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THE ISSUES OF TEACHING FOREIGN LANGUAGES TO LEARNERS WITH A SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITY
31-52Views:436To make language teaching effective, it is important to consider the forms of language teaching, especially when we talk about learners with a specific learning disability. Our theoretical paper tries to review the literature of language teaching and dyslexia. The goal of our paper is to briefly present the definitions of dyslexia as well as to describe its signs and symptoms. This paper deals with the issues of language acquisition and language teaching, focusing on the difficulties which emerge when learning English. A dyslexic learner usually has difficulties in reading and writing in his L1, their reading is slower and they have problems with reading comprehension too. Besides the possible difficulties, we also discuss the strengths of dyslexic learners as their most important compensating skills are global/holistic thinking, visualisation, creativity, and problem-solving. Our paper also deals with the regulations governing language teaching in schools and the issues of choosing the language to learn at school. In higher education and in the world of work, speaking foreign languages and having language certificates are advantages, consequently, it is necessary to have appropriate course material. Language learners with dyslexia also have to take a school-leaving exam /GCSE in a foreign language, which is why our paper also deals with the output of language teaching in schools as well as the possibilities for dyslexic candidates offered by some Hungarian language exams (ORIGO, BME, DExam, ECL) The paper also mentions the issues of course material and language course books, as well as addressing the question of inclusive teaching for dyslexic learners. We also discuss the competencies required by a Special Educator as a language teacher, as he/she can help students, not only in learning English but also in the integration process.
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TEACHING GERMAN IN NYÍREGYHÁZA TO STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS
69-81Views:204The present paper deals with the issues of teaching a second language to school-aged children with SEN in Nyíregyháza, Hungary. In our research, we made semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions featuring 25 children with Special Educational Needs in grades 7 and 8 in order to gain more information about their opinion and attitudes concerning German lessons at school, which in turn might help to unify the material and/or the methods. We also contacted the children’s parents (25) to fill out a questionnaire about their impressions and opinions with regard to their children’s German learning experience at school. Finally, we asked the two teachers to paint a broader picture of teaching German to children with SEN. The research took place in spring 2020 in Nyíregyháza. We did our research in Viktor Göllesz Vocational School, Skills Development School, Student Hostel, and Integrated Special Educational Methodological Institution as well as in Gusztáv Bárczi Primary School, Skills Development School, Student Hostel, and Integrated Special Educational Methodological Institution. To carry out our research, we asked for the parents’ and the head teachers’ ethical consent. Our experience underlines that all the participants in the teaching process feel that there is a need for unification. It would be much easier for all parties to have a German coursebook written for students aged 13-16 with SEN. Based on the answers of the language teachers, we came to the conclusion that they pay attention to individual development and playful, communicative language teaching, even though it is challenging to teach German to children with SEN, as they often have difficulties in their mother tongue.
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TEACHING GERMAN TO STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS HUNGARIAN AND INTERNATIONAL OVERVIEW
55-67Views:325Nowadays teaching children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) is at the centre of attention. However, the field is really new in language pedagogy and, due to the students’ different abilities, a common methodology has yet to be developed. As a result, teachers’ creativity plays an even more important role, since they rely heavily on their own teaching experience. We will dive deeper into this topic in our two papers built upon each other, both dealing with the issues of teaching a second language to school-aged children with SEN. This present paper is about teaching German students with SEN at a Hungarian and an international level. Our research involves an international overview of several European countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Romania, Poland, Russia, Estonia, and Italy). We contacted specific institutions in those countries and asked for their experience in teaching a second language to children with SEN. It also includes the language learning characteristics of children with SEN as well as the Hungarian rules governing their language teaching.
