by Oumaima Tabich
Did you know that dyslexia is estimated to affect 10% of the population worldwide? This means that most language teachers will come across students with dyslexia during their teaching journey. But how dyslexia is diagnosed differs massively from country to country, and so too do rates of dyslexia. In brief, countries where an orthographically deep language is used have higher rates of dyslexia than countries where there is a close relationship between spelling and pronunciation (so you might expect a greater percentage of English users to exhibit dyslexia - compare thought and though and tough to see why - than for users of Slavic languages, say).
Dyslexia is defined as a neurobiological learning deficiency that results in inadequate development of accuracy and fluency in reading words and/or in spelling (British Psychology Society Definition, 2014). Dyslexia manifests through various signs including slow word retrieval, mixing up words with similar meaning or pronunciation, reading difficulties caused by inaccurate word recognition, and poor phoneme-grapheme correspondences.
As educators, we might be told when a dyslexic student is joining our class, or we might begin to suspect one of our students of having undiagnosed dyslexia. But we might not be able to help much because of a lack of awareness of how to deal with dyslexia, or of professional training on SEN (special educational needs), or of the evidence-based practices that can be used to foster an inclusive learning environment for all.
In this article, I want to look at some of the things you can do to make your classroom more dyslexic-friendly. Everything I will cover here can be used with any class, and should be good practice regardless of the presence - or otherwise - of any students with dyslexia.
1. Use Dyslexia-friendly Fonts
If you happen to notice a struggling reader or a dyslexic in your class, keep them in mind when you print worksheets.
Some fonts that are bolder and heavier such as Arial and Comic Sans are more dyslexia-friendly and might improve letter recognition. You can also download free specialist fonts, such as OpenDyslexic - which is an attractive font in its own right, and which I’m sure none of your students would have a problem using. In general, you would want to go for fonts without serifs. For instance, Times New Roman has serifs, which are those small, extra lines you can notice on letters, making the letters harder to read.
Increase the font size and avoid dark text on a bright white paper background; instead, opt for an off-white, pale blue, or cream background.
2. Adopt a Multi-Sensory Approach
The multi-sensory approach is a popular way to teach neurodiverse students with learning differences such as ADHD and dyslexia. This approach is fun, inclusive, and caters for the different learning preferences we come across in a language classroom. Students process and retain information more effectively when all the learning channels are simultaneously active (McIntyre & Hulan, 2013). Here are some practical tips on using a multi-sensory approach with dyslexic students:
| Visual | Associating symbols to objects (e.g. M for mountains because they are the same shape), having blank graphic organizers and mind maps, group projects to make posters, and using pictures or videos to reinforce the content covered. |
| Auditory | Tapping out sounds to reinforce sound-symbol associations, reading aloud, singing, rhyming, letting students engage in discussions, and giving concise, oral instructions. |
| Kinesthetic | Puzzles, role-plays, charades, and any activity that includes movement. |
| Tactile | Air writing, tracing words or letters in sand/ shaving foam, crafts and DIY projects. |
3. Provide Suitable Accommodations in Instruction and Assessment
Let students engage with tasks the way that fits their preference and helps them retain information better. For example, if a student struggles to write notes during a pre-speaking task, let them draw them or use a graphic organizer instead to help them recall what they want to share during the task itself. And since one symptom of dyslexia is a reduced ability to plan and to retain that plan in short term memory, make sure that longer speaking turns are scaffolded so that the student with dyslexia is able to continue speaking for as long as possible. This can make for a more equitable classroom - after all, your students should all be given an equal opportunity to speak, and addressing imbalances is good practice (Cogo et al., 2023).
Give Step-by-Step Instructions:
- Break down instructions and read them aloud while making sure to speak slowly and clearly, using short sentences.
- Say each instruction one at a time. Ideally, design your activities so that each instruction is followed by an action - don’t deliver more than one instruction without the students having something to do along the way. This works just as well with dyslexic students as it does with anyone else.
