia Screening Test but all it shows, of course, is that there
is a
    problem in English and I suspect that he has learning difficulties as
well.

    We don't get many students who do not have English as a first language -
    this is only the fourth in eighteen years! I'd appreciate some advice
from
    those who know much more about this than me.

    Amanda