Fact file: Dyslexia and its impact on language learning

Affecting around 700 million people worldwide, dyslexia isn't unheard of, yet few educators are aware of how language can be learned more efficiently by dyslexic students. Particularly where systems are limited, dyslexic students are often left to their own devices at school and beyond.

What is dyslexia and where does it come from?

The word dyslexia is of Greek origin, and its components explain it well (dys - difficult, and lexia - reading). A dyslexic would find it challenging when it comes to script, with reading, writing, and spelling being skill areas most affected. In children, difficulty rhyming, frequent letter reversals with visually similar letters (such as b/d), and slow reading progress can be indicators of dyslexia. In teenagehood and adulthood, this manifests as trouble in building reading fluency.

Brain imaging studies reveal that compared to the typical population, dyslexics activate different areas of the brain or neural pathways when reading.

Dyslexia is widely believed to be genetic, although environmental factors (such as exposure to language early in life) can also play a small role. Brain imaging studies reveal that compared to the typical population, dyslexics activate different areas of the brain or neural pathways when reading. Proactive screening of dyslexia can be done as early as age 5 or 6 – although this is contextually dependent on when reading is learned. Assessment criteria often include basic reading skills, phonemic awareness, and memory. Dyslexia has no link to intelligence–in fact, well known scientists such as Albert Einstein are suspected to be dyslexic, yet the disability did not quite stop the development of a successful career.

For people with dyslexia to learn a language, it is crucial to provide multisensory input (instead of purely visual). This includes, for example, having a combination of colour-coded flashcards, audio recordings, and actually writing or manipulating letters to reinforce learning. In today's day and age, edTech innovations such as speech-to-text (or text-to-speech) tools, subtitles, and any platform with auditory interaction can help. The Orton-Gillingham phonemic method has also been through rounds of affirmation by educational neuroscientists. Of course, having a trained teacher willing to provide one-to-one or small group support helps substantially.

... we will explore what dyslexia looks like from language to language based on how the written script is designed, and whether any adjustments should be made to dyslexics learning a second (as opposed to a first) language.

One may be unable to defeat the root cause of dyslexia, but with enough awareness, teacher training, and a good support system, dyslexics can still strive in society. In the next article, we will explore what dyslexia looks like from language to language based on how the written script is designed, and whether any adjustments should be made to dyslexics learning a second (as opposed to a first) language.