PKBK3073

ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

METHODOLOGY FOR pupils with
LEARNING DIFFICULTIES

Rini Azrina Zabri

JABATAN BAHASA
 5.0 WRITING SKILLS
Introduction to writing
- Definition and concept of writing
- Hand writing and creative writing

Factors Affecting Writing Competency

- Fine motor skill
- Visual-motor Coordination
- Perception

Language Awareness
- Sentence Types (simple, compound & complex sentences)
5.0 WRITING SKILLS
Language Skills
- Mechanics of writing
- Sentence construction
- Paragraph writing
- Write different types of text
Techniques for teaching writing
- cloze
- spelling
- simple sentence construction
 5.0 WRITING SKILLS
1. Give the definition and explain the concept of
writing.
2. Identify the factors affecting writing
competency
3. Explain about language awareness and
language skills
 5.0 WRITING SKILLS
A few different skills for the production of
written language
- forming letters to make up words
(handwriting)
- arrange letter of a word in the correct order
(spelling)
- organizing and expressing whatever you are
planning to inform using English (written
expression)
 5.0 WRITING SKILLS
If we study English syllabus for pupils with
learning difficulties, very little emphasis is placed
on written expression, especially organizing ideas
into connected whole.
Emphasis on helping pupils acquire knowledge of
English for daily communicational and functional
purposes (because language mastery is a huge
problem for them)
Should not aim for mastery of English language
but teach them basic writing skills to sit for
national examination
Sub-skills for the production of written language

- have knowledge of subject area (ideation)

- need to formulate sentences to express knowledge

and information (syntax)

- Ideas will be planned and arranged in connected way

to enable reader to understand clearly what is being
written (compose/conventions of writing)

- familiar with rules of punctuation and capitalization,

generate ideas and organize into paragraphs
FACTORS AFFECTING WRITING
COMPETENCE
 A. Fine motor skill

üInvolve small muscles of the body : writing ,

grasping small objects and fastening clothing
üInvolve strength, fine motor control and
dexterity.
üAffect ability to eat, write legibly, use a
computer, turn pages in book, personel care
tasks such as dressing & grooming

9
 Pupil has fine motor skill weaknesses :
üdiscuss concerns with his parents
üEvaluation by physical and / or occupational therapist-
can determine if his fine motor skills are a concern & if
theraphy can improve them.
üIndividual Educational Pelan (IEP) will use therapist’s
assessment and other evaluation data to determine if
the child needs regular therapy.
üIf need therapy to benefit from specially designed
instruction, these services will be written into the
individual education program. 10
 TOYS TO DEVELOP FINE MOTOR SKILLS
FOR SCHOOL AGED CHILDREN: board games with
pieces and parts to pick up and move are ideal
JANGA: strategy game using fine motor skills that
focuses on the pincher grip which is used in writing
REMOTE CONTROL CAR: great for preschool and
elementary children
VIDEO GAMES: be sure to check the video game
ratings/ watch out for carpal tunnel syndrome
11
 TOYS FOR DEVELOPING FINE MOTOR SKILLS

REMOTE CONTROL
CARS
JANGA BOARD GAMES
12
 DEVELOP FINE MOTOR SKILLS:
Drawing

Teacher can help by giving child markers, crayons,

coloured pencils and chalk to draw.
Drawing needn’t be perfect
Scribbling is just fine
Teacher can also make something different by
colouring paper with multiple colours and shapes
and then covering the sheet in black crayon for
scratching off with a stick or safety scissors
CRAYON SCRATCHING ART

14
 ORIGAMI
Paper folding art
Use construction, wrapping or other
decorative papers to make these fine motor
skill building origami shapes

15
 PAPER CUTTING ACTIVITIES
Beginner can start with cutting out paper chains
and progress to more complex projects
 WRITING SKILLS (FINE MOTOR SKILLS)

Beginner grab pencil with whole hand (fist grip)

Some children keep their fist upright, with their pinkie
finger towards the paper
Some children turn their fist over with their thumb closest
to the page
(all incorrect way of holding pencil)
Need to be deliberately taught how to hold a pencil
correctly
18
 WRITING SKILLS (FINE MOTOR SKILLS)
Holding pencil:
Demonstrate the correct pencil position by holding pencil
between your thumb and pointer finger (index finger) in a
pincer grip
Allow pencil to rest on the area of hand between the finger
and the thumb
Finally, bring second finger under the pencil for support
After the child observes, take a small pencil (size of golf
pencils) and place it correctly on the child’s hand
Supervise as he practices with pencil/marker/crayon
** children often slip into old, incorrect habits if they are not watched while
learning correct grip
CORRECT ANGLE TO WRITE
CORRECT SITTING POSTURE
24
VISUAL-MOTOR COORDINATION

Visual-motor coordination is the ability to coordinate

vision with movements of the body or parts of the
body
Visual motor activity that can serve as preperatory activity
for students before handwriting tasks
 PERCEPTION
Psychologist say perception is someone’s view
Everyone has different perceptions on political,
religious and personal subjects
 AUDITORY PERCEPTION

Ability of brain to interpret and create clear

impression of sounds
Good auditory skills enable children to distinguish
between different pitches, volumes, rhythms and
sources of sounds and words (significant benefits for
learning reading)
 AUDITORY PERCEPTION
Auditory closure: ability of the normal
listener to utilize intrinsic and extrinsic
redundancy to fill in missing or
distorted portions of the auditory signal
and recognize the whole. message.
involves taking small pieces of auditory
information and constructing a
whole.(missing word exercise)

Auditory conceptualizing: ability to

interpret and form clear impression of a
sound or combination of sounds
• Auditory discrimination: ability to
interpret information relating to
difference between sound which
facilitate understanding spoken
words and spelling skills

• Auditory localization:
ability to determine the
source of sound using only
the sense of hearing
Auditory memory:
ability to store
and later recall
the impression
perceived by the
ears
• Auditory sequential
memory : ability to store
a series of information
in the order it was
heard and later recall it
to facilitate following
instructions and
memorization of
rhymes, songs
ACTIVITIES TO DEVELOP AUDITORY PERCEPTION

Reciting nursery rhymes- offer opportunities to practice

AP
Listening to wide range of different types of music and
developing music appreciation
Playing and singing action songs and rhymes
Taking child and letting her talk back to you in different
intensities of voice: softer, louder and with different
intonations
Teaching the child sounds associated with familiar
animals and objects: clock ticks, a sheep says b-a-a
 Blindfolding child outside then call her from different
positions nearby and let her run towards you
Reading or telling the child a story and asking her
afterwards a few pertinent questions about the story
Speaking or singing in high pitched voice then low pitched
voice and asking child to imitate
Clapping a rhyme and asking the child to imitate you.
Repeat with your backs to each other so that he cannot
see you clap
 WRITING PROBLEMS OF
PUPILS WITH LEARNING DIFFICULTIES
 1. Handwriting Problems
HANDWRITING PROBLEMS
FEATURES
Shape Letters are slanted
Shape varies from standard
Size Too large; Too small; Not uniform

Space Letters within a word are too crowded

Too much space in between letters
alignment Letters are not sitting on lines in the book
Height of letters are not consistent
Line Quality Letters are written too heavily or too lightly
 2. SPELLING ERRORS

Errors Primarily Due to Auditory Deficits

1. Substitutes t for d, f for v, sh for ch

2. Omits vowels in two-syllable words (inability to discriminate
between sound) e.g pish for polish
3. Spells beginning or ending of the word correctly but middle of
the word may be missing or spelled wrongly .e.g. hd for hand
4. Confuses vowel e.g spells bit as bet
5. Omits the second letter in blends e.g. Spells fled as fed
6. Uses a synonym, eg. House for home
7. Omits word endings. E.g omits ‘ed’, ‘s’ and ‘ing’
8. spell word that has little or no relationship with the word
dictated e.g. ‘cat’ for ‘home’
 Errors Primarily Due to Visual Deficits

1. spell correctly the beginning or ending of word but omits middle

e.g. hapy for happy

2. give the correct letters but in the wrong sequence. E.g. ‘teh’ for ‘the’.

3.Reverses letters e.g.’b’ for ‘d’, ‘on’ for ‘no’, ‘was’ for ‘saw’

4. inverts letters e.g. ‘u’ for ‘n’ ,‘m’ for ‘w’

5. mixes up capital and small letters e.g . cAT

6. spelling words phonetically that are non-phonetic in configuration. E.g.

