You are going to read a newspaper article on education. Read the text and answer the questions that follow. Decide whether each statement is True or False and provide your arguments drawn from the text to justify your choice. The proof should be given in your own words.
Teaching disabled children is a challenge in itself, and inspiring students with learning disabilities to take up a language is even harder. But with a different approach, language lessons for students with special education needs (Sen) can be inclusive, exciting and relevant.
For language learners with severe disabilities it can be easy to assume that learning a second language may be too challenging. But it’s always worth letting people try, according to Sally Holmwood who works at Indigo languages teaching Sen students. “I think everybody should have a chance to learn a language, but it’s going to depend on the individual child. Obviously, if you’ve got a non-verbal autistic child, you’re not going to be able to get them to speak in a foreign language.
“But you can still introduce them to foreign cultures – to the food, the clothes, and the art. In one school I went to, they had a Spanish day and people brought in Spanish food. I remember one child who had quite a restricted diet but he tried some quite spicy Spanish sausage and he seemed to really enjoy it. We’ve done things with games, mime, drama things and using lots of interactive ICT (information and communication technology).”
David Wilson recalls how he approached teaching German to a boy with Asperger’s Syndrome. Wilson taught the pupil one-on-one and would let him talk about his famous film, Dr Who, for the first 10 minutes of the lesson. “You have to go through the obsessions and enthusiasms to get them on side,” he says. “The reward for me was that we worked hard for the rest of the lesson.”
Willson added: “A child with autism really enjoys grammar – they like the regularity of it and the way it goes together. They often enjoy speaking the language less; a lot of them don’t see the point. So, to some extent, you’ve got to do it on their terms. You’ve got try to meet them halfway.”
Even for pupils with the most severe disabilities, being exposed to another language could always be a positive experience. “On occasions I’ve seen young people who are so turned off by the language that they don’t want to go to school and it’s affecting their wellbeing,” says Crombie. “If it gets to that stage then I think the time has come to ask whether it’s worth it or not. But I would always let everyone have a try.”
Sally Holmwood points to the story of Carly Fleischmann, who was diagnosed with severe autism and an oral motor condition that prevented her from speaking. Doctors predicted that she would never intellectually develop beyond the abilities of a small child but eventually learned to communicate after years. “It brings it home that you don’t necessarily know how much a child has understood, just because they’re not verbally telling you that they’ve understood. You can’t underestimate them.”
1-5. Choose whether the statements are True (T) or False (F) and, to justify your choice, provide your proof from the text in your own words.
Example : (0) The statement is true because the narrator has never read a single book in the original and has not demonstrated any interest in the subject.
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1. All disabled children can be taught the same skills with equal success.
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2. With completely non-verbal autistic children, teaching a second language can probably go only as far as introducing them to some aspects of culture.
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3. Depending on the disability, the condition the student suffers from can provide the teacher with a helpful tool for effectively teaching a second language.
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4. Learning languages is beneficial to children with disabilities, therefore if they don’t like the learning process, they should be forced to continue for their own sake.
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5. When teaching disabled children, it is important to realise that they have hidden potential which may not reveal itself in the beginning.
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