Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Individual Differences in Language Learners with Dyslexia

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
New Perspectives on Individual Differences in Language Learning and Teaching

Part of the book series: Second Language Learning and Teaching ((SLLT))

  • 3483 Accesses

Abstract

Developmental dyslexia is defined as a lifelong difficulty in processing linguistic information, marked with noticeable inter- and intra-difference with regard to behavioral facets. It has been described as a learning disability—specific difficulty in acquiring the ability to read and spell. This neurodevelopmental condition can be best understood when perceived from a dimensional rather than categorical perspective, in that way the view of dyslexia as a delay or a difference is promoted. Thus reading ability can be illustrated in a form of a continuum, indicating the existence of substantial individual differences. In comparison with their non-dyslexic peers learners with dyslexia can be expected to occupy rather the bottom end of this continuum. However, the way dyslexia leaves its imprint on behavior considerably varies across individuals. Differences between students with dyslexia manifest themselves in the range (various sets and constellations of behavioral manifestations—symptoms) and intensity of difficulties. In addition, throughout life symptoms of dyslexia observable in a given person undergo dynamic changes under the influence of education, effectiveness of therapeutic activities, and efficiency of compensatory strategies. Thus some features of dyslexia alter with age—characteristic symptoms tend to be evident but then can diminish or disappear at given points in development, while other difficulties can prevail into adulthood. The article discusses the most characteristic behavioral manifestations of dyslexia and their dynamic character.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    In recent publications and educational discourse regarding dyslexia and other specific learning differences (SpLDs) (e.g. dyspraxia, dyscalculia, ADHD, Asperger syndrome) the term learning difference is promoted over the terms learning disability or disorder. It is stressed that individuals with SpLDs should be treated as different rather than deficient with regard to certain skills and abilities (Kormos and Smith, in press).

References

  • Bogdanowicz, M. 1999. Specyficzne trudności w czytaniu i pisaniu [Specific difficulties in reading and writing]. In eds. T. Gałkowski, and G. Jastrzębowska, 815–859.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bogdanowicz, M. 2002. Ryzyko dysleksji: Problem i diagnozowanie [Risk of dyslexia: Problem and diagnosis]. Gdańsk: Wydawnictwo Harmonia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bogdanowicz, M. 2003. Specyficzne trudności w czytaniu i pisaniu [Specific difficulties in reading and writing]. In eds. T. Gałkowski, and G. Jastrzębowska, 491–535.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bogdanowicz, M., and A. Adryjanek. 2004. Uczeń z dysleksją w szkole: poradnik nie tylko dla polonistów [A learner with dyslexia in school: A guide not only for teachers of Polish]. Gdynia: Wydawnictwo Pedagogiczne Operon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bogdanowicz, M., and G. Krasowicz-Kupis. 2005. Czytanie i pisanie jako formy komunikacji językowej [Reading and writing as forms of language communication]. In eds. T. Gałkowski, E. Szeląg, and G. Jastrzębowska, 986–1015.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bogdanowicz, M., and M. Smolen, eds. 2004. Dysleksja w kontekście nauczania języków obcych [Dyslexia in foreign language teaching context]. Gdan´sk: Wydawnictwo Harmonia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borkowska, A. 1997. Zaburzenia językowe u dzieci z trudnościami w czytaniu i pisaniu [Language disorders in children with reading and spelling difficulties]. In eds. A. Herzyk, and D. Kądzielawa, 269–292.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borkowska, A. 1998. Analiza dyskursu narracyjnego u dzieci z dysleksją rozwojową [The analysis of narrative discourse in dyslexic children]. Lublin: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borkowska, A., and E.M. Szepietowska, eds. 2000. Diagnoza neuropsychologiczna: Metodologia i metodyka [Neuropsychological assessment: Methodology and practice]. Lublin: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davies, R., F. Cuetos, and R.M. Glez-Seijas. 2007. Reading development and dyslexia in a transparent orthography: Survey of Spanish children. Annals of Dyslexia 57: 179–198.

