Learning Difficulties and English Acquisition – Obstacles and Challenges Janina Kahn-Horwitz [email protected]

What are some of the What are some of the obstaclesobstacles ? ?

Is there a language learning disability that is specific to additional language acquisition?

The unique obstacles created by the English orthography (writing system).

04/18/23 2ETAI Spring Conference 2009

What are some of the What are some of the challengeschallenges??

Identifying potential students who will have difficulties acquiring EAL.

Facilitating English acquisition for students that appear on the middle to weak side of the language continuum.

Finding suitable intervention models for different schools.


Language aptitude continuum: a 4Language aptitude continuum: a 4thth grade grade class (Hebrew L1) in the north (n = 25) - class (Hebrew L1) in the north (n = 25) - started studying English in 3started studying English in 3rdrd grade grade

4 students - diagnosed LD including 1 with a communication based disorder and 2 bilinguals.

8 students - average L1 skills & lacking motivation

3 English speaking students – either 1 or 2 English speaking parents or spent 3 years abroad


Is there such a thing as a Is there such a thing as a learning disability in an learning disability in an additional language if we additional language if we have no evidence for it in have no evidence for it in L1? ORL1? ORIs failure in English a result Is failure in English a result of a discrete language of a discrete language learning difficulty?learning difficulty?

May be other reasons - Spolsky’s conditions (1989)


Social Context

leads to

Motivation

Attitudes

which appear in the learner as

Learning opportunities-formal or informal

Age Personality Capabilities PreviousKnowledge

provides

The interplay between learner & situation determining

All of which explain the use the learner makes of the available

Which joins with other personal characteristics such as

Linguistic & Non-linguistic outcomes for the learner

1


connections between L1 connections between L1 (Hebrew or Arabic) and (Hebrew or Arabic) and

additional language learning additional language learning (English)(English)

Linguistic Coding Differences Hypothesis (Sparks & Ganschow, 1991; 1993)

If we focus on language capabilities we need to examine:

2


Connection between L1 & additional language learning

First Language (Hebrew, Arabic)(phonological, orthographic, semantic,

morphological codes)

Foreign (Additional) Language (e.g. English)


The above theory accounts for The above theory accounts for students with specific language students with specific language difficulties which are measured difficulties which are measured in L1 but which express in L1 but which express themselves in any new themselves in any new language acquiredlanguage acquired..We will now discuss another obstacle that all students acquiring English literacy have to deal with but this obstacle becomes particularly ominous for students on the weaker side of the language continuum…

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Learning to read & spell Learning to read & spell different writing systemsdifferent writing systemsShallow (transparent) orthography – Direct relationship between sounds and symbols. For example: Voweled Hebrew and Arabic. Readers can go directly from spelling to sound without referring to meaning in order to identify the word.

3


English is an example of a English is an example of a deep orthographydeep orthographyDeep (opaque) orthography – More

complex relationship between pronunciation and letters. Various different processing strategies are used to deal with the complex relations between print and pronunciation. For example: knowledge of orthographic conventions or “knowing your neighbors” (silent e, c s before e, i or y), morphological knowledge sign, signature.


Implications of English Implications of English orthographic peculiaritiesorthographic peculiaritiesWhen comparing elementary

school children in 12 European countries who were acquiring L1 reading and writing Seymour, Aro, & Erskine (2004) found that English speaking children were 2 years behind the other European groups (after controlling for teaching methods and age of starting school).


Years of reading instruction Years of reading instruction required to achieve familiar word required to achieve familiar word recognitionrecognition::

English2.5 years

Danish2 years

Most other European orthographies

1 year


How deviant is the English How deviant is the English writing system? (Spencer, writing system? (Spencer, 2000)2000)PhR (Phoneme Representation) – representation of a phoneme as a proportion of all representations of that phoneme. This shows significant correlations with spelling performance.

Single representation of a phonemeAll representations of that phonemee.g. e = 1 = ea, ee, e-e, e, ei, ie, -y , ey

8 .125 (the closer to 1, the simpler the phoneme representation)


Examples of phoneme representation values for English reading and spelling

acquisition (Spencer, 2000)1.long a: a (nature), ay (day), a-e (cake),

ai (rain), eigh (eight), ea (great) – 1/62.long e: e, ee, e-e, ea, ei, ie (thief), -y, ey

– 1/83.long i: i-e, y-e, -y, igh, i, ie – 1/64.long o: o, o-e, oa, ow, oe – 1/55.long u: u, u-e, ew, eu (Europe), ue – 1/5 6.ou: ou, ow – ½7.au: au, aw, augh, ough – ¼


Only 4 years after the beginning of Only 4 years after the beginning of literacy acquisition were the literacy acquisition were the majority of this sample of students majority of this sample of students [without LLD] reading “try” correctly [without LLD] reading “try” correctly (Pilot study on 180 students: Kahn-Horwitz & (Pilot study on 180 students: Kahn-Horwitz & Goldstein, 2008)Goldstein, 2008)


““aw” in a decontextualised word aw” in a decontextualised word turns out to be even more turns out to be even more challenging for students without challenging for students without LLD LLD (Kahn-Horwitz & Goldstein, 2008)(Kahn-Horwitz & Goldstein, 2008)


““Children using English as Children using English as an educational medium will an educational medium will be disadvantaged; be disadvantaged; dyslexic children will be dyslexic children will be greatly disadvantaged;greatly disadvantaged;and the most and the most disadvantaged group of all disadvantaged group of all may be dyslexic children for may be dyslexic children for whom English is an whom English is an additional language.” additional language.” Spencer, 2000Spencer, 2000..


