Language Difference or Learning Disability? Answers from a Linguistic Perspective wk. 2 reading

Introduction

  • The number of children in the United States needing English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction increases annually.
  • Among these learners, some have learning disabilities.
  • Evaluating ESL students for special education presents challenges to ESL, general education, and special education instructors.
  • ESL students are overrepresented in special education programs.
  • A clearer understanding of factors is needed before referring an ESL student for special education services.
  • Half of special education students are categorized as having learning disabilities.
  • Hispanic students, the largest ESL population, are overrepresented in learning disability services compared to other special education categories (Kindler 2002).
  • Past definitions of learning disability relied on discrepancies between intellectual ability and academic performance.
  • These definitions were modified due to statistical reliability concerns (Berninger and Abbot 1994).
  • Revised definitions emphasize how a student responds to scientific-based instruction and early intervention (Maloney 2002).
  • Determining learning disabilities in ESL students is complex due to diverse cultures, languages, and literacy experiences.
  • Cultural backgrounds shape ESL students' understanding of literacy and schooling (Perez 1998).
  • The development stages of second language skills in ESL students may resemble learning disability signs (Gopaul-McNicol and Thomas-Presswood 1998).
  • Existing literature inadequately addresses what teachers need to know about second language acquisition (SLA) before referring an ESL student to special education.
  • This article explores this gap, focusing on pronunciation, syntax, and semantics.
  • The discussion covers overlaps between ESL students' struggles and those of students with learning disabilities, how to identify overlaps, and how to record observations.
  • The article provides tips for creating a classroom conducive to SLA.

Shared Symptoms

  • Observing struggling ESL students for learning disabilities is difficult for teachers.
  • Teachers question which language features to document, how to record observations, and where to observe.
  • Standardized tests may be consulted, but there is no single measure to differentiate learning disability from language difference.
  • Teachers must observe students, record data, and interpret findings.
  • Table 1 presents shared indicators of language development difficulties and activities for observation.
  • Teachers and administrators can use the template for their own observations of ESL students.

Documenting Features of Language

Pronunciation

  • Pronunciation skill development is important but often misunderstood in second language development.
  • ESL students may struggle for years with pronunciation due to age, motivation, and opportunities to use the language.
  • Pronunciation difficulties can identify a speaker as non-native.
  • Oral language development is not fully understood, but Celce-Murcia, Brinton, and Goodwin (1996) offer useful conclusions.
  • Learners who begin acquiring a second language before puberty are more likely to achieve nativelike pronunciation, though adults can achieve it.
  • Post-pubescent learners are more likely to achieve intelligible pronunciation with a noticeable accent.
  • Natural ability, motivation, and phonological structure influence pronunciation.
  • Normal pronunciation development in second-language learners can resemble articulation disorders.
  • Articulation disorders, according to Lue (2001), are present in some students with learning disabilities and involve abnormal speech sound production.
  • Four types of articulation disorders:
    • Omission: Leaving out a sound (e.g., "_at" for "cat").
    • Substitution: Replacing one phoneme with another (e.g., "bake" for "cake").
    • Distortion: Mispronouncing a phoneme so it is not a standard sound.
    • Addition: Adding a sound (e.g., "safe-u-ty" for "safety").
  • Piper (2003) notes these patterns are often considered normal developmental errors for ESL students.
  • Pronunciation difficulties may be observed in choral reading, drama activities, speeches, oral presentations, and social interactions.
  • Texts are available to educate teachers about typical pronunciation errors made by second-language learners (e.g., Avery and Ehrlich 1992; Celce-Murcia, Brinton, and Goodwin 1996; Pennington 1994).
  • These resources categorize errors by native language, suggest exercises, and provide overviews of phonological systems.

Syntax

  • Syntax development among ESL students differs from pronunciation development.
  • Gass and Selinker (2001) note that while age is considered important in pronunciation development, there is no consensus for syntax.
  • Debates continue about the role of age, length of study, and first language influence in SLA syntax development.
  • Slavoff and Johnson (1995) found that length of stay in the country and gender were strong predictors of syntactic development.
  • White and Genesee (1996) found little correlation between age and proficiency.
  • There is an overlap in the types of errors made by students with learning disabilities and ESL students.
  • Kuder (2003) finds that students with learning disabilities may struggle with negation, word order, and syntactic mood.
  • Sentence length in students with learning disabilties may not be shorter that non-learning disabled students, but sentence complexity is often greatly reduced.
  • The presence of embedded clauses are rarer in students with learning disabilities.
  • These errors appear in the natural development of ESL students.
  • Gopaul-McNicol and Thomas-Presswood (1998) cite Mercer (1987), who also finds that ESL students struggle with negation, word order, and syntactic mood.
  • Salend (2001) shows how these errors and syntactic structures change over time as students develop their second language skills.
  • Teachers may observe these errors in productive and receptive language.
  • Kuder (2003) finds that reading comprehension problems surface in receptive language.
  • Students with learning disabilities struggle with texts containing sentences with compound subjects, embedded clauses, or modal auxiliaries.
  • Kuder (2003) draws on work by Vogel (1974), Wiig and Semel (1975), and Wiig, LaPointe, and Semel (1977) to show how students struggle to orally recount events they have seen or read about.
  • Educators may see this in discussions about texts, where students reflect on what they learned and express opinions.

