Coping with learning
difficulties
Introduction to Dyslexia1: From
Sounds to Symbols
Every language has its own set of sounds; English
has between 42–46 depending on the accent. This is
relatively few compared to some other languages. We
all have an innate ability to tune into the sounds of
our language right from birth.
Small units of sound, known as phonemes,
distinguish one word from another. In the words
bad and bat for example, the phonemes (sounds)
distinguishing these two words are /t/ and /d/,
whereas in pad and bad the phonemes making the
difference are /p/ and /b/.
The core difficulty in dyslexia is phonological
awareness (awareness of different sounds). A dyslexic
learner has difficulties in recognising the important
sound differences in words. They may also have
difficulties in fully understanding the system by which
these sounds are symbolised by letters. This does not
mean that the dyslexic learner necessarily has hearing
problems but rather that he/she has problems
processing phonological information.
The dyslexic student learning English will have the
added challenge of learning the complex coding
system, in which an alphabet of 26 letters is made
to represent more than 42 sounds. As a result
of insufficient letters in the English alphabet to
represent all sounds, different letter patterns may
represent the same sound (my and tie). In addition,
the same letter combinations can symbolise different
sounds (found and group).
1
There is no single agreed approach to the
identification of dyslexia, or on what the most
effective intervention programmes are. There
is however, a consensus that phonological skills
and abilities should be the focus of early literacy
teaching.
Practical Ideas for the Classroom
Students vary in their range of needs and in the level
of their specific learning difficulty. It is helpful to the
students if the teacher can recognise the learning
needs of the individual students in the class and
provide the necessary support. The following are
some general practical ideas to help dyslexic learners.
Listening
A dyslexic student may have difficulty tuning into, and
discriminating small units of sounds in words. The
problem may be at the smallest unit of sound (the
phoneme) or larger units of sounds (the syllable); or
both.
Ideas box
1 When presenting new information, it helps to take
a multi-sensory approach, presenting information in
the following different ways:
showing (i.e. by demonstration and by visual and
written aids)
explaining (i.e. talking about)
doing (i.e. by giving students a chance to actively
do something with the new information)
Roleplays are active and verbal ways of doing. Doing
can also be making something, which is active and
sometimes verbal; drawing, which is active, visual
and non-verbal and writing, which is active, visual
and requires verbal processing.
2 New Challenges 2, Study Corner 2 shows a
spidergram technique and suggests other examples
of memory aids. Spidergrams are a helpful way
of organising information for all learners and in
particular dyslexic learners.
Speaking
Dyslexic students don’t have an efficient way of
storing verbal information and can have difficulty
remembering words. They may also find it difficult to
organise a correct sentence sequence.
Ideas box
1 When teaching new sentence patterns, it helps to
give students a model rather than a rule. It would
help all learners, especially dyslexic students, to have
new patterns orally demonstrated by the teacher in
a simple way. This enables students to use the new
pattern in their own practice and thereby absorbing
the new grammar rule. It is important that there is
sufficient modelling by the teacher and repetition
by students at the initial stages of learning a new
grammar rule. Sentence building work throughout
the text could usefully be extended in the case of
dyslexic students by using exactly the same sentence
patterns with appropriate word changes.
2 Question forms can be particularly demanding
for dyslexic students due to changes in sentence
sequencing. Wall charts of the question forms,
when and as they appear in the modules give a visual
aid to learning and memory.
43
 Teacher development workshops
Reading
As dyslexic students struggle with individual words,
they often have trouble understanding the overall
meaning of the text.
Ideas box
1 An introductory summary of the main points is
useful to facilitate comprehension, before introducing
the text.
2 Always check that the student has understood the
written text before setting a task on it.
3 Use paired reading when possible. This is where a
competent reader is partnered with a dyslexic student
to read the passage aloud for their partner. It will
help the dyslexic learner to listen to the passage read
aloud by their partner before a class reading activity.
4 Pupils may benefit from a discussion about the
overall content of the text. However, when a dyslexic
student gets stuck with a particular word they won’t
improve their reading by being asked to guess it by
looking at the context. The best way to support the
student is to tell them the word, get them to point to
the word and then say it back to you.
A Sense of Achievement
Successful learning builds confidence.
