The number of culturally and linguistically diverse students in U.S. public schools is growing, and educators must continually upgrade their skills to more effectively teach these students. Non-English-speaking students with language-learning disabilities present a particular challenge. These students not only must learn English as a second language, but also they must do so with an underlying language-learning system that is inadequate for learning any language—including their primary language (Roseberry-McKibbin, 1995). The students have difficulties, in their primary language and in English, with the comprehension and the expression of language as spoken in their cultural and linguistic communities.
Speech-language pathologists, resource specialists, and other special education teachers often instruct students in small groups outside the classroom. Although small groups are helpful, special educators often find that students with language-learning disabilities need more support than these small groups can provide.
The Power of Collaboration
As speech-language pathologists working in the public schools, we rely heavily on collaboration with educators in the regular classrooms to help us meet the needs of students with language-learning disabilities. Students make more progress when their teachers implement specific strategies in the classroom than when students meet just once or twice a week in a small group. Students also make more gains if special and regular educators coordinate regular classroom learning with small-group learning.
However, there are two barriers to this type of collaboration: (1) Many teachers have not received training in the strategies that meet the needs of diverse language-learning disabled students, and (2) special education instructors have not taken the time to collaborate with teachers and share strategies that may be implemented in the classroom setting. Because of these barriers, many educators are unaware of ways they could help diverse students with language-learning disabilities succeed in the classroom.
Strategies for Meeting Students' Needs
Many traditional teaching methods used in regular and ESL classrooms can be confusing for non-English-speaking students with language-learning disabilities. Teachers use English when asking questions, providing information, and giving commands and feedback. Teachers give instructions at a fast pace, and student learning often depends on teacher lectures. Students receive many directions during a short period of time and few opportunities to ask for clarification or to seek help (Brice, Mastin, & Perkins, 1997; Brice, Mastin, & Perkins, in press; Brice & Perkins, in press).
Researchers (Brice & Montgomery, 1996; Cheng, 1996; Crago, Eriks-Brophy, Pesco, & McAlpine, 1997; Gutierrez-Clellen, 1996; Kayser, 1995, 1996; Langdon & Saenz, 1996; Quinn, 1995; Westby, 1997) have pointed out that frequently a mismatch occurs between the expectations of students' cultures and the expectations of the classroom. This mismatch often results in misunderstandings among teachers and students, with negative consequences for the students.
- Make sure that students understand tasks before beginning to work on them (Brice, Mastin, & Perkins, 1997). Teach the instructions and the vocabulary needed to carry out the task. Ask questions to verify students' understanding.
- Seat students from similar cultural and linguistic backgrounds near one another. Students can help one another understand complicated instructions, which will save time for the teacher. Also, many students do not feel as singled out if peers instruct and help them, instead of the teacher.
- Use lead statements to start lessons. Lead statements, given at the beginning of a lesson, cue listeners about what is going to occur (Brice, Mastin, & Perkins, 1997). For example, the teacher can say, "We are going to do two things before lunch. First, we will read the book The Red Dog. Second, we will talk about the book. So, between now and lunch, we will read The Red Dog and then talk about it." Students who are learning English and who also have language-learning disabilities will profit from hearing lead statements repeated.
- Call on students to help keep them focused, but ask the question before naming the respondent. Brice and colleagues (1997) found that teachers frequently name students before asking a question. For example, the teachers said things like "Sanji, what happened at the end of The Red Dog?" When the teacher names the student right away, other students may tune out. However, if the teacher does not name the student until the end of the question, all students must listen in case they are called on (Roseberry-McKibbin, 1995). Thus, the teacher can say, "What happened at the end of The Red Dog? Who can tell us? [pause] Sanji, you tell us what happened."
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- Use a multimodal approach to learning. For example, when giving instructions for taking a state-administered standardized test, use an overhead projector to demonstrate how to fill in the bubbles for each answer and how to read the directions for each section. The overhead, a visual, helps clarify auditory directions.
- Relate information to students' background knowledge. For example, when teaching the four seasons to a class with many immigrant Filipino students, a teacher could say, "In the Philippines, there are two seasons: rainy and dry. In the United States, there are four seasons: winter, spring, summer, and fall." Many times, culturally and linguistically diverse students with language-learning disabilities do not learn new information because they are unable to tie it to previous experiences.
- Allow opportunities for hands-on activities in which students interact and collaborate with one another (Langdon, 1996). Research shows that many students from diverse cultural backgrounds are quiet and do not take initiative in classrooms (Roseberry-McKibbin, 1997). For example, Brice and Montgomery (1996) found that Hispanic adolescents did not express themselves in the classroom; they did not initiate and finish classroom discussions. Classroom teachers can help students with language-learning disabilities improve their language skills by facilitating student interaction and collaboration.
Many times, culturally and linguistically diverse students with language-learning disabilities make poor progress in classrooms. Educators often feel frustrated with the lack of progress they see in these students. However, by using these strategies in the classroom, teachers can enhance the success of students with language-learning disabilities.
