mentally weaker students

Mentally Weaker Student | Mary Lynn Hughes | November 10th, 2001

Dear Brigitte,

I don't know if it's the kind of thing you're looking for, but there's a website I came across a while ago with a page of links to other sites, including a whole section on 'Basic Skills' (ie literacy), plus one link re Dyslexia. The teacher whose site it is is quite involved with immigrants and native speakers in England who need help with basic literacy and L2 development. It might be worth taking a look at. The page with the links is here, and from there you can navigate to her other pages.

I agree that it's sad most of the money and resources in ELT go to the 'haves'. It's probably the 'industry' factor in ELT.

Good luck with your research

Mary Lynn

Re: Mentally Weaker Students | Nina Blair | November 10th, 2001

Dear Brigitte:

I thought I would take a shot at describing a particular group of students you might be referring to as "mentally weaker".

There is quite a large population of ESL students particularly in the US who are classed as developmental students. They are deficient in L1 literacy skills as a result of insufficient academic language preparation and in some cases they lack even the most basic educational opportunities. This group was once tagged "remedial" but that terminology falsely implied that they had failed in the past and required reteaching of the same material. "Developmental" is a term that more correctly describes their situation particularly in light of what much SLA research shows which is that language acquisition is developmental. No matter what grade level a student is at, it makes sense that the teachability of a concept or a language structure is going to be constrained by the language and cognitive developmental stage at which that learner currently rests. Neither language nor cognitive development necessarily correlates with chronological age especially where L1 literacy is deficient. Rather language and cognitive development are more closely related to exposure and use. Both groups of skills may be slowed, but gains and even expertise are not precluded by late acquisition depending on the individual.

This is quite a liberating insight from the research because it opens the way for instructors to explore a learner's background and construct sequences of activities in line with a learner's needs. In effect this is an argument in favor of a process syllabus as there is very little we can do with a given group until we know what their needs are. It's also a librating notion from the learner's perspective as well. University level developmental students have quite a row to hoe. Somehow they have arrived at this level of instruction but without the foundation to support much further progress. They have often learned language or content items without understanding how to put them into practice and eventually the cloudiness of all this information will overwhelm them and they will give it up. If they can gain a big picture view of language and discourse along with a repertoire of learning strategies, they can be empowered to continue their studies. As a group they are generally dedicated to their pursuit of further learning or they would not have persevered for so long on the borderline of failure.

As far as teaching developmental students lacking L1 literacy skills it means using a different reference point. There is much less L1 interference as in the case of better-prepared university students. On the other hand there is a need to uncover and explicate many of language conventions that literate societies take for granted. In fact it is invigorating and fascinating to look behind these discourse practices to understand what students from other cultures and traditions find perplexing and arbitrary about them. It serves as an education for the language teacher, as well. Actually I think working with developmental students has turned my focus away from language education and more towards the larger issues of education and literacy.

By the way, the fact that from what I know so far most money is spent on finding out how bright students can become even brighter makes me sad ...I hope you can show me the opposite. Or is the problem that mentally weaker students are dealt with in another field and there has been no attempt to link it with TESOL?

I second your frustration with the seeming lacking of attention to the needs of developmental students. However there is a good amount of literature available in TESOL Quarterly under the terms developmental students and basic writers and readers. Ilona Leki, Ann Raimes, Joy Reid and Ann Johns crop up frequently in TESOL Quarterly and by following the bibliographic references you can find many more. A newer descriptive class is 'Generation 1.5' although this is very specific to the US university population. There is also quite a lot of relevant material on literacy out of Australia stemming from their work with the indigenous population and the need to understand the shift from an oral literacy tradition to a written one. Overall the effort of the above researchers to describe this group- developmental students- as a separate population has paid big dividends as there are university programs, instructional materials, and publications geared to their particular needs.

I hope you will find lots of inspiring material to help you with your students. In my experience these are the students whose gains are hard-won, often exponential, and always transforming.

