Abstract
Dyslexia is a specific learning disability which influences the ability to learn the language. Dyslexic individuals have difficulties in some aspects of the language such as reading, writing, vocabulary, grammar, and spelling. Hence, this chapter is an attempt to find out the challenges that learners with dyslexia encounter in vocabulary and grammar skills in learning a foreign language. In this study, the qualitative research paradigm was undertaken where an instrumental case study was administered on eight dyslexic children at the middle school on the west coast of the country. The present study was carried out utilizing a dyslexia checklist involving vocabulary and grammar items. Small group instruction with the learners was conducted and a dyslexia checklist was used on a weekly basis to measure the learners' improvement in vocabulary and grammar skills. Findings revealed that learners exhibited high performance in grammar and vocabulary.
TopBackground
DYSLEXIA
A language learning problem called dyslexia affects up to one in five people worldwide (Knudsen, 2012). Dyslexia can include a variety of deficiencies, making it challenging to find a definition that fully captures the range of challenges that a dyslexic person may encounter (Morente, 2020). British Dyslexia Association (2007) sees dyslexia as a specific learning difficulty that essentially influences the development of literacy and the skills that are connected with language. It is believed to exist at birth and to have long-lasting consequences. Another definition is done by the Department for Education and Skills (2004) which views dyslexia as a special challenge associated with an outstanding balance of abilities. Reading, writing, utilizing symbols, and performing computations are all influenced.
Dyslexia is frequently considered to be a reading handicap since dyslexic individuals often struggle in school due to its association with reading difficulties. They become worried because they believe that they will make blunders and people will laugh at them. Dyslexics may struggle to concentrate and recall words in a stressful situation because their retrieval time lengthens and deteriorates. But, in relaxed circumstances, they will find it simpler to retract the words. What is more, as a result of being unable to distinguish between different sounds, dyslexics tend to pronounce words that sound alike. (Dimililer & Istek, 2018). However, a lot of dyslexic learners can succeed in decoding words, comprehending the text, and ultimately learning to read with the aid of specialist instruction (Sykes, 2008).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Dyslexia Checklist: A checklist used for measuring the difficulties that the learners with dyslexia experience in the specific context.
Foreign Language: A language which is not the mother tongue of the speaker. It is a target language that is learned after the native language.
A Child with Special Educational Needs and Disability: A learner having a learner disability or difficulty.
Observation: A way of collecting and recording data which is used mostly in scientific research.
Dyslexia: Specific learning disability which affects the person most in a neurobiological way.
Small Group Instruction: A kind of instruction which enables the teachers to teach the learners in small groups varying from 2-6 learners.
Inclusive Education: Part-time or full-time education conducted most on the students with special educational needs and disabilities in normal classes which provides the least restrictive educational environments for them with the help of the necessary support services.