University Graduates with Learning Disabilities Define Success and the Factors that Promote It

ABSTRACT

The concept of success has been investigated before, primarily with an emphasis on explanatory factors among highly successful individuals. Voices of individuals with any form of disability are generally missing from this discourse. This qualitative study examined definitions of success as well as the factors that promote it amongst graduates with learning disabilities from a university faculty of education, thereby inviting an inclusive dialog around a heretofore socially and educationally exclusive topic. A participatory action framework was chosen allowing the participants to take an active role in the enquiry. This approach was a natural offshoot of the community of learners that the graduates had participated in during their studies. While success was defined as a multifaceted concept accounted for by multiple factors, many of the findings aligned with those reported in previous studies. However, several unique themes emerged; success as a relative concept, ‘paying it forward,’ and the disability as a driving force. Instances of overlap between definitions and factors emphasised inherent connections between beliefs and actions. Practical implications for support services for students with special needs, in higher education, are considered in light of the findings.     

Phonological awareness in Hebrew (L1) and English (L2) in normal and disabled readers

The present study examined cross-linguistic relationships between phonological awareness in L1 (Hebrew) and L2 (English) among normal (N = 30) and reading disabled (N = 30) Hebrew native speaking college students. Further, it tested the effect of two factors: the lexical status of the stimulus word (real word vs. pseudoword) and the linguistic affiliation of the target phoneme (whether it is within L1 or L2) on phonological awareness. Three parallel experimental phonological awareness tasks were developed in both languages: phoneme isolation, full segmentation, and phoneme deletion. As expected, the results revealed lower levels of phonological awareness in the L2 than in the L1, and in the reading disabled than in the normal reader group. The lexical status of the target word was a reliable factor predicting individual differences in phonological awareness in L2. It was also found that the linguistic affiliation of the target phoneme was a reliable factor in predicting L2 phonological awareness performance in both reader groups. The results are discussed within the framework of phonological representation and language-specific linguistic constraints on phonological awareness.     

Spelling development in Arabic as a foreign language among native Hebrew speaking pupils

It has been suggested that linguistic proximity affects the ease of acquisition between typologically similar languages, due to the fact that the languages have shared phonological and orthographic properties (Koda, 2008). Thus, a native Hebrew speaker learning Arabic as a foreign language (AFL) would be expected to easily develop linguistic proficiency. This study examined the developmental trajectory for spelling in AFL among native Hebrew speaking adolescents, with specific attention to the development of accurate representations for four novel phonemes and their graphic symbols ( ). The sample included eighth (N = 119), ninth (N = 125), and tenth graders (N = 91). We were further interested in examining the contribution of orthographic as opposed to phonological knowledge to spelling in AFL. Five experimental tasks were created for the study: real word recognition, orthographic sensitivity, auditory discrimination, and dictation of real and pseudowords. Findings for the eighth grade replicated earlier findings for real word spelling (Fragman & Russak, 2010) showing 20 % accuracy scores. While spelling accuracy improved by tenth grade, scores remained extremely low (25 %). Lexical representations for the four novel phonemes tested were also generally low, with different levels of accuracy for each phoneme. It is possible that the difficulties were the result of interference from shared linguistic elements. Finally, it was found that both orthographic as well as phonological knowledge contribute to real and pseudoword spelling. Implications of these findings are discussed in relation to language teaching policy and pedagogy.     

Do inclusion practices for pupils with special educational needs in the English as a foreign language class in Israel reflect inclusion laws and language policy requirements?

The study of additional languages is mandatory for all pupils in most European countries. Usually, the first foreign language is English. This is due to the status of English as a global language. According to inclusion laws, pupils with special educational needs (SEN) should be taught in regular classes with support services by teachers with special education training. Often, however, foreign language teachers lack training and do not know how to adapt teaching methods for pupils with SEN in the regular language learning class. In this study, 109 elementary school teachers filled out questionnaires examining practices and attitudes about inclusion of pupils with SEN in the English as a foreign language (EFL) class in Israel. Findings indicated that pupils with SEN are included in regular EFL classes, taught with the same materials as the class, usually by teachers with no specialised training and no teaching assistants. Teachers are not always encouraged to take in-service courses on how to teach these pupils. No significant difference were found between teachers with and without special education training regarding inclusion practices, but slight differences were found with regards to attitudes towards inclusion of pupils with SEN. The majority of teachers felt that pupils with SEN should be taught in special education settings with specialised materials, and not in the regular education class. These findings raise questions regarding the efficacy of inclusion laws and language learning policies.     

Do kindergarten teachers possess adequate knowledge of basic language constructs to teach children to read English as a foreign language?

Annals of Dyslexia - The contribution of teacher knowledge to learning outcomes at the beginning stages of literacy acquisition is of growing concern because the ability to provide quality...     

English as a foreign language spelling: comparisons between good and poor spellers

This study examined English as a foreign language (EFL) spelling development amongst 233 fifth‐grade, eighth‐grade and 10th‐grade Hebrew first‐language speakers to examine effects of English orthographic exposure on spelling. Good and poor speller differences were examined regarding the acquisition of novel phonemes (/æ/, /Λ/ and //) and orthographic conventions (/ð/, /θ/, // and silent ‘e’). Hebrew measures included standardised spelling and orthographic and phonological tasks. Experimental English measures included real‐word and pseudoword spellings, orthographic tasks and standardised spellings. Results showed significant differences in spelling accuracy between good and poor spellers at all grades. Spelling accuracy for most conventions did not improve after the eighth grade. Spellings of consonantal clusters, initial h and /ð/ differed between good and poor spellers in the fifth grade only. Hebrew spelling was one of the strongest predictors of EFL real‐word and pseudoword spellings in both fifth and eighth grades. Implications for teaching practice are discussed.