International projects
Dyslexia for Teachers of English as a Foreign Language
Researchers (1)
| no. |
Code |
Name and surname |
Research area |
Role |
Period |
No. of publicationsNo. of publications |
| 1. |
21612 |
PhD Karmen Pižorn |
Linguistics |
Head |
2014 - 2016 |
339 |
Organisations (1)
Abstract
The problem we addressed in the DysTEFL2 project is that even though foreign language teachers have a legal responsibility both to anticipate the needs of dyslexic students and to accommodate them so that they can be fully included in the mainstream classrooms, this obligation notoriously fails to translate into practical applications in the classroom. Teachers of foreign languages are very poorly (if at all) equipped with knowledge and skills to effectively teach dyslexic students who should be offered special adjustments in the teaching process to function with success in regular schooling. We believe that in order to improve the opportunities of learners with dyslexia to acquire another language, the process needs to focus on teacher training. At present, European teacher training institutions provide no or very little training on teaching learners with dyslexia. Foreign language teachers are at a disadvantage because not enough (if any at all) suitable training is provided during both initial and in-service training. A common practice in many countries has been to exempt dyslexic students from foreign language learning on the grounds that the successful attainment of L2 competence is beyond their reach.
The target audience of this project included (and still does via the exploitation activities) pre-and in-service teachers of English as a foreign language, institutions of higher education; local, regional, national and international institutions and associations preoccupied with the professional training of foreign language teachers; educational stakeholders and authorities.
The aim of the project was to improve the scheme of initial and continuing professional development of teachers of English as a foreign language so that teachers can gain the necessary
competences to adapt their teaching to special educational needs of students with dyslexia. DysTEFL2 objectives involved the exploitation of the DysTEFL materials and sharing good practice, in particular the award winning DysTEFL course, among educational stakeholders. The more specific aims involved updating and supplementing the DysTEFL course with relevant materials and providing European EFL teachers with a number of training opportunities, offered in different modes which included intensive five-day-long face-to-face courses organised in the project partner countries, on-line self-study course (which attracted over 1400 participants), massive open online courses – MOOC (with over 18 000 participants).
DysTEFL2’s activities included conducting the EFL teachers’ professional needs analysis with regards to dyslexia and gaining special (certified) qualifications in the field of teaching foreign
languages to dyslexic language learners, the preferred learning pathways/modes and course providers as well as course content. Also, the needs analysis involved exploring legal
requirements and possibilities of course certification in project partner countries. Based on the needs analysis outcomes, updates and changes were incorporated into the DysTEFL2 course, the
major one involving introducing a battery of tests (on unit and course level) and procedures for confirming learning outcomes and certifying qualifications. The DysTEFL2 course book comprises three parts – Trainer’s Booklet (including step-by-step comments and sample answers), Trainee’s Booklet and Test Booklet (with key) accompanied by a CD-Rom with all three parts of the course book and the appendices. The course book was printed in 600 copies and, as other results of the project, is freely available at www.dystefl2.uni.lodz.pl under CC Licence BY 4.0.
