Teaching students experiencing difficulties in learning: Information for teachers of Languages

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1 Teaching students experiencing difficulties in learning: Information for teachers of Languages Make only adaptations that foster learning rather than excuse one from learning (Asch, in Westwood 199) Contents Introduction 1 Effective teaching strategies and adjustments for students experiencing difficulties with learning: the four macro skills Resources 6 Acknowledgements 6 Appendix A 7 Appendix B 8 Appendix C 1 Introduction A key principle of the K 10 Curriculum Framework, which guides K 10 syllabus implementation, is that the curriculum is inclusive of the learning needs of all students in New South Wales government schools (NSW Board of Studies, 00). The rationale, aim, objectives, outcomes and content of each syllabus have been designed to accommodate teaching approaches that support the learning needs of all students. This includes students experiencing difficulties in learning and those with a disability enrolled in regular classes, support classes and special schools. The Stage Statements and the Continuum of Learning in each K 10 Languages syllabus can help teachers identify the starting points for instruction for the students in their class. Most students experiencing difficulties in learning or who have a disability will participate fully in learning experiences and assessment activities provided by the outcomes and content within the syllabuses. Some students will require additional support, including adjustments to teaching and learning activities and/or assessment. For a small percentage of students (approximately %), the Life Skills outcomes and content within each 7 10 syllabus can provide an accessible and meaningful curriculum option. If a student is unable to access any regular outcomes or content after adjustments have been made, only then will the student access the Life Skills outcomes of a particular syllabus. By denying some students access to regular outcomes and content, we may be providing reduced opportunities for these students to learn, reducing their chances in life (Ainscow and Muncey, 1990). Refer to Appendix A for more information about accessing Life Skills outcomes. Who are students with special needs? These may include: students with sensory or physical disabilities students with intellectual disabilities students with emotional and/or behavioural disorders students with communication and/or language disorders students experiencing difficulties in learning. Students classified as having a learning difficulty are a heterogeneous group and have a wide variety of characteristics, ranging from academic difficulties to cognitive and social-emotional problems (Kraayenord and Elkins, 1990). The term learning difficulties is a general one used widely and without much precision. Usually the term applies to approximately 10 to 16% of the school population and refers to those students who have general problems in learning (Mapping the Territory, DETYA, 000). Very seldom is there a single cause found for a particular student s problems with learning and sometimes it is impossible to determine any predisposing factor that has led to a student experiencing difficulties.

2 What are some common characteristics of students who experience difficulties learning? Some general learning characteristics of these students are that they may: experience difficulties with reading, writing, spelling and mathematics sometimes in all areas and sometimes in just one or two have difficulty following instructions or directions to complete a task have poor fine motor skills which can affect legibility of handwriting pronounce or read multi-syllabic words with difficulty have reduced or limited vocabulary and word knowledge in comparison to their peers have poor retrieval of information perhaps due to problems with memory have difficulty copying from the board or overhead projector have poor literacy in their first language. Students may also demonstrate the following behaviours. They may: be introverted or exhibit attention seeking behaviour be easily distracted have poor organisational skills show reluctance to learn or get involved in classroom activities be dependent on the teacher or a friend work slowly or work too quickly and inaccurately have poor or inappropriate social skills be frequently absent from class and/or school demonstrate a lack of motivation have poor self-esteem. Teachers should be aware that students who display some or all of these characteristics and behaviours may not necessarily be experiencing difficulties in learning. Further investigation by the teacher may be necessary. The importance of effective instruction Students experiencing difficulties learning benefit most from explicit teaching of new concepts and skills. Effective teaching practices are those which provide all students with maximum opportunities to learn. Effective lessons contain the following elements: daily review of previous work and how the lesson will build on previous lessons clear presentation of new skills and concepts with much modelling by the teacher guided student practice, with high success rates and with specific feedback to individual students independent student practice, applying new knowledge and skills appropriately systematic cumulative revision of work previously covered. The importance of effective teaching Effective teachers of Languages: demonstrate a clear understanding of the structure and substance of the core content being taught are specific about lesson outcomes successfully break lessons into manageable and logical sequences judge accurately the time needed to accomplish these outcomes use instruction and vocabulary appropriate for different abilities adjust the level of questions for different abilities provide meaningful, purposeful opportunities for the students to communicate in the target language, both in and out of the classroom devote time to the four macro skills appropriate to the course objectives use a variety of groupings, including pairwork and larger groupwork use mainly student-centred activities use explicit error correction in activities focusing on accuracy and uses implicit or no error correction in activities focusing on communication use a variety of activities and approaches to address student learning styles and needs

