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Identifying signs of struggle is paramount to understanding students' language needs or possible learning disability.

Frequent errors in reading, writing, or pronunciation of basic words.

Fluctuating or consistently bad educational performance.

Frequently finding it difficult to follow instructions or staying focused on certain tasks.

Students acting out to peers or teachers

Not completing work.

They frequently cannot remember anything from previous lessons.

It may be possible that a student could have a learning disability and also a language need.

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Language Acquisition Difficulty or Learning Disability? How to Differentiate and Support English Language Learners with a Learning Disability - LD@school

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English Language Learners and students with learning disabilities are both at risk for lower achievement in language & literacy, but for differing reasons.

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Conduct initial and ongoing summative and formative assessments.

Monitor behavior and record and instances with the date, time and issue.

Monitor social behavior such as if they are able to form relationships and can communicate with peers.

Speak with Thai teachers to see if the student is struggling equally in their native language.

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Differentiate Between a Language Need vs. Language Disability

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Differentiate Between a Language Need vs. Language Disability

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Student is behind in terms of speaking compared to their peers.

Student has a smaller range of vocabulary compared to their peers.

Student may be shy to speak another language.

When following your action plan, you can see improvement over time

Students only struggle with issues related to language barriers

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Many English language learners (ELLs) are incorrectly identified as having disabilities that require special education and/or related developmental services. Although this is a common problem, it is easily avoidable.

This blog post explains how appropriate and research-based assessment methods assist clinicians in accurately identifying a language difference from a disability.

Avoiding Bias When Assessing English Language Learners

Assessment and disability determinations for ELLs are complex processes that require thinking outside the parameters of any one standardized test. While it may seem simple to grab a commonly used assessment test or tool to judge if a child has a disability, there are flaws with this system.

Take, for example, the many biases present within standardized tests and/or during the assessment process (refer to Cultural Assessment Biases in Speech-Language Pathology for more specifics). Additionally, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) specifically states that an evaluation must include a variety of assessment tools and strategies and should not use any single measure as the sole criterion for disability determinations (20 U.S.C. § 1414(b)(2)).

Although grabbing your favorite standardized test or assessment tool may be easy for you, there are alternative assessment procedures that are more appropriate and accurate when differentiating between a language difference or disorder. Examples of these alternative methods include: dynamic assessment, academic and social language sampling, and interview assessment tools.

Each of these methods are described in detail below.

Dynamic Assessment for English Language Learners

Dynamic assessment is an assessment procedure that can be used to determine an ELL's skill level and learning potential. Compared to standardized assessment, which is static, dynamic assessment is interactive. The dynamic assessment process consists of three stages: pretest, teach, retest.

During the pretest, the clinician assesses a child's baseline to determine potential areas of concern.

Following the pretest is the teaching phase. In the teaching phase, the clinician engages the child in a mediated learning experience to provide support in the identified areas of concern.

After that, children are reassessed to see if they were successful in learning the skill(s).

For more detailed information about dynamic assessment, visit the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association website.

Academic and Social Language Sampling

When evaluating English language learners, it's important to gather information about their academic and social language proficiencies in all of their languages.

Social language, sometimes referred to as basic interpersonal communication skills (BICS), is the social communication we use during everyday tasks, such as taking turns, telling personal narratives, responding to directions, and making requests. "Under ideal conditions, it takes the average second-language learner two years to acquire BICS" ( Roseberry-McKibbin & Brice, 2005 ).

Academic language, sometimes referred to as cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP), on the other hand, can take up to seven years to develop ( Roseberry-McKibbin & Brice, 2005 ). Academic language refers to language that we use for more complex communicative tasks, such as to compare/contrast, analyze, justify, and persuade.

When a child shows relative strengths in social language skills, they are presumed to be proficient in English and, therefore, are often only assessed in English. However, many of our assessment methods rely on academic language skills, so if a child has not yet developed those skills (remember that it can take up to seven years to do so, as stated above), they will be inadvertently classified as a child with a disability. This is why an analysis of a child's academic and social language abilities is crucial in the correct differentiation between a language difference and disability.

Interview Assessment Tools

To get a clear picture of a child's strengths and weaknesses, it's imperative that clinicians complete thorough interviews with relevant family members, caregivers, and/or teachers.

