Dyslexia and Foreign Language Teaching

Dyslexia affects 10-15% of the population. Dyslexic students are often either exempted from the study of additional languages or they underperform in foreign language classes. This free online course is designed for current and trainee teachers of additional languages. It offers you practical tools, as well as theoretical insights, to best accommodate and meet the needs of students with dyslexia in foreign or second language classes. The course gives an up-to-date overview of current theoretical knowledge about the nature of dyslexia and how it affects the learning of additional languages. You will learn about a variety of useful techniques, including recent computer-assisted tools, which you can take into your classroom, to help students with dyslexia in acquiring another language. Practical guidance and advice is also provided on enhancing the phonological awareness, vocabulary knowledge and reading skills of dyslexic language learners. The materials and tasks in the course are designed to be applicable for various age groups of dyslexic students and for a variety of language learning contexts. These include both the teaching of English as a foreign or second language, and the teaching of modern foreign languages. On this course, you will have the chance to work with other teachers and experts in the field, to share your own experiences and learn from others’.