3 connect language learning to real situations and other KLAs encourage students to assess their own progress provide many opportunities for student success establish a climate in which students feel comfortable taking risks use the textbook as a tool, not as the curriculum use a variety of print and non-print tools, including authentic material facilitate teaching and learning through technology. Planning teaching and learning activities There are four areas to consider when planning teaching and learning activities which are inclusive of all students in the class. 1. Content Teachers need to consider the core content to be covered from the syllabus and to sequence a particular unit of work or series of lessons to ensure all students will learn and be successful. For example, if the goal of a lesson is to have students draw up their own timetable in the target language, the prerequisite knowledge students would need to bring to the task would include: days of the week time ordinal numbers school subjects other relevant vocabulary, for example recess, lunch, sport understanding a timetable in English socio-cultural knowledge, for example that the school day in Germany may finish at 1:00pm. Teachers need to work with students to brainstorm this prerequisite knowledge before completing the task. When choosing teaching and learning activities teachers need to: ensure the activities chosen link to prior student knowledge by designing tasks which are similar to those already mastered by the student, but which take them one step further ensure there is no prerequisite knowledge required in the target language that the student does not possess ensure that there are no prerequisite skills required that the student does not possess, for example computation skills in a lesson on numbers lead all students to the same outcome, but provide students experiencing difficulties with smaller steps to reach that outcome, maximising their chance of success relate learning as much as possible back to the student s own world or to a real situation. For assessment tasks, the teacher should plan for students experiencing learning difficulties to access and become familiar with the appropriate support that will allow them to complete assessment tasks. This may include: the provision of a scribe and/or reader additional time rest breaks additional assessment opportunities, for example performing a written task orally.. Instruction Instruction should be explicit and systematic. Explicit instruction refers to the active and deliberate development of all aspects of students learning rather than leaving anything to chance. Systematic instruction refers to the selection and sequencing of activities in order to ensure that students develop comprehensive knowledge, skills and understanding which are relevant to the identified needs of the student and to the task at hand (Focus on Literacy: Writing, 000). The way teachers instruct students varies from teacher to teacher. Many students experiencing difficulties learning have problems recognising and adapting to different teaching styles in a school setting. Teachers need to be aware of their instructional style and consider the needs of particular students. To be explicit and systematic teachers need to: define the purpose of every task and explain to students what is required in

4 fulfilling the purpose of a lesson clearly state the criteria which will be used to assess student achievement provide a range of learning and responding modes to cater for the different learning needs of the students, for example, supporting reading and writing skills with oral and aural skills think about how they interact with the students, for example time spent by only the teacher talking, involving students in discussions, varying the levels and variety of questions and ensuring all students contribute ideas and feel their contributions are valued consider their questioning techniques, including rephrasing questions, simplifying language or providing alternative formats for information to be provided, for example more use of visual cues be aware which students require additional instruction and/or support be aware that, for some students, the teaching of organisational strategies (e.g. diaries, notebooks) for assignments may be necessary to help keep students on task and on schedule ensure modelling occurs frequently, followed by guided or peer practice and then independent practice to provide an effective scaffold for success provide additional support, for example through group work, peer tutoring, direct assistance and frequent feedback rephrase or adjust questions using fewer words or less complex language when necessary wait a few seconds longer before expecting an answer be descriptive when praising students.. The classroom environment Teachers may need to consider the classroom environment and perhaps: have rules clearly displayed and clarified regularly, ensuring all students know the procedures and routines of the class consider arranging the room in a way which maximises the student s participation and/or comprehension, for example small group work, peer work, quiet individual work area use grouping and cooperative learning as a strategy think of other ways for information to be relayed to students if copying from the board or overhead projector is difficult allow additional time for practice and/or task completion for those students who need it be discreet when assisting students and providing them with adjusted material and/or activities reward students, via incentive charts or card systems.. Materials and tasks When selecting or developing resources and materials used in a lesson the teacher should: be aware that some students may require more prompts or scaffolds to complete an activity design worksheets which use the same font throughout and have a predictable layout consider using multiple choice answers in place of sentence completion include mnemonic devices or graphic organisers that assist students to remember new material, for example visual webs, organisational charts, firstletter acronyms and visual prompts and icons provide visual cues (both gesture and illustrations), being as consistent as possible. For example if one gesture represents open your book, always use that same gesture, if one illustration represents happy, always use that illustration provide concrete learning aids which facilitate learning by using a hands on approach remove unnecessary detail from textbooks or worksheets highlight critical features that are the most important for students to learn enable students to access alternate formats, such as large print, computers, simplified texts.