‘tuff’ for ‘tough’.
 3. WRITTEN LANGUAGE PROBLEMS

Analyse pupil’s essay to find out his problems with written

expression:
Vocabulary he possess (semantics)
Ability to formulate sentences to convey his ideas (syntax)
Sufficiency of contents of essay (ideation)
Ability to organize his ideas (organization)
 Questions to asked:
1. Was there a good variety of words used? Were the
words appropriate? What can you say about the pupil’s
use of verbs, adjectives, nouns, pronouns and
conjunctions?
2. What kinds of grammatical errors were made?
3. What was the average word length of sentences?
4. Was there a good mixture of simple, compound and
complex sentences?
5. Were there paragraphs appropriate in organization and
content?
6. Were the contents well selected and organized?
7. Were the contents accurate?
8. Was the purpose clear?
9. What were the errors of punctuation and capitalization?
 LANGUAGE AWARENESS
Explicit knowledge about language and conscious
perception and sensitivity in language learning,
language teaching and language use
Include exploring benefits that can be derived from
developing a good knowledge about language, a
conscious understanding of how language work, of how
people learn them and use them
Ask yourself:
• Can we become better language users/ learners/ teachers
if we develop better understanding?
• Can we gain other advantages: e.g. in our relations with
other people / cultures & in our ability to see through
language that manipulates/ discriminates?
 LANGUAGE AWARENESS
Include learning more about what sorts of ideas about
language people normally operate with and what
effects these have on how they conduct their
everyday affairs e.g the professional dealings
 LANGUAGE AWARENESS
Sentence types (Simple, Compound & Complex)
Same idea can be expressed in different ways
Choose sentence pattern that is most appropriate
 Compound sentence

A compound sentence refers to a sentence made up of

two independent clauses (or complete sentences)
connected to one another with a coordinating
conjunction. Coordinating conjunctions are easy to
remember if you think of the words "FAN BOYS":
For And Nor But Or Yet So
 Compound sentence
Examples of compound sentences include the following:

Joe waited for the train, but the train was late.
I looked for Mary and Samantha at the bus station, but they
arrived at the station before noon and left on the bus before I
arrived.
Mary and Samantha arrived at the bus station before
noon, and they left on the bus before I arrived.
Mary and Samantha left on the bus before I arrived, so I did
not see them at the bus station.
 COMPLEX SENTENCE
A complex sentence is made up of an independent clause and one or
more dependent clauses connected to it. A dependent clause is similar to
an independent clause, or complete sentence, but it lacks one of the
elements that would make it a complete sentence.
Examples of dependent clauses include the following:
because Mary and Samantha arrived at the bus station before noon

while he waited at the train station

after they left on the bus

Dependent clauses such as those above cannot stand alone as a

sentence, but they can be added to an independent clause to form a complex
sentence.
 COMPLEX SENTENCE

Dependent clauses begin with subordinating conjunctions.

Below are some of the most common subordinating conjunctions:
After although as because before even though
if since though unless until when whenever
whereas wherever while
A complex sentence joins an independent clause with one or more
dependent clauses.
 COMPLEX SENTENCE
The dependent clauses can go first in the sentence, followed by
the independent clause, as in the following:
Tip: When the dependent clause comes first, a comma should be
used to separate the two clauses.
Because Mary and Samantha arrived at the bus station before
noon, I did not see them at the station.
While he waited at the train station, Joe realized that the train was
late.
After they left on the bus, Mary and Samantha realized that Joe
was waiting at the train station.
A simple sentence has the most basic elements that make it a
sentence: a subject, a verb, and a completed thought.
Examples of simple sentences include the following:

Joe waited for the train.

"Joe" = subject, "waited" = verb

The train was late.

"The train" = subject, "was" = verb

Mary and Samantha took the bus.

"Mary and Samantha" = compound subject, "took" = verb

I looked for Mary and Samantha at the bus station.

"I" = subject, "looked" = verb
• Conversely, the independent clauses can go first in the sentence,
followed by the dependent clause, as in the following:
• Tip: When the independent clause comes first, a comma
should not be used to separate the two clauses.
- I did not see them at the station because Mary and
Samantha arrived at the bus station before noon.
- Joe realized that the train was late while he waited at the
train station.
- Mary and Samantha realized that Joe was waiting at the
train station after they left on the bus.
LANGUAGE SKILLS
Mechanics of writing
• technical aspects of writing: spelling, punctuation,
capitalization etc
• is Important although many consider its not the most
important part of writing. (always come 2nd to other
elements such as good storyline, well- developed
characters etc.)
• If story not mechanically well written, readers will not
read- too hard for them to figure out what you're trying to
say/ they just assume the story won't be good because it
doesn't appear to be well written
• Good mechanics make a story easy to read & will attract
more readers.
Sentence construction
• Should start with the basic- simple compound and
complex

