Where are some good general discussions of the issues?
The International Dyslexia Association has a fact sheet titled “At-Risk Students and the Study of a Foreign Language in School”: http://www.interdys.org/fact%20sheets/foreign.pdf
LD Online has several articles on this topic; a listing of these article is at http://www.ldonline.org/article/c677. Two in particular seem most relevant: “Learning Disabilities and Foreign Language Learning,” by Robin L. Schwarz (1997), available at http://www.ldonline.org/article/6065; and “Foreign Language Learning and Learning Disabilities: Making the College Transition,” by Sally S. Scott and Elaine Manglitz (1997), available at http://www.ldonline.org/article/6066
The Association of Departments of Foreign Languages publishes a journal, the ADFL Bulletin, which published a bibliography (not annotated): “Selected References on Foreign Language Learning in Relation to At-Risk Students and Students with Foreign Language Learning Problems,” by Richard L. Sparks and Leonore Ganschow; ADFL Bulletin, 32:3, (Spring 2001), pp. 65-70. http://www.mla.org/ADFL/bulletin/v32n3/323065.htm
A researcher/educator in Scotland maintains a site with lots of background information as well: “Dyslexia and Foreign Language Learning”, http://hilarymccoll.co.uk/dyslexia.html
A blog on LDs reports on a recent article which denies the existence of a “foreign language learning disability”: http://lizditz.typepad.com/i_speak_of_dreams/2007/02/no_such_thing_a.html. The underlying article, by Richard Sparks, appears to be a bit of a “retraction” of previous work by Sparks, though I’m not completely clear on that point. See “Is there a 'disability' for learning foreign languages?” by Richard Sparks; Educational Research Newsletter (ERN Online); accessed at http://www.ernweb.com/public/905.cfm?sd=2
Pedagogical tips and another list of references (not annotated) are at: http://www.miusa.org/ncde/tipsheets/foreignlang
Someone had a good idea, but all the page’s links to ERIC are “dead” and would have to be rebuilt: The Foreign Language Teacher’s Guide to Learning Disabilities” http://www.fln.vcu.edu/ld/ld.html#Foreign
Here’s an article regarding college-bound students: “What High School Students with Learning Disabilities Need to Know about College Foreign Language Requirements,” Joseph W. Madaus, Council for Exceptional Children, Teaching Exceptional Children November/December 2003, http://www.teachingld.org/pdf/foreign_language.pdf
What second language is best for students with reading difficulties?Hmmm, with all those experts out there, you’d think there’d be a consensus on this one.....not! Naturally, students have different types of LDs, with different strengths and weaknesses, and there is probably no single “best” second language for English-speaking students to study. That said, here are some (hopefully credible) sources of information on this issue:
A conference presentation from 2001 notes discuss characteristics of French and German in terms of how LD students will fare with these languages (in brief, “yes” to German, “no” to French): “Neuropsychological aspects in the approach of teaching and learning a foreign language,” Katrin Sellin, Fifth Annual British Dyslexia Association conference, 2001, http://www.bdainternationalconference.org/2001/presentations/thu_s6_d_12.htm
Here’s a piece by a passionate advocate for the teaching of Latin: “Latin for Students with Learning Disabilities”, by Barbara Hill, http://www.promotelatin.org/LatinforLDbrochure.pdf
Addendum, October 2007: see this recent article from the WSJ: WSJ.com - Veni, Vidi, Wiki: Latin Isn't Dead On 'Vicipaedia' (Appeared on Saturday September 29; the link will only work for a few days....)
A blog for homeschoolers facing LD issues reports that “Latin, Spanish, or American Sign Language are good choices for kids with LD issues, including dyslexia,”
http://www.learningabledkids.com/home_school_info/foreign_language_learning_disabilities.htm Note that the blog refers to an article and provides a link to it, but the link is no longer quite right; try this instead: http://www.ldonline.org/article/6066 ; that link will take you directly to “Foreign Language Learning and Learning Disabilities: Making the College Transition,” by Sally S. Scott and Elaine Manglitz (1997), mentioned above.
Here’s my personal take on all this: dyslexic students probably benefit from a language with clear, consistent rules and where the rules for spelling are consistent with phonetic rules for pronunciation. So:a. Latin: Grammatical rules are clear cut, and the speaking and receptive language skills are not so important. Students can focus on the reading and writing parts of acquiring a new language, and studying Latin will improve English vocabularies as well.
b. Spanish: can also work well, since spelling tends to be phonetic. Parents may also find it easier to support Spanish language study at home.
c. French: Spelling can be tricky. Has a bit of a “disconnect” between the pronunciation and spelling of the sounds.
d. German: Some people view German as “too hard,” with long words, while others praise it as a language with clear spelling and grammar rules that dyslexic students can learn quite well.