Writing
Spelling is usually a weakness for dyslexic students,
even when reading skills improve. They need
encouragement to write and gain confidence;
otherwise the task of writing becomes worrying and is
associated with failure.
Ideas box
1 It is more important to encourage students to
write than to focus on spelling errors.
2 The dyslexic student often misses out small words
in writing. It is important to remind students of this,
but it is also important to accept a degree of error.
3 A first step to helping dyslexic students to learn
spellings is to identify 5–10 target words (agreed
with the student and listed in their workbook for
reference). Then it is essential to make sure he/she gets
the opportunity to read and spell these target words
frequently until the words are learnt and a new set of
target words can be selected. Keeping a growing list of
spellings learnt will help students see their progress
and to see themselves as successful learners.
Concentration
A dyslexic student has to put more effort than the average
pupil into the task of reading and comprehending texts.
For this reason they often find multi-tasking (doing more
than one thing at a time) very difficult. Effective Multi-
tasking is only possible when it is possible to do one thing
almost automatically or without thinking much about it.
A dyslexic student is likely to have to think actively and
concentrate hard on text-related activities.
44
Ideas Box
1 Some exercises in New Challenges 2 are multi-task
in form. For example, a student may be asked to
listen, to read and to tick a chart or fill in missing
words all at the same time. One step at a time is
more helpful for the dyslexic learner. In addition, the
pace of the task (e.g. the speed that a text is read)
could be slowed. To help students, get them to listen
to or read a text at home to prepare for the text in
class. Reading homework tasks should be short and
focused (for example, new words could be underlined
by the teacher in advance to draw particular
attention to them) so as to ensure the student’s
interest and understanding is maintained.
2 When a task is hard for a student they have to
concentrate harder. This makes them likely to tire faster
than other students. It is a good idea to give dyslexic
students regular learning breaks of two or three
minutes where they can sit back and stop doing the task
briefly. These breaks give students a chance to switch off
from the task and relax and then refocus and concentrate.
Ideas Box
1 Repetition and repetition with variety (doing the
same thing again, but in different ways over a period
of time), is the golden rule for supporting the dyslexic
student. Research into memory has shown that new
information needs to be revisited regularly (i.e. the
same week; the next week; in a fortnight; in a month;
in two months and again in six months) in order for it
to be stored in long‑term memory as opposed to just
short‑term memory.
2 The Study Corner sections throughout New
Challenges 2 provide a monitoring framework by
which a teacher will be able to identify any areas
where the dyslexic student may need further teaching
or practice. Some dyslexic learners may have begun
to conceal their difficulties to avoid embarrassment,
criticism or a sense of failure. They will benefit
from a supportive and encouraging approach from
teachers, so they learn that it is alright to ask for
help or to admit to not being able to do something.
Once this is established, students should feel more
comfortable about realistically discussing their learning
needs and setting targets with their teacher.
3 Successes as well as mistakes should be noted and
identified to the student; the student needs to keep
an image of himself/herself as a capable learner, who
despite having specific difficulties also has learning
strengths and competencies.
4 An encouraging, supportive and understanding
teaching approach is essential and will help other
pupils understand how they too can support one
another to achieve their potential.
Fillers
1 Noughts and Crosses
Useful for phrasal verbs, compound nouns or short phrases. Draw a
grid on the board 3x3 and fill the squares with the initial letters of
the words you want to revise. (Below are words from the Sentence
Builder and Word Builder exercises p.17.) Split the class into two
groups and in turn they choose one of the squares. Define the word
and Ss have to guess what it is. They only have one guess before it
passes to the other team. If they guess it correctly, they win that
square. The aim is to get three squares in a row, across, down or
diagonally. Continue defining, even if one team does win, to recycle
all the vocabulary.
l.a g.o.w w.f
n.v.g.a. i.i g.o.w
g.u. b.a g.a
E.g. l.a. If you have a young brother or sister, sometimes your
parents might ask you to l.a. them (look after)
2 Drawing game
Useful for easily-drawn nouns that Ss will recognise, e.g. food
vocabulary on p.28. Divide the class into two groups and choose
one person from each group to come to the board. Show them
both a word and they have to draw it on the board while their team
guesses what it is. As soon as one team guesses correctly, they win a
point and another student from each group comes to draw the next
word.
