When I taught vocational ESL, the language and culture barrier were actually fun to overcome using humor and some goofy acting to demonstrate vocabulary words. In general, I don't consider English Language Learners as people having a learning disability. In fact, many that I have taught in the past had better study habits than the native English speakers (including myself).
The most common learning disabilities I have encountered in more recent classes have been a variety of reading disabilities. The lack of phonemic awareness seems to prevail. Dyslexia is included in the list. Having a problem with phonemic awareness is characterized by not being able to make the correct sounds when reading letter combinations, and coding. When the word is read aloud by someone who knows how to pronounce it properly, the problem student understands the word, but they still cannot say it when they try to read it from the text in question. Sometimes, I will have the students take turns reading out loud through the text. This encourages everyone to read, but I never force someone to read if they feel uncomfortable with that task. When they come to a problem word, I will eventually say the word if they are struggling, in order to maintain comprehension for the rest of the class.
The most common forms of learning disablities are Dyslexia, slight autism, ADD, and ADHD.
In the culinary arts industry, it is ESL students that come in with a harder time filtering the information but I don't see it as a learning disability. It is a communication challenge more than learning disability. That is the disability for the instructor not the students.
But this is not a problem for me as I speak many languages such Spanish, Tagalog, basic Italian, Japanese, and very little French. Understanding languages is easy for me and understanding the people who speak different languages, because I speak many languages, makes it easier to know what they need to learn.
~Louis
Good job Julie!
I find that ELL students are very willing to do "what ever it takes" to be successful.
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
It seems that the language barrier is the most common form of learning disability. Due to being an accelerated class, I can't always slow down to make sure everyone is getting all the information. I always encourage my ELL studdents to come in for one on one tutoring with specific points they want me to review again. It seems to be working well.
Greetings Elizabeth!
So how do help students with learning barriers catch?
Thanks for your response.
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
Good job Don!
Being paired with the right student is a great way to help both students. Gives both the opportunity to grow and learn in so many ways.
Keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
Some of the comon form of learning disability is the language barrier. A student can fall behind not just because thay can complete their work but becaue they can not understand and process what is given to them. Some times we have to understand that when we are conducting a class, the student that has the language barrier will have to get the information process it, translate it and then understand it which it would take a little bit time to catch up with the rest of the class.
I teach at a vocational institute. The most common form of learning disabilities that i seem to encounter kind of split between language and reading skills. A lot of our students have English as their second language. I try to pair the students that are having trouble with other students that are fluent in Spanish and English.We have a high concentrate of Students with Mexican heritige.Pairing the students also initiates peer to peer teaching that is greatly influentual.Reading and writing skills are also a huge challenge with this younger generation. I tend to also pair strong students and weak students in this area to initiate peer to peer teaching. We also record all tests on MP3 players so that the students can compare the correct verbal pronunciation to the spelling on the test.
Hi Susie!
What a great observation and I agree. I also think that students who do not have a positive self image of themselves causes learning struggles. Now whether one can call that adisability in the purist terms is another thing.
The enviornment in which I currently I teach, the population is about 70% felons with very low self-esteem. It is sooooooooooo gratifying to watch them grow as individuals with hope for the future. We do a lot of self work without them even knowing it. They really appreciate praise.
Keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
In preparing students to succeed in the restaurant industry the most common learning disability I see is ADD/ADHD. Oftentimes this learning difference is not a disadvantage in a kitchen setting. The classroom is where these students struggle. Organizing notes is the most difficult area for these students and having very clear color coded notes helps them study and retain information. I write any necessary notes on the whiteboard in color coded markers. I tell students if they need help in note taking this is an effective method. Even students who don't have ADD can benefit from this.
The most common disability that I observe is English as a second language. I think it's wonderful that students are bilingual but they are certainly hampered by not being proficient in English. I'm sure that this is reflected during the hiring process after graduation.
Many of our students come from other countries or speak another primary language even if they live in the USA. With a little time and patience we have been able to sucessfully work around this problem. Being an automotive trade school, much is hands on training. This paints a mental picture that a new language and words can be applied to.
Hi there,
It seems to me that it should.
:-)
Mike
The most common disability in my classes is also english as a second language. Some students are abel to use recorded tests or have then read out loud by another instructor.
One disability not mentioned is ADD/ADHD. I find that is the nmost common "issue" in my class. These students sometimes have a hard time focussing listening and being still. I do actually tell them(and beleive it myself) that this is actually often a benefit in the kitchen! I always ask my students at the beginning of each module to let me know immediately if they have any lind of learning disability. One thing I find very interesting with ELL learners is thay they are frequently my top students!
The most common form I have encountered is dyslexia. I had a student in my keyboarding class that was dyslexic and I made the print bigger so it was easier for to read. That was one way that I helped him, and he passed the class.
I find that even native english speakers have difficulties testing well because they have problems reading and comprehending a question. This awareness has led me to look at my written exams through a fresh pair of eyes and realize that I should be testing culinary facts, not reading skills. Most of the material is complex enough without trying to make the question so convoluted that its near indecypherable.