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HISTORY OF LANGUAGE LEARNING AT AN EARLY AGE ON NYÍREGYHÁZA
7-18Views:169In our paper, we deal with the significance of learning languages at an early age. While going through the literature of the topic, we draw attention to the importance of age in learning a language, as well as the basic differences between language learning and language acquisition. In the following, we present the options outside the family (such as language schools and family creche 'családi bölcsőde') for learning a language at an early age in Nyíregyháza in 2017. In our research, we also wanted to find out what differences can be seen in terms of the methodology of early foreign language activities in kindergartens/preschools between the activities held during the change of the political regime in Hungary (1989/1990) and today. We chose the interview as a research method because in this way we can get a picture of the foreign language activities in kindergartens/preschools and their first steps in the 1990s when they were first available to children. We made eight interviews in spring 2017, asking kindergarten pedagogues/early childhood educators and language teachers as well as who had held English activities in kindergartens/preschools. Based on the information we received from the informants, we can say that early English activities were available in 23 kindergartens/preschools out of the 34 kindergartens/preschools (68%) operating in Nyíregyháza, Hungary in 2017. In some kindergartens/preschools children can also take part in early French and German activities. We have also realized that the number of those kindergartens/preschools which organize playful foreign language activities on a weekly basis has been increasing since the 1990s. From the recollections of the informants, it has also been revealed to us that during the change of the political system providing personal criteria (that is finding qualified teachers) was the most difficult task. Nowadays, several kindergartens/preschools employ kindergarten pedagogues who are able to take part in the language development of children in a foreign language as they are competent users of it. Playfulness, using audiovisual devices, and a lot of props have been highly important since the very beginning in the kindergartens, and pedagogues have also been doing their best to use and try different methods in order to develop the foreign language competence of children aged 4-7.
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THE USE OF ENGLISH MEDIA IN EARLY CHILDHOOD
49-57Views:190The flow of information in the digital age is facilitated not only by traditional media such as television, radio, and print but also by new media such as the internet, desktops, and integrated computers, tablets, and smartphones, etc. The presence of IT tools is quite common these days among kindergarten-aged children (3-6/7), and even toddlers can use them on a daily basis. Moreover, modern pedagogy is unthinkable without digital devices that have become integral parts of innovations such as game-based learning, media-based learning, and edutainment. There are several language schools and bilingual creches where they accept very young children and babies. It is said that parents know their child best and children spend a lot of time with their parents. In consequence, this provides an excellent opportunity for parents to raise a bilingual child even if it is not his/her first language. In our paper we are combining these two, currently, central issues: the use of English-language media and early childhood language-learning, as only limited research is available about it. We are going to present the results of empirical research carried out mainly in kindergartens in Debrecen, which focused on early second language learning and the children’s use of media. Our research has two goals, so the questionnaires asked parents about the use of foreign-language media, its content and the time children spend consuming English content. In addition, we were interested in the parents’ attitude to their children’s English-language media use. We analyzed our data in the framework of early second language learning. Our research was carried out within the Early Childhood Research Group run by the Faculty of Education for Children and Special Educational Needs of the University of Debrecen. The research was carried out between October 2016 and January 2017.
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A CASE STUDY OF TEACHING ENGLISH IN KINDERGARTENS SINCE 1989 – A NORTH-EAST HUNGARIAN CITY
127-137Views:83In our paper, we deal with the significance of learning languages at an early age. The research aimed to explore how the teaching methods employed in kindergartens have altered with the change of the political regime in 1989–90. A case-study was conducted using semi-structured interviews (n=7) with early childhood educators and language teachers in 2016/2017. Oral history method was used because no written material was produced. Based on information we received from the informants and local authorities, early English activities were available in 68% of kindergartens in the North-East Hungarian city when the research was undertaken. The number of kindergartens which organize playbased foreign language practices has been increasing since the 1990s. In the beginning, providing educational personnal was the most difficult task. Using audio-visual devices and props has been highly important, and Early Childhood Educators have been doing their best when working with children aged 4–7. However, there are differences too, due to the development of technology.
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SIMPLE GAMES FOR TEACHING FOREIGN LANGUAGES TO LEARNERS WITH LANGUAGE-BASED LEARNING DISABILITIES
121-134Views:281Teaching languages to learners with dyslexia is a challenge for the language teacher since preparing materials for Multi-sensory Structured Learning Techniques (MSL) is time-consuming and costly. In our paper, we present simple teaching aids that are appropriate, mostly for upper-primary English lessons (Grade 4–8). The paper does not discuss possibilities offered by ICT tools, focusing on manipulative tasks only. First, we present techniques without writing (e.g. TPR), then we present tasks and ideas that require writing in the areas of developing spelling, vocabulary and speaking. In addition, we discuss the development of listening and writing skills.