French and Spanish for pupils with special educational needs: a seminar for assistants and newly- qualified teachers. Yves Letournel, Language Attaché, Institut Français du Royaume-Uni. Presented by John Bald, independent consultant, johnbald.typepad.com 1

Dyslexia and Autism. Dyslexia is a difficulty with reading and spelling that is not related to a person’s overall intellectual ability. Children assessed as dyslexic often process new information more slowly than others, and most do not use their memory well. Autism refers to a range of behavioural difficulties, including Asperger syndrome*. Children assessed as autistic do not like uncertainty. They often become upset if presented with material they don’t understand, or if their normal routines are interrupted. Children may have both autism and dyslexia. * Asperger syndrome indicates problems with social interaction and non-verbal communication. © Culturethèque IFRU

Other special educational needs and school organisation. Other types of special need include physical disability (eg cerebral palsy), moderate and severe learning difficulty, and visual and hearing impairment. All schools have a teacher who co-ordinates provision for special educational needs. This person may be called a SENCO, or Inclusion Manager. Soma schools have a teacher with a specialist qualification in dyslexia. Children may receive help and support from a teaching assistant. Teaching assistants are often graduates and some are qualified teachers. They may – or, more often, may not – know French or Spanish. © Culturethèque IFRU

...a little help from our colleagues... The class teacher and SENCO – can tell you more about individual pupils, and guide you on planning. Ask them! The assistant often knows the child better than anyone else. Engage their help, and help them develop their own language skills in order to help your (and their) pupils. by Catherine Cheater, is an easy starting point for French. The Consejería de Educación has beginners courses for Spanish. © Culturethèque IFRU

Copying doesn’t work... Quel as âge tu. Quel âge as-tu? O habite tu Ou j’habites-tu Où habites-tu? Où habite a Londres. J’habite à Londres. Common t’appelle tú_ Comment t’appelles-tu? Je onzo age J’ai onze ans Ja un douze J’ai douze ans (experienced teacher, pupils in Year 8 – on left! - had models of the sentences they were trying to write, from which they could copy.) © Culturethèque IFRU

Clicker Six allows children to compose sentences by clicking with a mouse on words they choose from a grid. A speech engine then reads the sentence aloud in French or Spanish. © Culturethèque IFRU

We can edit the grid to add personal details and things children would like to say. These suggestions came from eight year olds. © Culturethèque IFRU

Some start with serious problems - Year 7, girl, assessed as dyslexic, before sentence building work © Culturethèque IFRU

...and make rapid progress once they understand how to build a sentence. © Culturethèque IFRU

Others, with similar problems, can get it right first time with the right approach (though handwriting needs further attention....) © Culturethèque IFRU

While high-attaining pupils often see something once, and then apply it freely to build multiple sentences with the same form… © Culturethèque IFRU

Children value clear explanation. An example – colours in Spanish. Each colour introduces one new feature of Spanish spelling and pronunciation. We already know the colours, so can focus entirely on the Spanish language Children learn to write the colours by looking away from the board, writing them on their sleeve with a finger, and checking. Once they’ve got this right, they can write on paper or a miniboard. This builds confidence. French version available at johnbald.typepad.com © Culturethèque IFRU

rojo rouge © Culturethèque IFRU

azul bleu © Culturethèque IFRU

verde vert © Culturethèque IFRU

© Culturethèque IFRU

Picture books with the same text in both languages aid understanding 1. © Culturethèque IFRU

Picture books with the same text in both languages aid understanding 2. © Culturethèque IFRU

Picture books with the same text in both languages aid understanding 3. © Culturethèque IFRU

The same book in French. © Culturethèque IFRU

A recurring phrase in a book provides security and builds confidence – “Pas Maintenant, Bernard...” © Culturethèque IFRU

Physical activity can help learning... © Culturethèque IFRU

Autism – some further points. These children often like to pay very close attention to detail, and may enjoy tasks, such as learning vocabulary, that other children find boring. If they are in a situation where they don’t fully understand their work, they are likely to panic. We need to make sure that everything is fully understood. Having their own book, and looking after it, can give children on the autistic spectrum a sense of security. Photographs of familiar surroundings, home, family and pets often provide a good basis for teaching. © Culturethèque IFRU

More on dyslexia... It is essential not to go too fast for these children to understand – if we do, they become distressed. These pupils benefit from studying the links between spoken and written words, and the links between their own and the new language. Holding words in their minds, and write them on scrap paper or mini whiteboards, contributes to memory and understanding. These pupils need their own copy of any textbook, so that they can study and practise between lessons. They need strategies to develop their use of memory, and should not be expected to learn a lot of new vocabulary at one time. © Culturethèque IFRU

...and on learning support generally. Preparing children before a lesson is better than having them fail and then trying to help them catch up. Assistants need to be trained in teaching techniques and in the new language. This should be part of their programme of professional development, and linguists can help by explaining their part of the work clearly. Praise is most effective when it is used to reinforce successful learning. All pupils benefit from personal contact with native speakers of their own age. For some, this can be via Skype. Getting their feet on the country’s soil is priceless. © Culturethèque IFRU

Je (point to self, whole hand –finger pointing is rude) Tu (point to a friend, whole hand – they can’t help smiling !) Il (point to a boy, not your tu friend) Elle (ditto a girl) Nous Big circular sweep with both hands Vous Point to teacher with both hands – explain that vous is a mark of respect to a grown up. Ils Point to two boys both hands Elles Point to two girls both hands French Verb song ( song copyright ©Joe Biswell and John Bald)

Some patterns in French verbs Tu very nearly always ends in s (not tu peux, tu veux) ils/elles always ends in nt Nous ends in -ons (not nous sommes) Vous ends in –ez (not vous êtes and vous faites) These patterns recur in almost all tenses, including those made with auxiliary (helping) verbs, conditionals and subjunctives. Explaining them to pupils cuts down the difficulty of learning verbs.

Finally - Consider the child in front of you – children with SEN are not all alike, and one size does not fit all. As your teaching develops, you will build a repertoire of techniques and approaches that you can trust, because you know from experience that they work. This is your most important professional resource, and, like all of the best work in education, it is personal. ¡Buen ánimo! Bon courage! © Culturethèque IFRU

To take things further... Dehaene; S Les neurones de la lecture. Odile Jacob, 2007 Clicker 6. This also works in English. The Learning Brain, Blakemore S and Frith U Blackwell 2005 Spell it Out. D Crystal, 2012 Take Ten De bons conseils de Ingrid Paulsen © Culturethèque IFRU

30 Copyright Statement SEN Materials © Institut français du Royaume-Uni 2014 All rights reserved.. John Bald  asserts his moral right to be regarded as the author of this work. These SEN materials are © Institut français du Royaume-Uni 2014 and are distributed free of charge to primary and secondary schools throughout the UK in order to support the teaching of French to children and the training of teachers. The materials are jointly-badged by John Bald and the Institut français du Royaume-Uni as part of the SEN Project Partnership. The materials are downloadable from may not be re-formatted, re-badged, or used for any commercial purposes. They may be stored within the retrieval systems of a school for the purpose of teaching French and Spanish. A link to the Culturethèque website must not be made unless permission is given for this.