Meeting the Needs of ELL with Learning Disabilities - Book Report/Review Example

Meeting the Needs of ELL with Learning Disabilities Academic success in general education classrooms calls for consideration of disability, culture, and English language status of the language learners who exhibit learning disabilities (LD). Most of the students with LD tend to have reading disabilities. It is prudent that classroom teachers be conversant with instructional strategies that support literacy and language development in content areas (García & Tyler, 2010). Most ELLs with LD tend to be bilingual students. When school psychologists conduct psychoeducational assessment of the bilingual students to determine whether they have LD, they should consider two crucial factors. First, is the native language of the student and second, the number of years that the student has received English instruction. Apart from a culturally responsive environment, school personnel (Hart, 2009) should use pre-referral interventions consistently. These provide students with extra assistance before evaluation for special education. The first success in meeting the needs for ELLs with LD is identifying such students in a classroom setting through a clear understanding of English-language acquisition and eligibility evaluation by the instructor (Klingner & Artiles, 2003). ELLs with LD will obviously have difficulty moving at the same pace with other students, and the best practice is to place them in special education classes for them to gain from the learning process. Culture and language in this case play a big role in education. Proper assessment should be carried out to differentiate ELLs with LD and normal English as a second-language (ESL) learning development. It is unfortunate that most schools find it difficult to provide sufficient services to this growing and unique student population. This is because they generally lack personnel and teachers with special training in these areas. A common misconception has been attached to LD when it comes to Hispanic or culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students throughout the nation. This has led to their overrepresentation in certain high-incidence special education categories such as emotional disturbance, mental retardation, and learning disabilities (Hoover & Patton, 2005). The opposite is also true seeing that they are grossly underrepresented in programs for the talented and gifted. This trend has been present in the education sector for several decades. Such assumptions and generalizations should be eliminated for the right outcome in assessment to meet the needs for all ELLs with LD. Best assessment techniques in this case would be analytic teaching, curriculum-based assessment, language sampling, and narrative analysis. All these are applicable for classroom teachers as well as other school personnel. In the special education classrooms, the teacher is tasked with some level of responsibility in ensuring students learn by creating an enabling environment (Hart, 2009). This can be done through increasing response time and opportunities for speaking, flexible turn talking and calling out for responses, and accepting all answers in English or in the home language. This can be use as a means for rewarding their effort and encouraging further participation. Use of the native language by teachers demonstrates respect and appreciation for the student’s culture and home language. It also conveys willingness on the teacher’s part to engage in a learning interchange with the students. Students should be allowed to alternate between the two languages. This extemporaneous use of language stimulates increased English use. Other general principles include labeling important items within the classroom in a number of languages, encouraging students to use bilingual dictionaries and demonstrating how to do so, as well as using reiteration to help students acquire tone, volume, pitch, and rhythm of the new language (García & Tyler, 2010). The most basic consideration when teaching ELLs with LD is the use of simplified English. This entails shorter sentences, simple vocabulary structures, as well as limiting the use of pronouns, colloquialisms, and idioms. The mode of communication in such setting involves highlighting key terms by repeating them, using slight exaggeration and increased volume, as well as writing them on chalkboard. The ELLs with LD come across many new words and it is up to the teacher to use means such as voice changes, props, demonstrations, facial expressions, and modeling among other means to communicate and convey their meaning. The instructors of ELLs with LD should be trained in special education to enable them to be effective in dispensing their duties (Klingner & Artiles, 2003). The slow nature of learning for such students demands that the teacher emphasize on the learner’s effort to communicate rather than appropriateness of form. Participation of students is the prerogative of teachers in terms of verbal participation accompanied by corrective feedback indirectly through restating the comments in correct form (Hart, 2009). Materials for learning are supposed to kindle interest in the student and the most appropriate are those, which allow students to draw on their life experiences and socio-cultural knowledge as they engage with texts. Instructional conversations help to foster meaningful dialogue regarding the lesson’s content. The test format should be modified as well to cater for the needs of ELLs with LD. This may entail reading questions to the students and allowing extra time for completion. There exist specific effective academic strategies, which assist special needs and second language students to acquire appropriate-language and academic-content forms (Hart, 2009). Total physical response (TPR) is rooted in the field of second language teaching. In TPR, students get to act out language in ways that bring meaning in addition to exposure to the verbal language. This method meets needs of students with little or no knowledge of English. The teacher serves as the model for physical response and oral language by putting together phrases and words in tandem with movement. This poses a greater possibility of students internalizing the meaning. It usually involves the whole class or cooperative groups reducing anxiety that learners may experience in case they act it out individually. This model is effective in improving reading comprehension skills of ELLs with LD. Another strategy in this category is multiple grouping and cooperative learning groups. In conclusion, it is prudent for teachers to develop social skills of ELLs with LD for interpersonal and academic success (Hoover & Patton, 2005). This is a behavioral strategy, which may be placed in both authentic, and role-play scenarios for building confidence in the learner’s school interactions. With diversity rapidly increasing in the U.S., schools have the challenge to provide effective instructions and suitable learning environments for all students. Special consideration should then be given to ELLs with LD in order to meet their educational needs. References García, S. B. & Tyler, B. (2010). Meeting the needs of English language learners with learning disabilities in the general curriculum. Theory into Practice, 49 (2), pp. 113--120. Hart, J. E. (2009). Strategies for culturally and linguistically diverse students with special needs. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education For Children And Youth, 53 (3), pp. 197--208. Hoover, J. J. & Patton, J. R. (2005). Differentiating curriculum and instruction for English-language learners with special needs. Intervention in School and Clinic, 40 (4), pp. 231--235. Klingner, J. K. & Artiles, A. J. (2003). When should bilingual students be in special education? Educational Leadership, 61 (2), pp. 66--71. Read More