Abstract

This book is intended to help language teachers to work effectively and successfully with students who have specific learning differences (SpLD) such as dyslexia. The book takes an inclusive and practical approach to language teaching and encourages teachers to consider the effects that an SpLD could have on a language learner. It suggests strategies that can be implemented to enable learners to succeed both in the classroom and in formal assessment. The book places issues of language teaching for learners with an SpLD in a broad educational context and, in addition to practical advice on methodologies and classroom management, also discusses discourses of the field, the identification of SpLDs and facilitating progression.

This is a long awaited book and it is sure to be ‘snapped up’ by all professional groups who deal with the literacy issues experienced by multilingual learners with dyslexia and other specific difficulties. The authors provide a sound understanding of the strategies needed to ensure that all subjects are made accessible. This book is sure to be a winner!

The book is accessible to all types of language teachers, from the most experienced to the novice, and explores a wide range of themes. It is organised into short evenlength chapters and readers are not overloaded with technical linguistic jargon, even when cognitive processes are being described.

Judit Kormos is a senior lecturer at the Department of Linguistics and English Language, Lancaster University. She is the editor of the volume Language Learners with Special Needs: An International Perspective. She was the principal investigator of a research and teacher training project on the language learning processes of dyslexic and Deaf learners in Hungary.

Anne Margaret Smith is a specialist tutor and assessor for students with SpLDs. Her research interests include the assessment of cognitive functioning in multilingual learners. Her company ELT well offers advice and training for teachers and assessors who want to explore the overlap between language learning and SpLDs.

This is a thought-provoking book that will hopefully stimulate further research. It is, thus, highly recommended for foreign language teachers and anybody interested in literacy issues, test designers and program administrators.