Dr. Catherine Crowley developed a list of "critical questions" to be asked of parents and teachers so that clinicians can accurately distinguish between a language difference and disability. These critical questions include information such as the child's language and dialect acquisition, family history of speech/language/learning problems, and a comparison of the child's skills to peers or siblings. For a complete list of the questions, refer to this Critical Questions document.

To summarize, it is not enough to use your typical go-to standardized test when determining if an English language learner is a child with a language difference or disability. You must employ a variety of techniques, such as dynamic assessment, academic and social language sampling, and interview assessment tools, for the most accurate results. Additionally, assessment and consideration of all of the child's languages are crucial.

If you are interested in delving into this topic further, below is a list of resources for your reading pleasure.

Photo by Paul Hanaoka on Unsplash

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Assessing English Language Learners: Difference Vs. Disability

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Many English language learners (ELLs) are incorrectly identified as having disabilities. Read on for assessment methods which easily avoid this problem.

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If even after you implement your action plan, students still continue to struggle with little to no progress with their language development.

Despite assistance and an action plan,

Student has a very small vocabulary range compared to their peers.

The student struggles in many areas, not just those related to English, such as using technology, researching an issue, or even communicating with my assistant in Thai.

Student has a difficult time in social situations among peers.

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Many children have trouble reading, writing, or performing other learning-related tasks at some point. This does not mean they have learning disabilities. A child with a learning disability often has several related signs, and they don't go away or get better over time. The signs of learning disabilities vary from person to person.

Please note that the generally common signs included here are for informational purposes only; the information is not intended to screen for learning disabilities in general or for a specific type of learning disability.

Common signs that a person may have learning disabilities include the following:

Problems reading and/or writing

Problems with math

Poor memory

Problems paying attention

Trouble following directions

Clumsiness

Trouble telling time

Problems staying organized

A child with a learning disability also may have one or more of the following:

Acting without really thinking about possible outcomes (impulsiveness)

"Acting out" in school or social situations

Difficulty staying focused; being easily distracted

Difficulty saying a word correctly out loud or expressing thoughts

Problems with school performance from week to week or day to day

Speaking like a younger child; using short, simple phrases; or leaving out words in sentences

Having a hard time listening

Problems dealing with changes in schedule or situations

Problems understanding words or concepts

These signs alone are not enough to determine that a person has a learning disability. Only a professional can diagnose a learning disability.

Each learning disability has its own signs. A person with a particular disability may not have all of the signs of that disability.

Children being taught in a second language may show signs of learning problems or a learning disability. The learning disability assessment must take into account whether a student is bilingual or a second language learner. In addition, for English-speaking children, the assessment should be sensitive to differences that may be due to dialect, a form of a language that is specific to a region or group.

Below are some common learning disabilities and the signs associated with them:

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What are some signs of learning disabilities?

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Many children have trouble reading, writing, or performing other learning-related tasks at some point. This does not mean they have learning disabilities. A child with a learning disability often has several related signs, and they don't go away or get better over time. The signs of learning disabilities vary from person to person.

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Use different teaching methods in every lesson to meet different learning styles

Use inclusive and accessible teaching methods.

Recognize and celebrate achievements.

For groupwork, put stronger students together with weaker students

Give extra guidance or give struggling students extra help during lunch breaks

Use more technology for games, assessments and interactive activities.

Discuss with parents what kind of assistance their child needs.

Make appropriate accommodations for students with language needs.

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Language barriers can pose significant challenges for students who are pursuing higher education in a different language than their native one. They may struggle to understand lectures, participate in discussions, complete assignments, and communicate with peers and instructors. However, there are some effective strategies that can help students overcome these difficulties and succeed in their academic goals. In this article, we will explore some of these strategies and how they can benefit both students and educators.

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What are effective strategies for supporting students with language barriers?

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Learn some effective strategies to help students with language barriers succeed in higher education, such as identifying language needs, using inclusive teaching methods, and fostering integration.

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Allow extra time for completing tasks

Recording the class

Reducing the need for writing

Use visual aids and assistive technologies

Use larger fonts

Incorporate more technology

Speak with any other professional that is assisting the student

Speak with the parents

https://queensford.edu.au/how-to-help-children-with-learning-disabilities-in-the-classroom/

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14 Disability Categories - Download as a PDF or view online for free