Help
Staff working with students who are struggling with literacy must:
- help them understand their literacy difficulties.
- help improve their self-esteem and confidence.
- help them look ahead with a more positive attitude.
Understanding
When you are talking with a student who is struggling to develop literacy skills, try to get them to understand some of the following points:
- Everybody is different.
- Everybody is good at something. Some students are very good at reading and writing. Others have strengths in other areas.
- Quote from personal experience if possible, as it can be helpful e.g. “I was awful at sport and ball games. I longed to be good enough to be in a team. I even went to hockey and netball practices. All I ever ended up doing was preparing the drinks and refreshments for half-time and the end of the match. Unfortunately in school so much of our learning involves reading and writing… but this is less true in life outside school. Remember, your literacy skills do not define you as a person.”
- Help them to identify their areas of relative strength.
- Sometimes people who struggle with literacy are able to think in a different way from other people. Lateral thinking may be a real strength, or the ability to visualise in three dimensions. They may be really creative or excel at sport.
- Many successful adults struggled with literacy at school. Mention names of famous people. Some of the most brilliant scientists and artists in history and today have struggled with literacy.
- Quote from your own experience. “Some of the students I have worked with have been determined to succeed. One girl gained a first class honours degree in photography and was the first woman to gain a special bursary (scholarship) from the BBC for wild–life filming. I have also worked with several students who have become highly skilled mechanics and others who are successful in ICT.”
Reassure the student
- Even though literacy is a struggle, do not use this as an excuse. You can achieve success as long as you keep motivated.
- It is OK to make mistakes – that’s how we learn. If you only focus on work you can complete easily, you are not learning.
- Help is available within school. Most secondary schools in Devon have a text reader on all computers: Immersive Reader (word on-line documents only) or Texthelp (reads off the internet, PDF and Word documents). The text reader will support the pupil with developing independent proof-reading skills: emphasising spelling and punctuation errors, the meaning being conveyed in the text etc.
- It is likely that spelling will continue to be tricky into adulthood, but remember the reason we write is to communicate information. So as long as your writing can be understood, this will usually be good enough.
- It will be easier to manage when you have left school. For example, if you are using technology at college, university or in the workplace, you are likely to have access to computer with a text reader, spell checker and text to voice technology.
Please emphasise to students
There is no reason why you can’t be as successful in life as anyone else. However, poor literacy skills will not be overcome without hard work.
Key note
A recent Survey by Manchester Metropolitan University interviewed dyslexic students in primary and secondary schools. In his discussion of the results of this study, Psychologist Mike Johnson concluded:
“It is interesting that the underlying theme is the emotional climate in the classroom rather than any specific techniques or special methodology…….. It is the way teachers go about teaching and organising classrooms that are seen as facilitating or frustrating. The key comes in understanding how each pupil thinks and feels.”
Please see BDA (British Dyslexia Association) – www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/dyslexia for further information.