1. Identifying and Educating Language Learners with Learning Disabilities: A Workshop for English Language Educators

2. Special Education in India  Started in 1880s by Christian missionaries  It was meant for ‘the disabled’ – on the grounds of charity  But only in the 1970s, the ‘charity model’ was found to be a faulty one and proposed to be changed into a ‘human rights model’ (NCERT Position Paper on Special Education, 2006)

3.  1999: CBSE and ICSE made special provisions; 2000: classes I –XII; 2003: college courses including professional courses  Though inclusion was proposed, it has not yet been fully realized in practice.  Obvious from the B. Ed. syllabi of Regional Institutes of Education (RIEs), NCTE (proposed), CIE (New Delhi), etc.  An inclusive or accommodative curriculum: our need

4. Aim of this workshop To help you identify and educate children with language learning disabilities How to identify language learning disabilities in children Strategies for accommodating such children in general classrooms

5. Contributing Factors to Learning Problems

6. Types of Specific Learning Disabilities  Dyslexia (reading difficulty)  Dysgraphia (writing difficulty - both handwriting and expressive)  Dyscalculia (difficulty in math)  Dyspraxia (difficulty in motor planning)

7. Let’s try an activity

8. Two co ge ys wer cli ng trees. lle bo e mbi one “I can e engi e sa th nee leg id see ring col girls from here!’ ‘wow’ the other said “ let go of the tree and yuo iwl l see med a college rs too!” icl gil (in the hospital!)

9. Tow cogelle byos wree cilmbnig teres. Oen siad,”I can see teh enigenernig cogelel girsl form hree. Wow!” teh ohter siad,”lte go fo het tere and yuo wlil esee het meidlac clogelel grlis oto !” (in teh hsoptial)

10. Two college boys were climbing trees. One said,” I can see the engineering college girls from here. wow!” The other said,” let go of the tree and you will see the medical college girls too!” (in the hospital!)

11. Let’s try another activity

12. Learning Process

13. Attention Symptoms of ADHD InattentivenessHyperactivityImpulsivity

14. Perception

15. A Sample

16. Memory Short-term Long-term Sequential

17. Language Receptive Expressive

18. Concept Formation Functional Abstract Concrete

20. Visual and Postural Problems

21. Characteristics of Specific Learning Disabilities  Disorder of attention  Perceptual impairments  General coordination deficits  Disorders of memory and thinking  Specific difficulties in the areas of reading, writing, spelling and arithmetic

22. A child’s prayer “If I cannot learn the way you teach will you teach me the way I can learn” - Ignacio Estrada

23. What we can do...  Policy makers think that the success of inclusive education depends a lot “on the skills and attitudes of classroom teachers” (NCERT, p. 22)  Compulsory training for teachers (Pre- and in-)  Online courses http://www.rehabcouncil.nic.in/Default.aspx  Whole language approaches (Hamayan & Pfleger, 1987; McInnis & Hemming, 1995;)

24.  Total Physical Response (Asher, 1982), Cognitive Strategies Training (Chamot & O’Malley, 1987), Work-related Language Training (Friedenberg & Bradley, 1984), etc.  Careful analysis of individual learner’s problems should precede selection of teaching strategies.  Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan: Team Teaching, Peer Tutoring, Cooperative Learning, Language Experience Approach and Multi-Sensory Approach  http://www.tatalearningforum.com/TLDF/index.htm (An interactive forum maintained by TATA)

26. References Asher, J. J. (1982). Learning another language through actions. Los Gatos, CA: Sky Oaks Productions. Chamot, A.U. & O'Malley, J.M. (1987). A cognitive academic language learning approach: A bridge to the mainstream. TESOL Quarterly, 21, 227-49. Distance Education Programme- Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Indira Gandhi Open University (2008). In- Service Teacher Education on Inclusive Education. New Delhi: IGNOU-MHRD, Govt. of India Project. Friedenberg, J. E. & Bradley, C. H. (1984). The Vocational ESL Handbook. Rowley, MA: Newbury House Publishers. Hamayan, E, & Pfleger, M. (1987). Developing literacy in English as a second language: Guidelines for teachers of young children from non-literate background. NCBE Teacher Resource Guide Series, No. 1. Available at http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&E RICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED290343&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=n o&accno=ED290343 MacInnis, C., & Hemming, H. (1995). Linking the needs of students with learning disabilities to a whole language curriculum. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 28 (9), 535-544. National Council of Educational Research and Training (2006). Position Paper National Focus Group on Education of Children with Special Needs. New Delhi: NCERT.