Students with Learning Difficulties Belong in Core French

Students with Learning Difficulties Belong in Core French
Note: This is the
first article in a
series examining the
inclusion of students
with language-based
learning difficulties
(LD) in core French
(CF). The second
article will provide concrete examples
of how such challenges actually impact students' overall
learning experiences. The final article will feature
research-based, but classroom-tested teaching techniques
that help promote inclusion and increase student
proficiency. This first article discusses why students with
language-based learning difficulties should not be
exempted from this class.
In speaking with colleagues all over North America, a
common theme runs through discussions about including
students with learning difficulties (LD) in second language
(SL) classrooms - the belief that effective second language
(SL) teaching is incompatible with the goals of
accommodating students with LD. Echoing similar research
on the topic (e.g., Vaughn, Schumm, Jalled, Slusher &
Saumell, 1996), many of my colleagues are in favor of
inclusion, but only a small majority of that group is actually
willing to include students with LD in their classes. When
pressed to articulate why, typical reasons include lack of
appropriate planning time, lack of modifiable resources, lack
of support, and the nature of the children's challenges.
I will be the first to agree that all of these factors do
impact a teacher's ability to be a successful inclusive
educator. These factors become even more limiting when
one is teaching CF and must typically also deal with such
issues as lack of a classroom, irregular meeting times, and
insufficient textbook resources, to name a few. It can be
demoralizing to teach under such circumstances, and
frustrating to be asked to do more with less - which is often
how inclusion is viewed.
However, ever since I taught French to a student with
dyslexia nearly ten years ago, I have had a different view on
the issue. In spite of all the challenges that French language
educators face, I believe that the CF classroom is actually
one of the best classroom contexts in which to include
students with LD. Thus, the purpose of this article is to
explain these reasons and perhaps offer a different way of
thinking about inclusion in core French.
Reason 1: Good SL Teaching Strategies are Similar
to Effective Inclusion Strategies
Any standard text or article on LD (e.g., Hutchinson,
2002; Lerner, 2000) includes a list of commonly
recommended adaptation strategies. The same goes for any
standard SL methodology text (e.g., Brown, 2001; Shrum &
Glisan, 2004). Comparing the lists, they are practically
identical. Strategies such as “provide alternate explanation,”
“use gestures/pictures/voice to emphasize language,”
Dr. Katy Arnett, Assistant Professor, St. Mary's College of Maryland
“repeat key concepts” “pre-teach vocabulary,” “ask frequent
comprehension questions,” and “provide alternate forms of
expression” are some of the most commonly cited
techniques in both sources. The strategies are included on
both lists for the same reason: they help to facilitate language
comprehension and/or expression.
Because students with LD experience problems with
either the perception, processing, or expression of language,
commonly suggested techniques need to address ways to
make language more salient to them or encourage ways for
them to express their language in a manner that does not limit
meaning. Core French teachers do this on a daily basis in
their lessons! How many of you use pictures to explain
vocabulary? Sing songs to reinforce grammar? Play the
audio version of a story as students follow the text? Assess
students in a variety of ways, for a variety of skills? Use
manipulatives? Use choral repetition? Any one or a
combination of these strategies can help a student with or
without LD better perceive, process, and/or express the
classroom language. They are not simply adaptive strategies
for CF - they are good teaching strategies for SL learning!
Reason 2: Students are Closer to the Same
Level of Skill/ Knowledge
I did not come to this realization until I had some ESL
learners enroll in my French classes. I often wondered why a
student still struggling to learn English would be given the
added pressure of trying to learn French - despite the fact that
many of them were stronger language learners than my
English L1 students. I mentioned this to one of the school's
guidance counselors, and she told me she made these course
assignments because she figured it was the only class where
they would be achieving near the same level as their English
L1 peers and might make them feel better about the school
experience. Of course!
The same can be said for students with LD. Even though
they tend to work at a slower pace than their typicallyachieving peers, the gaps between these students and their
more proficient peers are not nearly as large in CF as they are
in other subject areas - even in a communicative classroom.
Because the students with LD have the opportunity to
interact with their more typically-achieving peers, they tend
to develop more positive self-esteems than students who are
excluded from such interactions (Kligner, Vaughn, Schumm,
Cohen, & Forgan, 1998). I think it would be reasonable to
extrapolate from this research that excluding students from
CF likely has an adverse effect on their self-esteem. Further,
I think most teachers would agree that part of our
responsibility as educators is to foster confidence in our
students - not diminish it.
Reason 3: Excluding Students from Core French Sends
the Wrong Message
Core French is the vehicle by which most children in
Canada become exposed to the country's second official
continued from page 22...
language. We all know how the programs vary across the
TCH, but one fundamental goal remains the same: instilling
in students a basic proficiency in French in this multilingual
world. To look at a student - even one who is struggling in the
class - and say that their challenges are too great to overcome
in core French goes against the very goals of special
education and more importantly, the goals of core French.
Yes, I know these students often require additional planning
time and resources. However, just because they do not learn
in the same way or at the same rate as their peers does not
mean they should be denied the opportunity to learn the
language. I find it perplexing to say “we all want our children
to be proficient in English and French,” yet, at the same time,
find ways to exclude students from this program because
they do not fit in the mold of the “good language learner.”
Excluding students from core French sends the message that
language study is for the academic elite, and denies these
students a skill that can help set them apart in this
multilingual world.
While these rationales do span from affective to
cognitive, they have been invaluable in my efforts to make
French accessible to a wide range of learning needs. Beyond
students with LD, I have been successful in teaching French
to students with ADD/ADHD, ODD, blindness, anxiety
disorder, speech impediments, psychotic tendencies, and
bipolar disorder, to name a few. By far, students with LD
have been the most prevalent in my classes, and my next
article will give you some insight into some of the specific
challenges that these students face in the classroom.
References
Arnett, K. (2004). Effective teaching and adaptive
instruction in core French: A case study of a grade 8
classroom in Ontario. Unpublished doctoral dissertation:
The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the
University of Toronto.
Brown, H.D. (2001). Teaching by principles: An interactive
approach to language pedagogy (2nd ed.). White Plains,
NY: Addison Wesley Longman.
Hutchinson, N.L. (2002). Inclusion of exceptional learners in
Canadian schools: A practical handbook for teachers.
Toronto, ON: Prentice Hall.
Kligner, J.K., Vaughn, S., Schumm, J.S., Cohen, P., &
Forgan, J.W. (1998). Inclusion or pull-out services: Which
do students prefer? Journal of Learning Disabilities, 31, 2,
148-158.
Lerner, J. (2000). Learning disabilities: Theories, diagnosis
and correction (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Shrum, J.L. & Glisan E.W. (2004). Teacher's handbook:
Contextualized language instruction, (3rd ed.). Boston,
MA: Thomson & Heinle.
Vaughn, S., Schumm, J.S., Jallad, B., Slusher, J., & Saumell,
L. (1996). Teachers' views of inclusion. Learning
Disabilities Research & Practice, 11, 96-106.
continued from page 21 ...
Let us first of all, perhaps more respectfully now,
remember some of the deceased Prix Robert Roy recipients
who I have had the privilege to know and work withLilly
Borges Oldham, Stan Frey, David Stern and, indeed, the
father of CASLT, Robert Roy himself.
Un de leurs noms, celui de Lilly Borges Oldham, nous
revient quand je mentionne les dix président.e.s de l'ACPLS
avec qui j'ai eu le plaisir de servir entre 19871996 comme
rédacteur du Bulletin de langues secondes. Je reconnais aussi
mes trois compatriotes de l'Alberta : Ihor Kruk, Denise
Bourassa et Eleanor Morris, tous les trois anciens président.e.s
de l'ACPLS, avec qui j'ai servi ainsi que Florence Wilton de la
Colombie-Britannique, Joyce Fewer de Terre-Neuve et du
Labrador, Jean-Pierre Flament du Yukon, Debbie Pineau de
l'Ile du Prince-Edouard, notre regrettée Fadwa Dennis de
l'Ontario, et Nancy Pynch-Worthylake de la Nouvelle-Ecosse.
I would also like to make special recognition of the
contributions of my predecessor as editor of the Bulletin, Tony
Mollica, who has been a professional mentor to me and to
many over the years and has always been my cherished friend.
Likewise to your outgoing president and my Alberta
compatriot, Carolyn King. Carolyn's leadership and support
of others through the years are recognized and valued by all
who know her.
I close with my family. My wife Theresa and daughters
Chantal, Anya and Caithleen, who are all grown up now,
always supported me in my work with CASLT and
throughout my career. This award is every bit as much theirs
as mine.
Finalement, du fond de mon coeur je vous remercie toutes
et tous de cet honneur. Toutefois, mon plus grand honneur est
depuis toujours d'avoir pu vivre ma vie de professionnel dans
la compagnie de personnes comme vous. Continuons
ensemble nos efforts pour l'amélioration de l'enseignement
et de l'apprentissage des langues au Canada.
Peter Heffernan
continued from page 10 ...
seconde, Français langue seconde, Langues d'origine
(ancestrales), Langues internationales.)
• Associations professionnelles d'enseignants :
(Association canadienne des professeurs de langues
secondes, Association canadienne des professeurs
d'immersion, Association ontarienne des professeurs de
langues vivantes.)
• Apprenants adultes : besoins particuliers aux immigrants
• Système scolaire de la maternelle à la 12e année
Les ressources supplémentaires
Le Portfolio européen des langues, sur Internet à :
http://culture2.coe.int/portfolio/inc.asp?L=F&M=
$t/208-1-0-1/main_pages/welcomef.html
Un compte rendu complet
[email protected] ou www.unb.ca/slec