Good luck,

Nina Blair

Re: Mentally Weaker Students | Catherine Buhler | November 11th, 2001

Hello Brigitte,

This is a very interesting subject that you have brought up. I don't know of any references but can tell you a little about my own experiences. In a private group of eight women I taught two or three years ago I had one woman who has difficulty reading and writing in German. She managed the oral exercises just as well as the other participants but was very hesitant about doing written exercises for homework. I didn't realize why, till she sent me a note written in German that was full of mistakes. After that I was able to convince her that only if she wrote English could I correct it and help her to improve. As this was someone I knew quite well I was able to speak openly with her and she did actually begin to write. After about six months she wasn't making any more mistakes than the other participants. Generally, she gained more self-confidence and applied successfully for a job as a hospital care person. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to come to classes after that because she was working but I spoke to her recently and she said that she isn't afraid of writing notes for reports any more and still thinks of what I told her. I suppose the essence of this is that self-confidence plays a large role in language learning, regardless of the "IQ" of the learner.

Good luck with your work! Hope to see you in Fribourg again!

Best wishes

Catherine
(in snowy "Mittelland" Switzerland)

Re: unsuccessful learners | Jake Kimball | November 11th, 2001

Most of the research is on successful learners but you may want to read Vann and Abraham in TQ (24) p 177-199 titled Strategies of unsuccessful language learners.

However, finding strategies of successful learners is also helpful because unsuccessful learners don't take advantage of the strategies that successful ones do.

Also, a note on IQ. Several books I've read (How Languages are Learned + PLLT) stated that higher IQ's tend to predict success in grammar, vocab, and writing; but having a higher IQ isn't necessary to excel in oral communication.

A good place to start would be Principles of Language Learning and Teaching by Brown. There are a few good chapters on strategies.

Jake

Re: Mentally Weaker Students | Laura | November 12th, 2001

Fascinating exchange! At this point, it might be useful to define "mentally weaker students".

If we're talking about students who lack basic literacy skills in their L1 then, as others have mentioned, one frame of reference could be in the US ESL system and the vast amount of material written on American reading instruction in general. Check out the ESL reading textbooks published for use in the States. I find they resemble the books I used as an elementary and middle school student, right down to the typeface and lay-out. I discovered that the ESL program in a community college I visited in the US this summer is actually part of the college "Study Help" center, where tutors also help native speakers with basic reading, writing, math and computer skills. Nina Blair's email offered a good analysis for why this may be the case. One should also keep in mind that all first-year college students in the US are now required to take a basic English course because so many students were entering college with poor writing skills. A common complaint is that many students graduate from US high schools without learning to read or write at all. Touchy subject!- Now, whether or not a similar approach should be taken with developmental students with English as a first or as a second language, or whether there should be overlap in materials adopted, is another question, and I'm not sure how the situation is handled in practice in different schools. I can only repeat that, to me, the textbooks do seem very similar in approach.

Another weakness is that of students who adopt less successful strategies in learning and study situations. This weakness could accompany lack of basic literacy skills, but not necessarily. Why some learners adopt successful strategies and others don't is probably a basic area of the research. Another article you can look up is Kopeika, English Teaching Forum, April 2000 p 28-32 titled Mistaken Strategies Used by Weak Students - A Review.

Other weaknesses could be considered, I suppose. But this is such a touchy subject, I hardly have the heart to go there. Are we talking about IQ (whatever that implies)? slow learners vs gifted learners (whatever that means)? Differences in language aptitude (how do we measure it, anyway)? Aptitude for language learning? Aptitude for logical reasoning? Language learning differences associated with age? And are we lumping in here other people, such as the hearing or visually impaired, people with dyslexia, people with speech impairment?- I don't think this is what you had in mind. But it's a lot easier for me to talk about "students adopting mistaken strategies" or "deaf students" than to talk about "mentally weak students", as it's not really clear who those students are.

I would like to mention something else. I was recently reading a study of teaching ESL to adult deaf students. It finished up by suggesting the students' linguistic preparation in their L1 (even if it is sign language) be tested in order to apply those findings to their EFL learning. It's the first study I've read recommending such analysis, and its association with the deaf struck me. Isn't it also a relevant issue with hearing students?