- Keep a written summary of the instructions on the board, worksheet, or screen with the keywords suitably highlighted.
- Double-check understanding using ICQs (instruction-checking questions).
Use Assistive Technology:
The Assistive Technology Industry Association defines assistive technology (AT) as “any item, piece of equipment, or software programs that enhance learning, working, and daily living for persons with disabilities.” An assisting tool should be provisioned for those who “have difficulty speaking, typing, writing, remembering, pointing, seeing, hearing, learning, walking, and many other things.”
Text-to-speech software and extensions can be a real game changer, as they can significantly reduce the cognitive overload of reading long texts. They help students to focus on content and maintain the same pace as their peers - and remember, a student does not need to have dyslexia to benefit from this support. Read&Write is an example of a Google Chrome extension that comes with several dyslexia-friendly options such as text-to-speech, speech-to-text, word prediction, highlighting, and simplified page display that allows you to mask parts of a full page to reduce visual noise.
A recurrent question about incorporating assistive technology is usually about the cost of such equipment. While it is true that some options can be quite costly and might require funding, there are others that require nothing but giving them a try! Here are a few examples of the different types of assistive technology you might want to consider for neurodiverse learners:
- Low to No Tech (inexpensive or free, easily accessible and requires no training): Post-it notes, pencil grips, graphic organizers, highlighters, flashcards, enlarged/modified print.
- Mid-Tech (requires moderate training, and might have a moderate cost): Video captions, spell checkers, text-to-speech and speech-to-text free extensions, online timers, and buzzers.
- High Tech (might require some training and costs the most): Reading pens, paid apps and software, and computerized testing.
Keep Assignments Short and Sweet:
For standardized tests, make sure to explain the assignment verbally before giving it as a handout with the key words highlighted. Allow the student to use assistive technology to read the assignment aloud to them and help them check their spelling, and allow extended time especially if the test requires a lot of reading. If you have the flexibility of diversifying assessment formats, you can opt for oral testing and let students provide oral answers to focus on assessing what they have learned rather than focusing on spelling mistakes. After all, in many communicative classrooms, the focus in the lesson is on communicative ability - yet many tests do not assess the student’s ability to communicate, but rather their ability to maintain control of grammatical and lexical forms. Allowing alternative forms of assessment, especially in non-exam classrooms, would be fairer for all.
Conclusion
If you have been teaching students with dyslexia for more than a few months, or if you have held an interest in this area, it’s likely that much of what I have said in this article will have been familiar to you. However, there’s good reason to go over the fundamentals again - you might look anew at your school’s practices and wonder if there’s more that can be done to help all students, not only those with dyslexia.
And for teachers who have not taught students with dyslexia, or cannot tell if any of their charges have undiagnosed dyslexia, the ideas in this article should help to make your classroom a safer space for all - there is nothing here that will put any of your students at a disadvantage, so why not incorporate as much as you can?
References & Further Reading
Assistive Technology Industry Association. Available at: https://www.atia.org
Cogo, A., Crookes, G., and Siqueira, S. (2023). English for a Critical Mind - Language pedagogy for social justice. Delta Publising.
Dawson et al. (2018). Assistive Technologies to Support Students With Dyslexia. Teaching Exceptional Children.
McIntyre, E., & Hulan, N. (2013). Research-based, culturally responsive reading practice in elementary classrooms: A year long study. Literacy Research and Instruction.
Nijakowska, J. (2010). Dyslexia in the Foreign Language Classroom. Multilingual Matters.
The British Dyslexia Association. Available at: https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk
Author Biography
Oumaima Tabich holds a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics and ELT and is currently pursuing her doctoral studies with a focus on the impact of assistive technology in promoting inclusive education in EFL classrooms. Based in Morocco, she is a CELTA-certified English teacher with extensive experience teaching diverse age groups and proficiency levels in various educational settings.