5 Effective teaching strategies and adjustments for students experiencing difficulties with learning: the four macro skills Promoting success in listening and responding When listening to a language tape the teacher can: set the scene explain what the recording is about, for example title, purpose, monologue/dialogue, who is talking, key language items to listen for model how to complete the listening task by playing the tape to the whole class while the teacher or a volunteer fills in the beginning of an OHT of the exercise provide more guided support by: having the teacher repeat the key points breaking the listening text down (by repeating the tape or reading the transcript) into smaller chunks providing students with a transcript of what is on the tape, combining their listening and reading skills allow students to play the tape at their own pace, for example by using a Discman with headphones organise students to work in smaller groups, working out answers together or replaying tape as necessary students could even provide oral answers to the questions. Vary the groupings when adopting this strategy ask the students to listen for specific information on the tape cued listening and reporting, one item at a time. For example, in a text where teenagers are talking about which subjects they like and dislike, ask students in the first listening to identify the subjects, in the second listening to identify which subjects the teenagers like and in the third listening to identify which subjects the teenagers dislike have students put a series of statements from the activity into the correct order by numbering or reordering them in accordance to the order they appear on the tape provide a range of ways in which students can respond, for example true/false, multiple choice, tick-a-box activities, short answers allow multiple exposure to the tape by writing a new activity or adapt an old one while still using the same tape teach the vocabulary the students will encounter explicitly and classify by function or meaning. Promoting success in speaking skills When engaging students in speaking skills teachers can: use games such as Snap, Battleships, Go Fish that may provide a common context for understanding and at times may be more effective than just pair work use whole class repetition games (for example saying words as a chain, word substitution), varying the vocabulary or by varying volume, tone and mood of the sentence provide questions in pair work activities that are simple and clearly scaffolded. For example, when completing an information gap activity on timetables, use a visual scaffold to prompt students (see Appendix B) accept different levels of responses, from one word to complete sentences provide opportunities for students to read role-plays together and then act out for the class make oral assessments accessible and relevant for example is there any point asking a student experiencing difficulties to discuss likes and dislikes of school subjects if they cannot name the school subjects themselves? provide students with the opportunity to do speaking skills on to a tape, to allow them to listen to and refine what they say. Promoting success in reading and responding skills Students experiencing difficulties with learning can be overwhelmed by the amount of text on the average page of a textbook. To

6 support students to read text teachers can: model how to identify what is relevant on a textbook page, e.g. by showing the text on an OHT, by asking students to tag the relevant passage in their books with a Post-it note, or by having students cover irrelevant information on a page identify the key concepts for the students before reading to ensure they know what they are reading for use illustrations as much as possible to support understanding read the passage aloud to the students or provide the passage on tape have students work in smaller groups and work out answers cooperatively, either in written or oral form have students match pictures with text to show understanding or allow students to draw their own pictures to illustrate what they have understood provide a range of ways in which students can respond, for example true/false, multiple choice, tick-a-box activities, short answers teach the vocabulary the students will encounter explicitly and classify by function or meaning. Promoting success in writing skills Writing is often the skill that students may need the greatest support in. To support students with writing teachers can: ensure writing tasks are clearly scaffolded (see Appendix C) and explicitly modelled by the teacher encourage the use of ICT that may assist some students to write or take notes especially if fine motor problems are an issue ensure there is a range of opportunities for the student to succeed with writing tasks, including cutting and pasting, copying words/sentences, comic strips, sequencing, choosing from a list of words, filling in missing letters or words, rearranging items according to criteria. Remember: Focus on student ability, not disability! Resources: Ainscow, S. and Muncey, J. (1988), Meeting Individual Needs in the Primary School Asch, A. (1989) Has the law made a difference?, in D. Lipsky and A. Gartner (eds) Beyond separate education, Baltimore: Brookes. Board of Studies NSW (00), K 10 Curriculum Framework Board of Studies NSW (00), English and Mathematics Years 7 10 Life Skills: Advice on Planning, Programming and Assessment Louden, W,, Chan, L.S,, Elkins, J., Greaves, D,. House, H., Milton,. Nicols,. Rivalland,. Rohl,. Van Kraaynord. (000) Mapping the territory Primary students with learning difficulties: Literacy and Numeracy, Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs, Commonwealth of Australia Kraayenoord, C.V. and Elkins, J. (1990), Learning difficulties in A. Ashman and J. Elkins (eds) Education children with special needs, New York: Prentice Hall NSW Department of Education and Training (000), Focus on Literacy: Writing Westwood, P. (199), Commonsense Methods for Children with Special Needs Acknowledgements Languages Unit, Curriculum K 1 Directorate Elisabeth Robertson German Consultant K 1 Sana Zreika Community Languages Consultant K 1 Disability Programs Directorate, Learning Assistance Program Christine Albans Literacy and Numeracy Sue Smith Language and Communication Disorders 006 NSW Department of Education and Training