Cheers!

Laura

Re: Mentally Weaker Students | Brigitte | November 12th, 2001

Thanks for all your replies to my initial question.

I have taken the expression "mentally weaker" from Lightbown and Spada "How languages are learned".

Anyway, by mentally weaker I really mean students who can hardly read or write not because of lack of education - they have gone through the same system as all the other more successful learners - but because they lack one of these fuzzy things nobody really can describe, like IQ, aptitude for logical reasoning...

In state education (in my part of Switzerland) we usually have three levels: those who will later continue education at high school level, those who will usually do an apprenticeship, and those doing some shorter and more practical apprenticeship. I teach students from all three levels (all at total beginners level). Most proposed changes in teaching like in the lexical Approach by Lewis work wonderfully well with the stronger ones, but with my weaker ones I sometimes use totally different approaches.

I love teaching them. There are so many more issues involved, like dyslexia, concentration problems and so on. At the moment half the boys in one class take Ritalin that is supposed to calm them down and help them concentrate at school. It is your job as a teacher to find a way around or through these obstacles. This is very challenging but if you succeed it is very rewarding. You just need to see the little steps forward. To me for example it is already a success if at the end of the lesson one student says "Oh this was a funny lesson" even if he is far from saying this in English...- At least he has enjoyed working with a foreign language.

My only concern is that I just do what feels right and seems to work with them and can hardly find any research for making more "principled decisions". Lightbown and Spada just propose to use less formal teaching with this kind of student, this is what I do anyway. I haven't tracked down the literature you mentioned. I just thought giving some more detail to my situation might be interesting. Thanks again!

If you are in a similar situation I would love to hear from you.

Greetings from no more snowy but very cold Switzerland,

Brigitte

Re: Mentally Weaker Students | Colin | November 12th, 2001

Brigitte,

It sounds to me like you should be exploring books concerned with multiple intelligences (MI), or affective approaches to teaching.

My personal favourites in this area are:

Teaching and Learning Through Multiple Intelligences (2 nd Edition) Linda Campbell, Bruce Campbell, Dee Dickinson Boston: Allyn and Bacon ISBN: 0-205-29348-4.

Dee Dickinson is/was involved with a group called New Horizons for Learning which bases their electronic network on Howard Gardner's MI theory. Their website is here.

The other recommendation is:

In Your Hands: NLP in ELT Jane Revell, Susan Norman London: Saffire Press ISBN: 1-901564-00-2.

Susan is involved with SEAL, the Society for Effective Affective Learning and has a particular interest in children with special needs. The book follows an NLP program but is full of story-based and activity-based ideas for energizing ELT. SEAL has its origins in Suggestopedia but has expanded to include Accelerated Learning, MI and other holistic forms of learning which tap into areas of the brain which are not normally regarded as 'intelligence' (whatever that may be!) The SEAL website is here.

I've got a number of other references but these should be useful starting points. Thomas Armstrong is also a good author to look out for in the area of MI.

Hope this helps!

Colin

Re: Mentally Weaker Students | Laura | November 12th, 2001

Hello again...

Your teaching situation sounds challenging but rewarding.

I was just looking around on the internet and did a search on msn for "inclusion" and then for "inclusion and ESL" ...came up with lots of sites which might give you some more leads.

For example, here.

Bibliography mostly lists research on ESL/pre-literate adults, but this was listed also:

Schwarz, R & Burt, M (1995) ESL instruction for learning disabled adults, ERIC Digest Washington, DC: National Center for ESL Literacy Education

I think the bibliography here is even more appropriate for you.

Have fun surfing ...but keep warm!

Cheers from chilly Italy,

Laura

Re: Mentally Weaker Students | Colin | November 13th, 2001

Brigitte,

Here is another site for you. This is in Canada and deals with teaching special educational needs in the classroom. It's designed for native speakers with special needs but there are some lesson plans and so on which you may find will work well with your students.

Good luck!

Colin

 

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