    Google Scholar 

  • Downey, D.M., L.E. Snyder, and B. Hill. 2000. College students with dyslexia: Persistent linguistic deficits and foreign language learning. Dyslexia 6: 101–111.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fawcett, A.J., and R.I. Nicolson. 1999. Performance of dyslexic children on cerebellar and cognitive tests. Journal of Motor Behaviour 31: 68–78.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fawcett, A.J., and R.I. Nicolson. 2001. Dyslexia: The role of the cerebellum. In ed. A.J. Fawcett, 89–105.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fawcett, A.J. ed. 2001. Dyslexia: Theory and good practice. London: Whurr Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fawcett, A.J., and R.I. Nicolson. 2004. Dyslexia: The role of the cerebellum. In eds. G. Reid, and A.J. Fawcett, 25–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frith, U. 2008. Rozwiązywanie paradoksów dysleksji [Resolving the paradoxes of dyslexia]. In eds. G. Reid, and J. Wearmouth, 71–102.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gałkowski, T., and G. Jastrzębowska, eds. 1999. Logopedia: pytania i odpowiedzi [Logopedics: Questions and answers]. Opole: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Opolskiego.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gałkowski, T., and G. Jastrzębowska, eds. 2003. Logopedia: Pytania i odpowiedzi [Logopedics: Questions and answers] (revised and extended 2nd ed.). Opole: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Opolskiego.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gałkowski T., E. Szeląg, and G. Jastrzębowska, eds. 2005. Podstawy neurologopedii (Introduction to neurologopedics). Opole: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Opolskiego.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaskell, M.G., ed. 2007. The Oxford handbook of psycholinguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Geva, E. 2000. Issues in the assessment of reading disabilities in L2 children—beliefs and research evidence. Dyslexia 6: 13–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goswami, U. 2000. Phonological representations, reading development and dyslexia: Towards a cross-linguistic theoretical framework. Dyslexia 6: 133–151.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gregg, N., C. Hoy, D.A. Flaherty, P. Norris, C. Coleman, M. Davis, and M. Jordan. 2005. Decoding and spelling accommodations for postsecondary students with dyslexia—It’s more than processing speed. Learning Disabilities: A Contemporary Journal 3(2): 1–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanley, J.R., J. Masterson, L.H. Spencer, and D. Evans. 2004. How long do the advantages of learning to read a transparent orthography last? An investigation of the reading skills and reading impairment of Welsh children at 10 years of age. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 57A(8): 1393–1410.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herzyk, A., and D. Kądzielawa, eds. 1997. Związek mózg–zachowanie w ujęciu neuropsychologii klinicznej [The relation between brain and behaviour from the perspective of clinical neuropsychology]. Lublin: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hulme, C., and M.J. Snowling, eds. 1997. Dyslexia: Biology, cognition and intervention. London: Whurr Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hulme, C., and M. Snowling. 2009. Developmental disorders of language learning and cognition. Oxford/Malden: Wiley-Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, M., L. Peer, and R. Lee. 2001. Pre-school children and dyslexia: Policy, identification and intervention. In ed. A.J. Fawcett, 231–255.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaja, B. 2001. Zarys terapii dziecka [An outline of child threapy]. Bydgoszcz: Wydawnictwo Akademii Bydgoskiej.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaja, B., ed. 2003. Diagnoza dysleksji [Assessment of dyslexia]. Bydgoszcz: Wydawnictwo Akademii Bydgoskiej im. Kazimierza Wielkiego.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kormos, J., and A.M. Smith. In press Teaching languages to students with specific learning difficulties. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kormos, J., and E.H. Kontra, eds. 2008. Language learners with special needs: An international perspective. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kostka-Szyman´ska, M., and G. Krasowicz-Kupis, eds. 2007. Dysleksja: Problem znany czy nieznany? [Dyslexia: Familiar or unfamiliar problem?]. Lublin: Wydawnictwo UMCS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krasowicz, G. 1997. Język, czytanie i dysleksja [Language, reading and dyslexia]. Lublin: Agencja Wydawniczo-Handlowa AD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krasowicz-Kupis, G. 2003. Językowe, ale nie fonologiczne deficyty w dysleksji [Linguistic but not phonological deficits in dyslexia]. In ed. B. Kaja, 95–118.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krasowicz-Kupis, G. 2006. Dysleksja a rozwój mowy i języka [Dyslexia vs. speech and language development]. In ed. G. Krasowicz-Kupis, 53–69.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krasowicz-Kupis, G., ed. 2006. Dysleksja rozwojowa: Perspektywa psychologiczna [Developmental dyslexia: Psychological perspective]. Gdańsk: Wydawnictwo Harmonia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krasowicz-Kupis, G. 2008. Psychologia dysleksji [Psychology of dyslexia]. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krasowicz-Kupis, G., and P.E. Bryant. 2004. Świadomość językowa dzieci polskich i angielskich a czytanie [Linguistic awareness of Polish and English children vs. reading]. In eds. M. Bogdanowicz, and M. Smoleń, 36–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levinson, H.N. 1980. A solution to the riddle dyslexia. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lundberg, I. 2002. Second language learning and reading with additional load of dyslexia. Annals of Dyslexia 52: 165–187.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lundberg, I., and T. Hoien. 2001. Dyslexia and phonology. In ed. A.J. Fawcett, 109–123.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nijakowska, J. 2008. An experiment with direct multisensory instruction in teaching word reading and spelling to Polish dyslexic learners of English. In eds. J. Kormos, and E.H. Kontra, 130–157.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nijakowska, J. 2010. Dyslexia in the foreign language classroom. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oren, R., and Z. Breznitz. 2005. Reading processes in L1 and L2 among dyslexics compared to regular bilingual readers: Behavioral and electrophysiological evidence. Journal of Neurolinguistics 18: 127–151.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oszwa, U. 2000. Analiza przejawów agramatyzmu u dzieci z dysleksją rozwojową [Analysis of agrammatisms in dyslexic children]. In eds. A. Borkowska, and E.M. Szepietowska, 289–306.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ott, P. 1997. How to detect and manage dyslexia: A reference and resource manual. Oxford: Heinemann Educational Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pietras, I. 2007. O klasyfikacji błędów w dysortografii [Error typology in dysorthography]. In eds. M. Kostka-Szymańska, and G. Krasowicz-Kupis, 81–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pietras, I. 2008. Dysortografia—uwarunkowania psychologiczne [Dysorthography—psychological underpinnings]. Gdańsk: Wydawnictwo Harmonia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reid, G. 1998. Dyslexia: A practitioner’s handbook. Chichester: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reid, G., and A.J. Fawcett. 2004. An overview of developments in dyslexia. In eds. G. Reid, and A.J. Fawcett, 3–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reid, G., and A.J. Fawcett, eds. 2004. Dyslexia in context: Research, policy and practice. London: Whurr Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reid, G., and J. Wearmouth, eds. 2008. Dysleksja: teoria i praktyka [Dyslexia and literacy: theory and practice]. Gdańskie Wydawnictwo Psychologiczne, Gdańsk.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, E. 1999. Multisensory structured metacognitive instruction: An approach to teaching a foreign language to at-risk students. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seymour, P.H.K., M. Aro, and J.M. Erskine. 2003. Foundation literacy acquisition in European orthographies. British Journal of Psychology 94: 143–174.

