Foreign Language Assessment: Instructional Considerations for Students with Specific Learning Disabilities

Abstract

Abstract-Students with specific learning disabilities (SLDs) continue to be more likely to experience anxiety about learning a foreign language, and possibly less likely to enroll in foreign language courses at all. As schools become more inclusive and more aware of diverse learning needs, it is important to be cognizant of how the individual needs of students with SLDs may relate to classroom instruction and assessment practices. What follows is a discussion of assessment practices, with an emphasis on diagnostic and formative assessment in the context of teaching students with SLDs. Given the prevalence of mobile phones and other devices in contemporary classrooms, a strong emphasis on the role of online polling resources plays a prominent role in this discussion. Specific examples of instructional activities which align with assessments are also provided, as part of a selective literature review intended to connect larger topics in language instruction to the typical needs of students with specific learning disabilities. The perspective of the discussion pertains primarily to students with SLDs in the United States, where the vast majority of foreign language instruction occurs in the middle and secondary grades.

Using technology to differentiate and accommodate students with disabilities

“…QR Codes are a type of matrix barcode readable by mobile phones used to store website URLs, plain text, phone numbers, email addresses, and many other types of information (Siegle, 2015). Codes can be used in classrooms to engage students in multiple literacy and mathematical QR activities such as learning centers and spelling tests; to provide assignment directions and vocabulary instructions; and to give motivational praise and attention to students.…”