Page 3 Le Lien Vol. XII, No. 1 - September 1999 |
continued from page 2 Marking the student according to her own progress is crucial. Neither the student having the learning disability, nor the parents of the student, need to be reminded, term after term, year after year, that the student is struggling. They already know this. They do need to know where the child has progressed and what to do next in order to meet new objectives. 5. Know your teaching style. Just as students have strengths and weaknesses, so do teachers. If the teacher is aware of her own teaching style and how to accommodate for certain weaknesses, both the student and the teacher will benefit. For example, a teacher who has a very global style of teaching may have a very busy class. Many activities may be going on at once. Structure may not be apparent. Noise may be constant. The student diagnosed with ADHD will have a great deal of difficulty coping in this classroom as she requires much structure and as few distractions as possible. By the same token, that same student, placed in a highly analytic classroom, may benefit from the structure present. However, the |
organizational expectations of that teacher may be beyond that student's capabilities. If the classroom teacher can strive for a balance between a global and analytic style of teaching, the student with the learning disability may have more chance of success. The teacher may also feel less frustrated by the needs of this student.
6. Incorporate the four learning styles in class activities. According to Carbo (1991), there are four principle learning styles: visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile. If a student has a visual/auditory style of learning, she has an immediate advantage. In the typical classroom, most teaching focuses on the use of these two styles. However, there are some students who cannot learn using the visual or auditory mode. They may process information primarily through touch and/or through movement. Often, this is the case for the student who is experi- encing a learning difficulty. By offering as many activities as possible which include the four styles, the classroom teacher is helping to provide the best possible environment for all the students to learn. |
7. Maintain weekly contact with parents. This can be done in person, by phone, by e-mail, or by a behavior chart. It is vital for the French immersion teacher to do this for the student having a learning disability. Not only can communication break down between the home and the classroom due the language of instruction; the student's disability may also contribute to the communication barrier. It must be noted that the student must rely heavily on the parent in order to meet with success in school. Without frequent communication between the classroom and the home, that student will quickly fall through the cracks of the hectic schedule of daily class expectations. The attitude and actions of the French immersion classroom teacher, in regards to learning disabilities and bilingualism, can have a profound affect on the student having a learning disability. The teacher can either lessen or increase the chance of failure by a student who truly has the capacity for great success! A little understanding can go a very long way. |
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