Who are the students we are Who are the students we are talking abouttalking about??

Diagnosed (less so in elementary school, from JH this changes, differences between socio-economic areas)

Undiagnosed – any student who for whatever reason isn’t succeeding in acquiring English.

The continuum – we need to pay attention to the weak to average side of the continuum. 04/18/23 19ETAI Spring Conference 2009

Individual differences between Individual differences between high & low achievers, LD and high & low achievers, LD and ADHD L2 learnersADHD L2 learnersSparks, Humbach & Javorsky, (2008). Sparks, Humbach & Javorsky, (2008). Learning and Individual DifferencesLearning and Individual Differences156 - L1 English speaking high school students studying L2 Spanish.

Sparks and colleagues obtained L1 English elementary school grades for these students.


44 groupsgroups


Language aptitude continuum: a 4Language aptitude continuum: a 4thth grade grade class (Hebrew L1) in the north (n = 25) - class (Hebrew L1) in the north (n = 25) - started studying English in 3started studying English in 3rdrd grade grade

4 students - diagnosed LD including 1 with a communication based disorder and 2 bilinguals.

8 students - average L1 skills & lacking motivation

3 English speaking students – either 1 or 2 English speaking parents or spent 3 years abroad


Results for Spanish proficiency Results for Spanish proficiency tests, classroom tests, lower level tests, classroom tests, lower level literacy tasksliteracy tasksHA students performed significantly better than LA and LD students.

Students who achieved higher scores in English L1 reading and writing in 4th grade achieved significantly higher scores on Spanish L2 measures several years later.


ADHD students scored similar results to the HA students on the Spanish proficiency test as well as the Spanish lower level literacy tasks.

In other words, students with ADHD who do not have L1 difficulties may do well in L2 studies.


FL grade resultsFL grade resultsIn spite of the above, HA students

received higher L2 final grades as opposed to ADHD students.

The LA and LD groups received similar grades over 2 years of L2 study. Many of them failed the final L2 proficiency test. Many of these students passed quizzes and received grades for home-work and participation but could not read, write, speak or comprehend the L2 at an acceptable level.


Sparks, Humbach & Sparks, Humbach & Javorsky conclude:Javorsky conclude:“Rather than relying on a student’s

diagnosis (or lack of diagnosis) as LD (or ADHD), educators should investigate whether students with L2 learning problems have a history of or current difficulties with L1 skills and then focus on the best method(s) for teaching the language skills involved in L2 learning to those students.” (p. 41)


Can a student with L1 Can a student with L1 difficulties (medium to difficulties (medium to severe) acquire an additional severe) acquire an additional languagelanguage??

1. The ideal situation: the case of N. (currently in 7th grade)

2. Simmons case (Annals of Dyslexia, 2000)

3. M. teaching English in a school for students with severe emotional difficulties (what a successful experience with English can do for individuals on the lower to average side of the continuum)


Implementing EAL instruction Implementing EAL instruction for students with learning for students with learning difficulties can take place in difficulties can take place in numerous settingsnumerous settings::

1. On a one to one basis (which is often considered a luxury possible only in private clinical settings).2. In smaller or larger relatively homogenous groups which may take place in various “pull out” frameworks.3. Within the framework of a relatively homogenous class of weaker students.4. Within the framework of an entire heterogeneous class.


The need to learn from one The need to learn from one anotheranother::

1. Some years ago Ellen Hoffenberg Sarfati documented her experience teaching weak high school EAL studentshttp://www.etni.org.il/etninews/ldart.htm

2. Tova Teitelbaum (2000) reported on an intervention implemented in an elementary school which appeared in the ETAI Forum English Teachers’ Journal.

3. Secemski, Deutsch, & Adoram, (2000). Structured multisensory teaching for second language learning in Israel. In L. Peer & G. Reid (Eds.), Multilingualism, Literacy and Dyslexia: A Challenge for Educators (pp. 235-242). London: David Fulton.


The need to learn from one The need to learn from one anotheranother::

1. Today was a perfect example of this. ETAI provided the framework.

2. And currently, the ETAI Forum (the official journal of the English Teacher’s Association of Israel) which will be published in the next few weeks will be a special LD edition with some documentation of successful intervention experiences.


Finally, optimal policy should Finally, optimal policy should considerconsider::early diagnosis and intervention (Ofek Hadash?)

professional on every school staff to facilitate the above

sound literacy instruction in the elementary school grades (window of opportunity) in a way that maximizes the chances of the majority.


We all need to continue relating very We all need to continue relating very seriously to ways of overcoming seriously to ways of overcoming obstacles and dealing with the obstacles and dealing with the challenges facing the significant challenges facing the significant percentage of percentage of weak to average L1 weak to average L1 students who experience students who experience extraordinary difficulties in acquiring extraordinary difficulties in acquiring and progressing in English as an and progressing in English as an additional language.additional language.There are no magic recipes which will There are no magic recipes which will enable these students to become enable these students to become linguistically proficient but through linguistically proficient but through thorough, direct, structured thorough, direct, structured instruction we can facilitate an instruction we can facilitate an empowering English experience empowering English experience which will improve their which will improve their understanding of English and their understanding of English and their feelings about themselves. feelings about themselves.


Thank you for your attention!

[email protected]

04/18/23 ETAI Spring Conference 2009 34

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Learning Difficulties and English Acquisition – Obstacles and Challenges Janina Kahn-Horwitz [email protected]