People with dyslexia often have difficulties in acquiring language due to their cognitive, emotional and environmental factors. These can already manifest in preschool period and usually become more intense during primary school, while coping with school requirements and demands. Errors in reading, spelling and orthography are caused by one’s cognitive deficits and insufficiently developed metacognitive skills. The severity of the difficulties also depends on the language transparency level (correspondences between graphemes and phonemes). Considering dyslexia as universal specific learning difficulty, it also effects acquiring foreign language. As English is less transparent language, language with deep orthography, it means the correspondences between writing and pronunciation are less frequent. Consequently, students with dyslexia have difficulties in acquiring English in all language areas (phonology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics). In accordance with attending regular curricular programme with the support of suitable adjustments, students with dyslexia have the right to additional professional assistance, executed by special educational teacher.
Based on a questionnaire, made for the purpose of our research, we investigated special educational teacher’s perceptions about their qualification in teaching English to students with dyslexia. Research sample gathered 79 special educational teachers. The results of the research enable the new insight in evaluation of a study programme and programmes of further training for special educational teachers in teaching English to students with dyslexia. The results prove the lack of pedagogical training for special educational teachers in teaching English to students with dyslexia. Considering findings of the experts in foreign countries, our research problem is also current abroad. As teaching English to students with dyslexia is a challenge for special educational teaches, they express desire and need for such training, which would increase their competences and improve the quality of teaching English to students with dyslexia.
|