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• XAMINATION OF READING SKILLS IN PATIENTS WITH APHASIA USING THE THREE-WAYS READING TEST

  87-116

  Natália Dankovics

  Tímea Mokuolu

  . Pelyvás Károlyné

  Views:

  169

     Aphasia is an acquired disorder of previously intact language ability that can affect both oral and written language (Osmanné, 1997, Gósy, 2005). Whilst there are a few fairly useable methods available that can provide a global and true picture of the patient’s linguistic abilities in oral language (Osmanné, 1983, 2007), there is only one assessment method in use in Hungarian for measuring the reading skills and it is a part of the Western Aphasia Battery (Net 1). This assessment does not enable unambiguous interpretation at several points, the scoring method is sometimes not clear and most importantly the results do not mirror the patient’s performance that had been previously observed. This is why we have decided to develop a new diagnostic test.

     Our investigation of the reading process in aphasia is based on Ellis and Young’s theory of the dual-route model (Ellis, 2004). Our aim was to assess the patients’ performance in each reading process (route) so a therapy method can be created that is based on the intact reading process and supports the recovery of the damaged routes.

     The data for our pilot study were collected from patients who had both motor and sensory disturbances with motor dominance. The use of our testing method was smooth and easy in practice. The results confirm that the method is suitable to use in measuring the performance on different reading routes that can give guidance in designing the treatment approach.

• Moderate-Risk Prematurity does not Hinder the Development of Reading and Spelling Abilities Despite the Lower IQ

  35-50

  Rózsa Gráf

  Magda Kalmár

  Andrea Harnos

  Anett Nagy

  Gábor Boross

  Views:

  111

  Background and aims: It is well established that the impacts of prematurity are often long-lasting in the various domains of development, however, the published findings concerning the prevalence, severity, and background of disorders are inconsistent. As yet research into the development of abilities contributing to the academic progress in Hungarian preterm children has been scarce. Our study aimed to find out to what extent prematurity impeded the reading and spelling abilities in school age and to contribute some information on the cognitive background of the performances. Methods: Three groups of 7 – 12 year-old children participated in the study. The target group consisted of moderate-risk preterms. For comparison two groups of full-term children were tested: typically developing good readers and dyslexics. To assess the reading and spelling abilities the Hungarian version of the 3DM (Dyslexia Differential Diagnosis) was used. Cognitive abilities were assessed using the Hungarian adaptation of the WISC-IV and the Rey Complex Figure Test. Results: The reading and spelling performances of the full-term good readers and the preterms did not differ and the preterms scored higher than the dyslexics. The cognitive tests did not offer any direct explanation to this, since the preterms lagged behind the full-term good readers in the WISC-IV full-scale IQ as well as in several specific cognitive measures. The CART Decision Tree served to analyse the relationships, allowing to reveal the interactions and the moderation effects. Discussion: The CHC model as a theoretical framework and the CART Decision Tree statistical analysis proved to be fruitful to disentangle the complex interplay of the cognitive background factors. There are various cognitive paths of acquiring the reading and spelling skills, e.g., in case of relatively lower IQs the sufficient levels of memory and processing speed may ensure success.

• THE ISSUES OF TEACHING FOREIGN LANGUAGES TO LEARNERS WITH A SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITY

  31-52

  Magdolna Nemes

  Views:

  436

  To 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.