Semantics

  • Semantic development involves understanding the meanings of words, phrases, and sentences.
  • ESL students' understanding of semantic relationships matures over years, even with strong syntax and pronunciation skills (Mercer 1987).
  • Mastering figurative language (proverbs, metaphors, similes) is difficult for ESL students (Mercer 1987).
  • Figurative language requires understanding language in various communicative functions.
  • Nippold (2000) explains that proverbs can be used to:
    • Comment (e.g., "Blood is thicker than water").
    • Interpret (e.g., "His bark is worse than his bite").
    • Advise (e.g., "Don't count your chickens before they are hatched").
    • Warn (e.g., "It is better to be safe than sorry").
  • Students with learning disabilities also struggle with figurative language (Kuder 2003).
  • Students with learning disabilities use language rigidly, affecting various content areas.
  • For example, in math, a student may literally try to make a table with legs out of numbers.
  • Figurative language in similes, metaphors, and proverbs poses a significant problem.
  • Students with learning disabilities may literally interpret language, such as understanding "A bird in the hand is worth two in a bush" as someone holding a bird.
  • Teachers may witness this overlap in literature textbooks (Wood et al. 1991), folk tales, legends, TV shows, and fables (Mieder 1993).
  • Students regularly use figurative language in writing (Kuder 2003).

Creating a Classroom Environment That Is Conducive to SLA

  • Teachers should gather data on student language development and provide instruction addressing specific linguistic and cultural needs.
  • Instruction should be scientifically based, consistent with the definition of learning disability.
  • Three research-backed suggestions for general education teachers without special training:

Access to Oral Language

  • Techniques for teaching reading and writing to ESL students are similar to those for native English speakers (Peregoy and Boyle 2004).
  • Practices for giving ESL students access to oral language are distinct, concerning enunciation rate and speech complexity.
  • For students in early stages, Echevarria, Vogt, and Short (2004) recommend teachers slow enunciation and pronounce words clearly.
  • Teachers should avoid idioms, use cognates (words common to both languages), and use repetition and paraphrasing.
  • Teachers should give clear instructions on task completion.
  • Students benefit when teachers present tasks in order, write tasks on the board, and demonstrate activities. Note: The SIOP model is mentioned.

Access to Native Cultures and Languages

  • Case (2004) details how to organize a classroom to celebrate students' languages and cultures.
  • Arranging the classroom for social interaction between native English speakers and ESL students benefits verbal abilities.
  • Decorating with items from students' homes, providing literature from diverse cultures, and playing music from their countries affirm cultural backgrounds.
  • Classrooms should resonate with multiple languages.
  • Code-switching (alternating between first and second languages) is valuable.
  • Among elementary-aged children, code-switching enhances early reading development (Gregory 1996).
  • Students use code-switching to negotiate text meanings, confirm directions, express ideas exceeding their second-language competence, and check understanding (Murshad 2002).

Access to Reading

  • Research shows 80% of special education referrals stem from reading concerns (Snow, Burns, and Griffin 1998).
  • Separating learning disability from language difference is complicated by several factors.
  • Sound-to-print relationships differ across languages.
  • English is an opaque language with a weak relationship between letters and sounds.
  • Spanish speakers may struggle with decoding in English (Echevarria, Vogt, and Short 2004).
  • Students with first-language literacy skills have advantages.
  • They know that print carries meaning.
  • If their native language is alphabetic, they understand graphemes and how they form words.
  • Non-alphabetic language speakers (e.g., Chinese students) bring pre-existing reading skills and knowledge.

Conclusion

  • Identifying overlaps between learning disabilities and SLA is difficult.
  • Knowledge is largely derived from special education, linguistics, and speech therapy readings.
  • More research is needed to clarify language difference vs. disability.
  • Teachers with basic linguistic knowledge are a step forward.