The Effects of Specific Learning Difficulties (Dyslexia) on the Learning of a Foreign Language in School

Twenty-five dyslexic school pupils aged between 11 years 6 months and 16 years 3 months were considered in relation to their achievements in learning French. These pupils were compared to a group of 25 non-dyslexic subjects of similar age, social background and French learning experience. Ten pupils in each year group between Primary 7 and Secondary 4 were considered. Although there were individual variations, dyslexic pupils performed poorly not only in the areas of reading and writing, but performance was also inferior in speaking and listening. Phonological ability was considered to be the most relevant variable affecting the dyslexic pupils' ability to process language. The difficulties which pupils had in processing English phonology affected their learning of French phonology. Dyslexic pupils also required more time to process phonological information. Results indicate that teaching methodology in modern languages for dyslexic pupils may require reconsideration.