7 Appendix A When to access Life Skills outcomes Once a teacher has made the appropriate adjustments to teaching and learning, and yet the student still cannot access the content, the student may need to access the Life Skills content of the syllabus. The following flow chart may be helpful when considering the appropriateness of Life Skills outcomes and content for individual students. This decision will need to be made in conjunction with the parents/carer, the Support Teacher Learning Assistance (STLA), the Learning Support Team and the Principal. The flow chart below will assist you in determining whether a student should be accessing the Life Skills component of the syllabus. NSW Board of Studies, 00

8 Appendix B A sample pair work activity which illustrates different levels of scaffolding. Level 1 Student A Your partner will ask you what subject you have on a particular day, during a particular period. For example: What do you have period? Look at you timetable and provide the correct answer. For example: I have. You will then take a turn to ask your partner what they have at a particular time. Wednesday Thursday Friday 1 English Science English English English Music German Science Sport Geography Select from the vocabulary below to form your questions and answers. What do you have I have Wednesday Thursday Friday Geography German Music Science Sport.?

9 Student B Your partner will ask you what subject you have on a particular day, during a particular period. For example: What do you have period? Look at you timetable and provide the correct answer. For example: I have Sport. You will then take a turn to ask your partner what they have at a particular time. Wednesday Thursday Friday 1 English German English Science Geography English Sport English Science Select from the vocabulary below to form your questions and answers. What do you have I have Wednesday Thursday Friday Geography German Music Science Sport.? 9

10 Level Student A Your partner will ask you what subject you have on a particular day, during a particular period. For example: What do you have period? Look at you timetable and provide the correct answer. For example: I have period. You will then take a turn to ask your partner what they have at a particular time. Wednesday Thursday Friday 1 English English Select from the vocabulary below to form your questions and answers. What do you have Wednesday Thursday Friday? I have Geography German Music Science Sport Wednesday Thursday Friday. 10

11 Student B Your partner will ask you what subject you have on a particular day, during a particular period. For example: What do you have period? Look at you timetable and provide the correct answer. For example: I have Sport period. You will then take a turn to ask your partner what they have at a particular time. Wednesday Thursday Friday 1 English English Select from the vocabulary below to form your questions and answers. What do you have I have Geography German Music Science Sport Wednesday Thursday Friday Wednesday Thursday Friday?. 11

12 Level Student A Complete the timetable below by asking your partner what subject they have on a particular day, during a particular period. Sample question: What do you have period? Sample answer: I have period. Wednesday Thursday Friday 1 English English Sample vocabulary: What do you have I have Geography Wednesday?. 1

13 Student B Complete the timetable below by asking your partner what subject they have on a particular day, during a particular period. Sample question: What do you have? Sample answer: I have German period. Wednesday Thursday Friday 1 English English Sample vocabulary: What do you have Wednesday? I have Geography. 1

14 Appendix C Sample writing scaffolds for a task in which students are required to create their timetable in the target language. Level 1 You need to fill in your timetable in [Target Language], including: period time day subjects rollcall recess lunch sport. Some of the information has already been filled in for you. Have a copy of your school timetable in front of you, to help you complete the task. The vocabulary you will need to complete the timetable is found in the box at the bottom of the page. Period Time Thursday Rollcall Rollcall 1 English 9:0 10:0 Science Recess 10:0 11:0 Music 1:0 1:1 Lunch Sport :0 : Science Rollcall English Science Lunch Sport Recess German Geography Music 1

15 Level You need to fill in your timetable in [Target Language], including: period time day subjects rollcall recess lunch sport. Some of the information has already been filled in for you. Use your exercise book to look up how to say the school subjects and related words in [Target Language]. Period Time Thursday Rollcall 1 9:0 10:0 Recess 1:0 1:1 Lunch 1

16 Level Complete your timetable in [Target Language]. Period Time Thursday 1 Recess Lunch 16