Jennie Sjursen 00:00
My child's school has a two year foreign language requirement. Learning to read and write in English was hard enough. How do I help them get through this? I'm Jenny Sjursen, ex-special educator turned dyslexia interventionist. It wasn't so long ago that I too, was overwhelmed by balanced literacy versus structured literacy, education speak, and everything in between. Fast forward after many, many hours of self driven education. And you'll see I've built a thriving dyslexia practice helping students from ages six to 18. My specialties, working with a quote unquote difficult almost always to the student, and breaking down the complexities of dyslexic to everyday language strategies and action steps.
Jennie Sjursen 00:48
Foreign language requirements can be the bane of dyslexic students existence. By the time they're required to learn a foreign language. They spent years trying to manage reading and writing in their native language. And now they're being asked to do it all over again in a new language while continuing to learn and manage these skills in their native language. That's a big ask. That's not to say a person with dyslexia can't learn a foreign language. But dyslexia is an issue with language processing. So the same issues a dyslexic has in their native language are also going to show up when they try to learn a second language.
Jennie Sjursen 01:29
So what are some of the ways you can help make it easier for them? The first thing you can do is to make sure that your child is receiving all of their accommodations in this class, there is a place on the IEP and 504 That tells you when and where the accommodations are delivered. You want to check that if your child has accommodations, like extra time, access to assistive technologies, and alternative means of assessment, they are to be delivered in quote, all settings. The all settings notation means the accommodations will be delivered throughout all areas and classes in the school.
Jennie Sjursen 02:07
Next, you're going to see what foreign languages the school offers. Spanish, Italian and surprisingly to me, Finnish are considered to be relatively phonetic languages with easier to understand or thought or fee. In other words, there is a close relationship between the sounds and the letter patterns. One of my favourite languages to recommend is sign language. In many schools in the US American Sign Language, or ASL fulfils the foreign language requirement, and it's becoming a more prevalent alternative.
Jennie Sjursen 02:42
In some cases, especially for a student with severe dyslexia, you can explore the option of getting a waiver for the foreign language requirements. The availability of waivers varies widely and depends upon the school district state regulations and individual circumstances. In order to get a waiver, and like anything involved with special education, you're going to need documentation, and likely a letter of recommendation from an outside neuropsychologist or educational psychologist stating that due to the nature of your child's dyslexia, the required foreign language classes should be waived for your child. You're going to need to call a meeting with the school bring your documentation and explain how your child's dyslexia impacts their ability to learn a foreign language. This should be clearly stated in your documentation already, you're just going to have to verbalise it.
Jennie Sjursen 03:38
If the school can't or won't waive the requirement. Ask about alternatives. Would they be willing for your child to do an independent study and ASL and this is assuming they don't offer ASL already? Could they participate in an immersion course over the summer? Think outside of the box, managing the foreign language requirements, take some research, what options are available, and some creativity? What are some other ways this requirement can be met?
Jennie Sjursen 04:11
And after saying all of that sometimes a student just wants to learn something. A student may have a burning desire to learn French and will overcome all obstacles purely through interest and determination. If you have any further questions about being dyslexic and learning a foreign language, please feel free to sneak into my inbox. I'd also love your input. What would you like to hear from me in the future? Is there a topic I haven't covered yet?
Jennie Sjursen 04:37
You really want to learn more about or do you have a pressing need and you're really not sure how to handle it or move forward? Send me a DM on Instagram or drop me an email at Jennie at literacy untangle.com That's JENNIE at literacy untangle.com I can't wait to hear from you. Until next time, bye. I hope Have you enjoyed this episode of literacy untangled? If you love this episode as much as I did, head on over and rate and subscribe so you never miss an episode. If you want to continue the conversation or share your takeaways head on over to our Instagram at literacy untangled and comment on your favourite part. I can't wait to hang out with you again soon. Bye