3 Circle the word
Useful for words which look different to how they are spoken e.g.
dates on p.33. Write a number of dates on the board in numerical
form (e.g. 2/9, 15/6). Make sure there are a few with the same day
but different months (e.g. 15/6, 15/9, 15/3). Divide the class into
two groups and choose one person from each group to come to
the board. Dictate a date in normal spoken form (e.g. The fifteenth
of June). The two Ss at the front race to find the correct date first
and draw a circle around it. The winner gets a point and another
student from each group comes to find the next date.
4 Which word
This is useful for adjectives which could be used to describe a
number of nouns such as those on p.46. Dictate the adjectives and
tell the Ss to write the first noun that they think of which could
be described by each (e.g. dark – cave/hair/night). Ss shouldn’t
let anyone else see what they are writing. When finished, Ss join
up in pairs and tell each other a noun they wrote (not in order).
The other student has to guess which adjective they wrote it with
(e.g. student 1 says: spider. Student 2 says: horrible? No. Scary? No.
enormous? Yes). Ss continue until they have gone through all the
words they both wrote.
5 Taboo
This is useful for any words which make you think of a number of
other words e.g. the performers on p.56. Ss work in pairs to think
of a word and write down five related words (e.g. clown – funny,
water, nose, smile, laugh). They then pass the words to a second
pair who have to try to define the word but without using any of
the words given. The rest of the class have to guess what the word
was.
6 Have you got …
This is useful for words such as opposites or extreme adjectives
where one word definitely matches another. It is also useful for
words such as those to describe people on p.63. Split the class
into an even number of groups. You need prepared words written
out on slips of paper, about ten per group (e.g. One group has fat,
blond, curly, moustache etc., another has slim, dark, straight, beard
etc.). Ss look at their words and work together to try to guess what
words the other group has. One group starts by asking e.g. Have you
got thin. If the second group has ‘thin’ they pass it over. If not, they
say No and it is then their turn. The aim is to have more words than
the other group at the end of the activity.
7 Hangman
This is useful for any words but best for those which Ss are more
likely to remember such as the technology vocabulary on p.73. This
can be done in the traditional manner, building up a scaffold to
‘hang’ the man if the Ss don’t guess the word or for points. Split the
class in half and elicit letters from each in turn. If they say a letter
which appears in the word, they score a point for every time it
appears (e.g. In laptop, they would score 2 points for the letter
p. This also works well with phrases and sentences e.g. _ _ /
___/____/__/____/_ _______,/_ /
_ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ / _ / _ _ _ _! (If you don’t do your
homework, I will give you a test!)
8 Backs to the board
This can be used for any words or phrases which are easily defined
e.g. the adjectives on p.86. Two Ss come to the front and face the
class. Write the word on the board. The two Ss at the front cannot
look at the board, the others cannot say or spell the word on the
board but have to define it. This can be played as a competition or
just as a game without points to recycle vocabulary. Swap Ss after
each word.
9 Get rid of the word
This works well with new or difficult vocabulary. You need to
prepare a word for each student which has the definition on
the back of the paper. Ss mingle and show/tell each other their
definition and the other student has to guess the word. If they
can’t, they take the piece of paper. At first, Ss know very few words
and so are simply swapping pieces of paper but, as the game goes
on, Ss remember the words as they have seen them before and
it becomes harder to get rid of pieces of paper. At the end of the
activity, the winners are those who don’t have any words left.
10 Define it!
This works well at the end of a course or as a revision halfway
through. Ss work in groups and each group has to look at a
different unit of the book. They choose ten words and make sure
that they are able to define them. One person from each group
swaps with someone from a different group. These Ss take their list
of words with them. Their job is to define them to the other group
who have to try to guess what the words are. The winners are the
group who finish first or have the most correct at the end of the
activity.
45
 Teacher development workshops
Reading
As dyslexic students struggle with individual words,
they often have trouble understanding the overall
meaning of the text.
Ideas box
1 An introductory summary of the main points is
useful to facilitate comprehension, before introducing
the text.
2 Always check that the student has understood the
written text before setting a task on it.
3 Use paired reading when possible. This is where a
competent reader is partnered with a dyslexic student
to read the passage aloud for their partner. It will
help the dyslexic learner to listen to the passage read
aloud by their partner before a class reading activity.
