BENEFITS FOR ALL! HOW SUPPORTING LANGUAGE LEARNERS WITH DYSLEXIC SPECTRUM DISORDER IN THIRD-LEVEL EDUCATION CAN IMPROVE YOUR TEACHING

Increasing numbers of students with dyslexic spectrum disorder have been starting third-level education at the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) since the year 2000. Even though exemptions are regularly granted at second level for this particular subject area, some students affected by dyslexia are currently learning a second or third language at DIT, especially if they choose a course in the area of tourism and food. It is forecast that in the next few years even greater numbers of dyslexic learners will study a language while attending college.
Through this contribution we wish to recount our experience of facilitating learners with dyslexia in the language classroom and beyond. Particular reference will be made to the learning of French for the tourism, hospitality and culinary arts industries, but we hope that our work will be of interest to language teachers in general, and to all lecturers in third-level education who must meet the challenge of increasing student diversity.
Besides defining the implications of a complex condition such as dyslexia in regards to language learning, we will examine what initiatives third-level institutions can implement to support teachers and students alike; we will share practical ideas for teachers to ease students with dyslexia into the classroom, and also to support them in their personal work; and we will discuss the implications of “levelling the playing field” for curriculum and assessment of applied languages.