TITLE:
ESL Teachers’ Experience in Teaching Pupils with Dyslexia in Mainstream Classrooms
AUTHORS:
Suhana Ahmad, Manisah Mohd Ali, Khazriyati Salehuddin
KEYWORDS:
Dyslexia, English as a Second Language, Teacher’s Experience, Teaching Challenges, Teaching Strategies
JOURNAL NAME:
Creative Education,
Vol.9 No.14,
October
29,
2018
ABSTRACT: In Malaysia, pupils with dyslexia mostly learn English as a second language (ESL) in mainstream classrooms together with other children. It is known that language learning is the biggest struggle for pupils with dyslexia and learning ESL is even more challenging for them. This paper aims to explore three ESL primary school teachers’ experiences in teaching pupils with dyslexia, particularly the challenges they encounter as well as the strategies they use to assist them in the teaching and learning process. In-depth interviews were conducted with the teachers for the data collection. The findings show that those ESL teachers find it challenging to teach pupils with dyslexia and they are lacking effective teaching methods to apply in the classroom to support the students. Several recounts of teaching experiences show that ESL teachers need more support in terms of training and professional development to ensure literacy skills mastery among pupils with dyslexia.