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Second Language Learning for Students with Specific Learning Difficulties
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2024
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Abstract
Inclusive education principles are at the forefront of the provision of education that is accessible to all learners so they can achieve their full educational, academic, emotional, and social potential. This research is centred on how these principles can be extended to the learning of Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) for students with Specific Learning Difficulties.
Specific Learning Difficulties (SLD) affect the way information is learned and processed. These difficulties are often neurological, rather than psychological and occur independently of intelligence. They can have a significant impact on learning and acquisition of literacy skills (The Dyslexia Association, UK). This research focuses on students with literacy difficulties or dyslexia who will be referred to in this thesis as students with SLD.
Internationally and in Ireland, students with SLD are not always encouraged to learn a second or third language. However, learning languages can have a beneficial impact on a person’s memory and it promotes greater attentional control. (Costa, 2017) In February 2024, the Oireachtas published a report that suggests that language exemptions might not be fit for purpose. The report recommends a new approach to teaching and learning of languages with extra support and resources in place of a language exemption. (Joint Committee of the Irish, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community, 2024) Throughout this thesis, the words the words exemptions, exceptions and withdrawals are used interchangeably to mean that students are not studying a modern foreign language.
Keywords
Modern foreign languages, MFL, Specific Learning Difficulties, SLD