How does dyslexia affect language learning ?

Being multilingual is useful for work, travel and personal development. This is why schools such as Galilée, a bilingual nursery school in Paris, introduce students to foreign languages at a very early age. However, some children may have difficulty learning the language. Dyslexic children are a special case to take into account. Specific methods are required to help dyslexic children. Let’s take a closer look.

What Is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a disorder linked to a deficit in the part of the brain responsible for language learning. Dyslexia is most often associated with reading difficulties. This means that dyslexics confuse letters that are graphically similar (such as d and b, p and q or n and m). As a result, people with dyslexia may find it very difficult to read.

Dyslexia can also affect people who have problems with writing. These people struggle with writing words because of a psychomotor disorder.

Fortunately, dyslexia can be detected in a child’s early education, allowing for appropriate interventions over time to support their language learning and development.

The Challenges of Learning English with Dyslexia

It can be difficult to learn English as a second language with dyslexia. Dyslexia affects not only the subject’s mother tongue, but also all foreign languages. Although children with dyslexia can master reading and writing in their main language with a great deal of effort, learning a new language is an additional challenge.

This is because the child will have to learn new phonemes and graphemes and will be exposed to a new phonological system. In English, a dyslexic person can easily get lost in the spelling of words, which is often confusing. For example, they will have difficulty distinguishing between homophones (ate/eight, dye/die, by/bye, etc.).

Finally, it is important to remember that the visual and auditory memory of a dyslexic person is impaired. This makes learning a new language even more difficult. Learners will have to work hard to remember new vocabulary and connect sounds with written forms. Additionally, challenges in speech processing can further complicate comprehension and retention.

Which Learning Methods to Use?

Make Learning Fun

If you want to introduce your dyslexic child to English, a traditional or overly academic learning system is likely to be ineffective. The same applies to adults who want to develop new language skills in Shakespeare’s language.

In either case, it’s best to learn through play. Play-based teaching makes it easier to assimilate the language. These methods may involve exciting games in English or listening to nursery rhymes, songs or stories.

It is also important to stimulate the memory of children with dyslexia. Clear, colourful visual aids, for example, are a good way to remember words. The subject can then rely on visual recognition to find the letters or words in their memory. And for learning pronunciation, why not try role playing? Adults can take a language immersion trip.

Finding the Right School

To maximise their chances of success, dyslexic people can go to a specialised school to learn English. In Paris, the Galilée Bilingual School is a public school with a specialised programme for children with this disorder. A specially adapted facility makes learning easier, thanks to the support of experts. The Galilée School for Gifted Children also caters to high-potential children.

Dyslexic children often have an inferiority complex because of their disability. Enrolling them in an appropriate school boosts their confidence. This is because they will be among other children with the same challenges.

You can also enrol the child in private English lessons with a specialised teacher. The lessons progress at the learner’s own pace. You may select online or at-home courses, which often allow for more personalised teaching and attention to the language learning needs of dyslexic learners.