4 Pupils may benefit from a discussion about the
overall content of the text. However, when a dyslexic
student gets stuck with a particular word they won’t
improve their reading by being asked to guess it by
looking at the context. The best way to support the
student is to tell them the word, get them to point to
the word and then say it back to you.
A Sense of Achievement
Successful learning builds confidence.
Writing
Spelling is usually a weakness for dyslexic students,
even when reading skills improve. They need
encouragement to write and gain confidence;
otherwise the task of writing becomes worrying and is
associated with failure.
Ideas box
1 It is more important to encourage students to
write than to focus on spelling errors.
2 The dyslexic student often misses out small words
in writing. It is important to remind students of this,
but it is also important to accept a degree of error.
3 A first step to helping dyslexic students to learn
spellings is to identify 5–10 target words (agreed
with the student and listed in their workbook for
reference). Then it is essential to make sure he/she gets
the opportunity to read and spell these target words
frequently until the words are learnt and a new set of
target words can be selected. Keeping a growing list of
spellings learnt will help students see their progress
and to see themselves as successful learners.
Concentration
A dyslexic student has to put more effort than the average
pupil into the task of reading and comprehending texts.
For this reason they often find multi-tasking (doing more
than one thing at a time) very difficult. Effective Multi-
tasking is only possible when it is possible to do one thing
almost automatically or without thinking much about it.
A dyslexic student is likely to have to think actively and
concentrate hard on text-related activities.
44
Ideas Box
1 Some exercises in New Challenges 2 are multi-task
in form. For example, a student may be asked to
listen, to read and to tick a chart or fill in missing
words all at the same time. One step at a time is
more helpful for the dyslexic learner. In addition, the
pace of the task (e.g. the speed that a text is read)
could be slowed. To help students, get them to listen
to or read a text at home to prepare for the text in
class. Reading homework tasks should be short and
focused (for example, new words could be underlined
by the teacher in advance to draw particular
attention to them) so as to ensure the student’s
interest and understanding is maintained.
2 When a task is hard for a student they have to
concentrate harder. This makes them likely to tire faster
than other students. It is a good idea to give dyslexic
students regular learning breaks of two or three
minutes where they can sit back and stop doing the task
briefly. These breaks give students a chance to switch off
from the task and relax and then refocus and concentrate.
Ideas Box
1 Repetition and repetition with variety (doing the
same thing again, but in different ways over a period
of time), is the golden rule for supporting the dyslexic
student. Research into memory has shown that new
information needs to be revisited regularly (i.e. the
same week; the next week; in a fortnight; in a month;
in two months and again in six months) in order for it
to be stored in long‑term memory as opposed to just
short‑term memory.
2 The Study Corner sections throughout New
Challenges 2 provide a monitoring framework by
which a teacher will be able to identify any areas
where the dyslexic student may need further teaching
or practice. Some dyslexic learners may have begun
to conceal their difficulties to avoid embarrassment,
criticism or a sense of failure. They will benefit
from a supportive and encouraging approach from
teachers, so they learn that it is alright to ask for
help or to admit to not being able to do something.
Once this is established, students should feel more
comfortable about realistically discussing their learning
needs and setting targets with their teacher.
3 Successes as well as mistakes should be noted and
identified to the student; the student needs to keep
an image of himself/herself as a capable learner, who
despite having specific difficulties also has learning
strengths and competencies.
4 An encouraging, supportive and understanding
teaching approach is essential and will help other
pupils understand how they too can support one
another to achieve their potential.
Fillers
1 Noughts and Crosses
Useful for phrasal verbs, compound nouns or short phrases. Draw a
grid on the board 3x3 and fill the squares with the initial letters of
the words you want to revise. (Below are words from the Sentence
Builder and Word Builder exercises p.17.) Split the class into two
groups and in turn they choose one of the squares. Define the word
and Ss have to guess what it is. They only have one guess before it
passes to the other team. If they guess it correctly, they win that
square. The aim is to get three squares in a row, across, down or
diagonally. Continue defining, even if one team does win, to recycle
all the vocabulary.
l.a g.o.w w.f
n.v.g.a. i.i g.o.w
g.u. b.a g.a
E.g. l.a. If you have a young brother or sister, sometimes your
parents might ask you to l.a. them (look after)
2 Drawing game
Useful for easily-drawn nouns that Ss will recognise, e.g. food
vocabulary on p.28. Divide the class into two groups and choose
one person from each group to come to the board. Show them
both a word and they have to draw it on the board while their team
guesses what it is. As soon as one team guesses correctly, they win a
point and another student from each group comes to draw the next
word.