    Google Scholar 

  • Snowling, M.J. 2000. Dyslexia. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Snowling, M.J. 2001. From language to reading and dyslexia. Dyslexia 7(1): 37–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Snowling, M.J., and M. Caravolas. 2007. Developmental dyslexia. In ed. M.G. Gaskell, 667–683.

    Google Scholar 

  • Snowling, M.J, and K. Nation. 1997. Language, phonology and learning to read. In eds. C. Hulme, and M.J. Snowling, 153–166.

    Google Scholar 

  • Snowling, M.J., V. Muter, and J. Carrol. 2007. Children at family risk of dyslexia: A follow-up in early adolescence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 48(6): 609–618.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sochacka, K. 2004. Rozwój umiejętności czytania [Development of reading ability]. Białystok: Trans Humana.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sparks, R. 2001. Foreign language learning problems of students classified as learning disabled and non-learning disabled: Is there a difference? Topics in Language Disorders 21(1): 38–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sparks, R. 2006. Is there a ‘disability’ for learning a foreign language? Journal of Learning Disabilities 39(6): 544–557.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sparks, R., and K.S. Miller. 2000. Teaching a foreign language using multisensory structured language techniques to at-risk learners: A review. Dyslexia 6: 124–132.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sparks, R., L. Ganschow, and J. Patton. 1995. Prediction of performance in first-year foreign language courses: Connections between native and foreign language learning. Journal of Educational Psychology 87: 638–655.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sparks, R., L. Philips, and J. Javorsky. 2003. Students classified as LD who petitioned for or fulfilled the foreign language requirement—Are they different? A replication study. Journal of Learning Disabilities 36(4): 348–362.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sparks, R., J. Patton, L. Ganschow, N. Humbach, and J. Javorsky. 2006. Native language predictions of foreign language proficiency and foreign language aptitude. Annals of Dyslexia 56(1): 129–160.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sparks, R., N. Humbach, and J. Javorsky. 2008. Individual and longitudinal differences among high- and low-achieving, LD and ADHD L2 learners. Learning and Individual Differences 8: 29–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Szczerbiński, M. 2007. Dysleksja rozwojowa: próba definicji [Developmental dyslexia: an attempt at defining]. In eds. M. Kostka-Szymańska, and G. Krasowicz-Kupis, 48–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tomaszewska, A. 2001. Prawo do nauki dziecka z dysleksją rozwojową w świadomości nauczycieli [Teachers’ awareness of dyslexic children’s right to learn]. Kraków: Oficyna Wydawnicza ‘Impuls’.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vellutino, F.R., J.M. Fletcher, M.J. Snowling, and D.M. Scanlon. 2004. Specific reading disability (dyslexia): what have we learned in the past four decades? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 45(1): 2–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wimmer, H. 1993. Characteristics of developmental dyslexia in a regular reading system. Applied Psycholinguistics 14: 1–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ziegler, J.C., and U. Goswami. 2005. Reading acquisition, developmental dyslexia, and skilled reading across languages: A psycholinguistic grain size theory. Psychological Bulletin 131: 3–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ziegler, J.C., and U. Goswami. 2006. Becoming literate in different languages: Similar problems, different solutions. Developmental Science 9(5): 426–453.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ziegler, J., C. Perry, A. Ma-Wyatt, D. Ladner, and G. Schulte-Korne. 2003. Developmental dyslexia in different languages: Language-specific or universal? Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 86: 169–193.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chair of Pragmatics, University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland

    Joanna Nijakowska

Authors
  1. Joanna Nijakowska
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joanna Nijakowska .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Faculty of Pedagogy and Fine Arts, Adam Mickiewicz University, Nowy Swiat 28-30, Kalisz, 62-800, Poland

    Mirosław Pawlak

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Nijakowska, J. (2012). Individual Differences in Language Learners with Dyslexia. In: Pawlak, M. (eds) New Perspectives on Individual Differences in Language Learning and Teaching. Second Language Learning and Teaching. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20850-8_22

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation