Understanding and Dealing with Dyslexia in the EFL Classroom

Abstract: Dyslexia is a problem that can limit someone’s life if the person does not receive the appropriate support in order to develop strategies to deal with it, and it is not limited to one’s first language. The first limitations appear early in life during the school years as the child struggles with literacy issues. It is in the educational environment where the child will receive the first support and experience obstacles, but it is possible to succeed in school with the right orientations. These orientations depend on how dyslexia is seen within the educational system and the educational policy documents determine how learning difficulties are handled. Accordingly, this study examines educational policy documents and how they are interpreted by educational stakeholders on multiple scales, with the aim of understanding how issues about dyslexia are negotiated. English learning/teaching also has emphasis in the study due to the language’s depth and its importance in the Swedish scenario. A qualitative study was conducted using descriptive coding, discourse analysis and nexus analysis, considering the different discourses involved and how the personal experiences are reflected in such discourses. The results suggest that the stakeholders are aligned with the educational policies and have similar understandings of policy content. The existent variations seem to depend on the participants’ life experiences, circulating beliefs or ideologies. Additionally, the study indicates the need for further investigation with a larger number of participants to understand if this represents the reality throughout Sweden.