3 Circle the word
Useful for words which look different to how they are spoken e.g.
dates on p.33. Write a number of dates on the board in numerical
form (e.g. 2/9, 15/6). Make sure there are a few with the same day
but different months (e.g. 15/6, 15/9, 15/3). Divide the class into
two groups and choose one person from each group to come to
the board. Dictate a date in normal spoken form (e.g. The fifteenth
of June). The two Ss at the front race to find the correct date first
and draw a circle around it. The winner gets a point and another
student from each group comes to find the next date.
4 Which word
This is useful for adjectives which could be used to describe a
number of nouns such as those on p.46. Dictate the adjectives and
tell the Ss to write the first noun that they think of which could
be described by each (e.g. dark – cave/hair/night). Ss shouldn’t
let anyone else see what they are writing. When finished, Ss join
up in pairs and tell each other a noun they wrote (not in order).
The other student has to guess which adjective they wrote it with
(e.g. student 1 says: spider. Student 2 says: horrible? No. Scary? No.
enormous? Yes). Ss continue until they have gone through all the
words they both wrote.
5 Taboo
This is useful for any words which make you think of a number of
other words e.g. the performers on p.56. Ss work in pairs to think
of a word and write down five related words (e.g. clown – funny,
water, nose, smile, laugh). They then pass the words to a second
pair who have to try to define the word but without using any of
the words given. The rest of the class have to guess what the word
was.
6 Have you got …
This is useful for words such as opposites or extreme adjectives
where one word definitely matches another. It is also useful for
words such as those to describe people on p.63. Split the class
into an even number of groups. You need prepared words written
out on slips of paper, about ten per group (e.g. One group has fat,
blond, curly, moustache etc., another has slim, dark, straight, beard
etc.). Ss look at their words and work together to try to guess what
words the other group has. One group starts by asking e.g. Have you
got thin. If the second group has ‘thin’ they pass it over. If not, they
say No and it is then their turn. The aim is to have more words than
the other group at the end of the activity.
7 Hangman
This is useful for any words but best for those which Ss are more
likely to remember such as the technology vocabulary on p.73. This
can be done in the traditional manner, building up a scaffold to
‘hang’ the man if the Ss don’t guess the word or for points. Split the
class in half and elicit letters from each in turn. If they say a letter
which appears in the word, they score a point for every time it
appears (e.g. In laptop, they would score 2 points for the letter
p. This also works well with phrases and sentences e.g. _ _ /
___/____/__/____/_ _______,/_ /
_ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ / _ / _ _ _ _! (If you don’t do your
homework, I will give you a test!)
8 Backs to the board
This can be used for any words or phrases which are easily defined
e.g. the adjectives on p.86. Two Ss come to the front and face the
class. Write the word on the board. The two Ss at the front cannot
look at the board, the others cannot say or spell the word on the
board but have to define it. This can be played as a competition or
just as a game without points to recycle vocabulary. Swap Ss after
each word.
9 Get rid of the word
This works well with new or difficult vocabulary. You need to
prepare a word for each student which has the definition on
the back of the paper. Ss mingle and show/tell each other their
definition and the other student has to guess the word. If they
can’t, they take the piece of paper. At first, Ss know very few words
and so are simply swapping pieces of paper but, as the game goes
on, Ss remember the words as they have seen them before and
it becomes harder to get rid of pieces of paper. At the end of the
activity, the winners are those who don’t have any words left.
10 Define it!
This works well at the end of a course or as a revision halfway
through. Ss work in groups and each group has to look at a
different unit of the book. They choose ten words and make sure
that they are able to define them. One person from each group
swaps with someone from a different group. These Ss take their list
of words with them. Their job is to define them to the other group
who have to try to guess what the words are. The winners are the
group who finish first or have the most correct at the end of the
activity.
45