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For information on Bridges to Practice training in your area, please contact:
Dr. Rochelle Kenyon, Project Director
rkenyon721@aol.com

Wrap-up

ESOL instructors are familiar with the old image of their classes as places where the same students stay year after year. While this stereotype at one time had some basis in reality, it was never characteristic of the entire program. The fact that some students seem to make little progress in their language learning has however been a constant problem in many classes. Only recently have ESOL professionals begun to question whether the reason for such slow progress might be rooted in unidentified and undiagnosed learning disabilities.

Language learning has long been recognized as a difficulty for persons who are learning disabled. In this country, exemption from the foreign language requirement is the second most frequent accommodation granted to learning disabled college students (timed testing is #1). There is a growing recognition of the difficulty that adults with learning disabilities will have as they seek success in the ESOL classroom. Providing instruction that is comprehensible and appropriate for their individual needs is a major challenge.

Adult ESOL instructors have for years heard students complain that English is a crazy language - very difficult to learn. The teachers recognized their struggles and agreed that English is indeed very hard to learn. Now we ponder how difficult learning to read English with all of those sound combinations must be for persons with learning disabilities.