The Future of Education

Migration has always existed in European society, mostly due to economic reasons, internal conflicts or wars. Populations have become increasingly diverse, in terms of languages and cultures; however, many countries still find it difficult to perceive this as a positive factor. Differences, very often, are still a cause of distrust and conflict, instead of being seen as something enriching, something to benefit from under economic, social, cultural and educational points of view.

The school system is one context that could most benefit from contact between languages and cultures. Many European bodies and institutions have highlighted this aspect and have tried to encourage national authorities to enact inclusive educational policies to afford all students an adequate education, without any distinction related to language or culture of origin, and to guarantee effective support actions for students with disabilities or with special educational needs¹.

Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty which has a particular effect on reading and spelling ability irrespective of intelligence.  When a child is learning in a different language in school to that which they use at home, or attempting to acquire another curriculum language, dyslexia can make the task problematic. With the right support, however, the learning can be made easier.   A European partnership was set up to develop a course which would equip teachers and other professionals working in the field of special educational needs together with parents with skills,  knowledge and strategies to support multilingual individuals with dyslexia who are learning an additional academic language.

A target group of language teachers and those working in special educational needs was identified in each partner country.  A needs analysis questionnaire was then developed to gauge the level of need and interest for a training programme.  Data from the need analysis provided a snap shot of the current level of knowledge, awareness and competencies in supporting individuals with dyslexia who are learning an additional academic language and provided a starting point for the development of the Dyslang curriculum.  Eleven e-learning modules were written.  The training programme was implemented an each partner country and evaluated post-course using a self-rated questionnaire.  Those who completed the course found the overall content useful and rated the accessibility of the modules, in terms of both content and layout, highly. The participants also felt that the modules were highly relevant to their current working situation.

The Dyslang project has developed and piloted a training course for teachers and other professionals working within the area of special educational needs.  Those working within the school systems in Europe have a vital role to play in promoting language learning and maintaining cultural diversity.