• Refer to previous notes

Paragraph writing
• group of sentences that all revolve around the same topic/
area.
• can be as short as 1 para/ 2 sentences/ much longer-
depending on how much you want to write abt certain
things/ your own preference
• Good- sized paragraph: 5- 7 sentences. If consistently
longer that- break up story into more paragraphs
general rule:
• start new paragraph everytime you start talking about
something new.
• e.g.
If you started a paragraph with "Bob is going to school,"
(you might continue that paragraph with a few sentences
about Bob leaving. Can describe Bob taking his breakfast,
putting on his shoe, getting his car key etc. )
Once he gets to the school/ once he starts driving away-
start a new paragraph because you're now describing
something new.
• Beginners- write all in one big paragraph; a whole chapter
may be all in one / two paragraphs.
• huge paragraphs are hard to follow
• It is easier to read, both from comprehension & a physical
standpoint, when the text is broken up into smaller
paragraphs with empty spaces in between.
**(notice that the paragraphs here are fairly short. easier
for you to follow the text)
Write Different Types of texts
 1. Narrative
• Telling of a story/ an account
of sequence of events.
• 1 of 4 traditional forms of
composition (along with
description, exposition &
persuasion)
• differs from exposition, which
can also relate a sequence of
events, in that narration need
not be factual & may be
written from the perspective of
a character in the text.
2. Description
• Text/ or speech that is meant
to give a verbal picture of an
object, character, location/
event
• Is considered one of the four
traditional forms of
composition (along with
exposition, narration &
persuasion)
3. Expository/ Exposition
• A text/ speech that is meant to
set forth/ explain a concept/
procedure
• considered 1 of the 4
traditional forms of
composition (along with
description, narration &
persuasion), exposition may
contain elements of the 3
other forms in order to achieve
its purpose
4. Argumentative
• Not only information, but also
present an argument with the
PROS (supporting ideas) & CONS
(opposing ideas)of an
argumentative issue
• Should clearly take our stand &
write as if we are trying to persuade
an opposig audience to adopt new
beliefs/ behavior
• Primary objective- persuade people
to change beliefs that many of them
do not want to change
5. Summary
• shortened version of a text that
highlights its keypoints
• overview of content that provides a
reader with the overarching theme
but does not expand on specific
details
• Describes larger work(entire book,
speech/ research project) & should
include noticeably less content then
the original work
• save reader time- prevents the
reader from having to go through &
filter the important information frm
the unimportant
6. Report
• document containing
information organized in a
narrative, graphic or tabular
form, prepared on ad- hoc
periodic, recurring, regular /
as required basis
• reports may refer to specific
periods, events,
occurences/ subjects& may
be communicated /
presented in oral/ written
form
7. Letter
• Written/ printed communication addressed to a person /
organization & usually transmitted by mail.
• can be formal/ informal
Techniques for Teaching
Writing
Cloze
• Based on/ being a test of reading comprehension in which
the test taker is asked to supply words that have been
systematically deleted from a text
• a technique in which words are deleted from a passage
according to a word- count formula/ various other criteria
• Passage is presented to students, who inserts words as
they read to complete & construct meaning from the text.
• can be used as a diagnostic reading assessment
technique.
It is used:
• to identify learners' knowledge & understanding of the
reading process
• to determine which cueing systems readers effectively
employ to construct meaning from print
• to assess the extent of students' vocabularies &
knowledge of a subject
• to encourage students to monitor for meaning while
reading
• to encourage students to think critically & analytically
about text & content
How to prepare cloze exercise
1. select a self- contained passage of a length appropriate
for the grade level of the students being assessed. Use
materials easily read by students
2. Leave the first & last sentences & all punctuation intact
3. Carefully select the words for omission using a word-
count formula eg. every 5th word / other criteria.
(To assess students' knowledge of the topic / their abilities
to use semantic cues, delete content words which carry
meaning, eg. nouns, main verbs, adjectives N adverbs)
(To assess students' use of syntactic cues, delete some
conjuctions, prepositions & auxiliary words)
4. When preparing the final draft of the passage, make all
blanks of equal length to avoid including visual clues
about the lengths of ommited words
5. have the students read the entire passage before they fill
in the blanks
6. encourage the students to fill each blank if possible
7. Although there should be no time limit for this exercise,
the time necessary for completion should be noted
8. Suggest that students reread the completed passage.
Example

1. Supply choices for the blanks

Just as ______(coats, animals) have fur, birds have

_____(feathers, wings)
2. When learners have used technique described before, &
can replace the appropriate words from the choices
supplied, provide passages in which every fifth word /
every tenth word is arbitrarily deleted & only a letter / two
of the correct word is available, perhaps a beginning
consonant/ consonant blend:

There was a speedy h___ who bragged about how f__

he could run. The t_____ challenged him to a r___. All the
animals in t___ forest gathered to watch
3. When the learners do well with this task, indicate only the
blank with no additional clues. Accept any word that
seems a reasonable fit

Healthy eating can help _____ many chronic diseases.

These _____ obesity, heart disease, high ____ pressure,
and diabetes.
Spelling
• Giving students a table of the words that they are having
problems with
• get the learners copy the word in the next column
• Then, learners cover the first two column with a piece of
paper / book
• must attempt to write the word from memory in the
covered column
• uncover the columns & check their spelling by placing a
tick/ cross in the 'check' column
Simple sentence construction
• Language Experience Approach- most recommended
methods of teaching learners to read written sentences.
• Learner tells a story/ anything about himself to the teacher
• Teacher writes down what the learner has told him
• when this is done- learner will realize that what writen
language actually represents oral language
• Written experience story then can be used as a rading
text
• Learner can copy the text into his own book
Modification that can be done from previous approach:
• Writing a sentence on a word card illustrating a picture
• Writing a sentence under a learner's drawing
• Retelling of stories previously read to the learner
• Writing class poems, jokes & group stories based on a
shared experience
• Writing stories about pets
• Writing class science experiments
Structured ways of teaching sentence formulation
1. sentence completion

- Learner copies from a model

e.g. The dog is _____ (big/small)

- Learner uses vocabulary cards to complete a sentence

e.g. The dog is _____

- Learner writes original sentences

e.g. The ____________________.
2. Learner starts with a short sentence & add words to
make longer & longer sentences

e.g.
I saw a dog
I saw a brown dog
I saw a little, brown dog
I saw a little, old, brown dog
3. Write words that the learners have been taught on
separate index cards. The learners take turns
drawing cards. Then, they form sentences using
the word. When all the cards have been used,
learners read each other's card
4. Plan activities that require only a few sentences
greeting card messages
Post card messages
Description of pictures of things & persons
Captions for pictures on bulletin boards
Small books about a subject, like "Birds"
Dialogue for comic strips
Steps in an experiment
5. Sentence combining
• Teach learner to use compound & complex sentences by
structured drills
• Provide sentence pattern & learners combine 2 given
sentences following the modelled pattern
• e.g.
The ball is big. It is on the table.
The big ball is on the table.

The car is red. It is in the garage

_____________________________
6. Give the learners the words of a sentence that have not
been in ordered & ask them to form a grammatical
sentence

e.g.
cat,small, The, is
The cat is small.
7. Give the students various noun & verb phrases & ask him
to expand the sentence by adding descriptive words

e.g:
many- boys- swimming- river
There are many boys swimming in the river.
Assessing Writing
1. Give the learner a written paragraph in which the
sentences are out of a sequence. Ask them to rewrite the
paragraph by arranging the sentences in a logical &
meaningful order

2. Give the learner individual pictures that make up a comic

strip. Ask the learner to put the pictures in sequence.
Subsequently, ask the learner to write sentences about
each picture so that there is a sequential story
3. Ask the learner to cut out an interesting picture from a
magazine. Paste the picture on a large piece of paper.
Then ask the learner to write a few sentences about the
picture

4. Have the learner keep a diary/ make journal entry. At the

end of each day, let him write a diary entry in which he
expresses himself by summarizing his experiences,
feelings & activities of the day.
5. Start a class newspaper & ask all learners to contribute
some form of writing. Learners can take turns serving as
editors, printers, proof readers & distributors.

6. Cloze exercises, in addition to being a good method of

teaching comprehension, are a very structured way to
develop the ability of the learner in writing connected text.
 TUTORIAL

Presentation of information gathered on

multi-sensory approaches to the teaching
of reading and writing
 ISL

Carry out library or internet research to find

out suggested interventions/ strategies for
the remediation of perceptual problems
affecting writing