Dyslexia In L1 And L2 Teaching In K-3

Abstract: Approximately five percent of the Swedish population suffer from dyslexia. Therefore, this degree project aims to gain an insight into what pedagogical support in Swedish and English teaching can be offered to dyslexic pupils. Firstly, this paper provides an overview of theories and literature on dyslexia in L1 and L2. The researchers’ findings show that dyslectic difficulties in the L1 is most likely to affect – either by limiting or enhancing – the pupils’ abilities to learn a L2. Strategies (spelling, comparing sounds and letters) that pupils learned when they started to read and write in their L1 and the differences in orthographic systems between L1 and L2 influence their reading and writing in L2. This study is also based on interviews of four K-3 teachers in the south of Sweden. The major conclusions of this study are that (i) dyslectic difficulties extend across languages, (ii) variation of the teachers’ knowledge of dyslexia might depend on the length of their professional teaching experience and their willingness and interest to learn more about dyslexia, (iii) K-3 teachers are dependent on special education teachers’ advice on how to support dyslexic pupils, and (iv) K-3 teachers use digital resources and audiobooks to train the reading and writing in L1, but not in L2 since English in K-3 mostly focuses in training pupils’ speaking skills.