Applying ICT appropriately to MFL: Case Studies
Case Study: Oliver - a Foreign Language Learner with Speech, Language and Communication Needs
Oliver is a student in your mixed-ability Year 7 French group. He has a pronounced stammer and an immature vocabulary. A speech therapist withdraws him once a week for individual tuition. A learning support assistant comes into some of his lessons to help him improve his word knowledge.
Oliver struggles to express himself verbally and he often falls out with his peers. Whether learning French will boost or damage his self-esteem remains to be seen.
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Problem 1: You are asked to compile a checklist of strategies that may address Oliver's needs when learning MFL. |
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Problem-solving: Read the non-statutory National Curriculum guidance Improving access to the MFL curriculum. Which approaches are likely to succeed with the speech- and language-disordered? How is "alternative and augmentative communication" exemplified? |
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Problem 2: You decide to find out about the teaching of MFL in schools for the speech- and language-disordered. |
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Problem-solving: The National Curriculum in Action website features Je me présente, a unit of work for speech and language impaired special school learners of French with learning difficulties. Study the unit and the accompanying commentary. Then read Der Englischunterricht to find out how English is taught at a German school specialising in speech and language therapy. |
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Problem 3: You decide to find out about other foreign language learners with speech and language difficulties. |
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Problem-solving: The International Stuttering Awareness Day Online Conference 2001 featured a threaded discussion page, beginning with "Stuttering in a foreign language." Access The Professor Is In and read the opening message and four responses in the thread. What conclusions, if any, do you reach about the propensity to stutter in first and second languages? Then read this Linguanet Forum message about "elective mutes", some of whom are prepared to speak in their foreign language, though not in their mother tongue. |
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© 2006 David R. Wilson |