I have a student who has Dyslexia, the reading & writing disorder. He is over 30, he has difficulties differentiating "p" and "q", "o" and "a" and vocabulary learning is a very challenging task for him. He now would like to learn English as a secondary language, which could help him in his career.
I can teach general students grammar and vocabulary without a problem, but in his case it is quite different. He is very eager to learn, but he just can't differentiate the vocabulary, e.g. "contact" and "contract".
What is the best strategy to teach him English?
His mother tongue is Cantonese, but I don't think it's related.
Best Answer
My brother is dyslexic and I've read and thought about the issue a lot. I also have experience learning 4 different languages to varying degrees of fluency. Also my dyslexic brother has learned a language with good success. So don't despair.
Is there any fundamental reason you need to push through the mud of dyslexia right away. I use that term not derisively but to emphasize that it can really feel like pushing through mud rather than walking on the sidewalk.
If reading and writing are like pushing through mud for a dyslexic person then why do it if you don't have to. Learning a language involves four skills: talking, listening, reading and writing. If you want him to experience success you need to focus on talking and listening; not reading and writing.
I have used the Pimsleur method to learn 4 languages with great success. They take the student far using audio only. I love the method and highly recommend you use that approach for learning English. English for Cantonese Chinese Speakers
If purchasing the lessons is not an option you could try adapting the method and see how it works.
Once he has success with speaking and understanding then you can evaluate whether reading and writing are important. Then he will have more courage to tackle the difficulties of written English.
If you think that this approach is bad, think about how much worse it is for your student to simply give up because it's too hard. Better to try what already works.
I do think that English is much worse than many other languages for a dyslexic person. For help see Davis Dyslexia Association International Also there are varying degrees of dyslexia; not all have the same degree of problems.