Learning Difficulties: What to Look For

When your learner enters into the English at Large one-to-one tutoring program, they are screened for learning difficulties. It's important to keep an eye out for possible learning difficulties throughout the tutoring sessions. Here are some things to look for.

Learning English as a second language is a big challenge in and of itself, but many learners will struggle with a learning difficulty of some sort that adds to the challenge. Learning difficulties range in type and severity, but it's important to diagnose them in order to give effective tutoring to your learners. Luckily, you're not alone in doing this. All English at Large learners entering ESL tutoring are screened for learning difficulties using the checklist shown at the bottom of this post. This preliminary screening is conducted by whoever enrolls the learner into tutoring.

Once your learner is successfully enrolled, it becomes your job as a tutor to continue observing your learner throughout your time with them, with the checklist in mind, in a constant effort to identify the needs of your learner. There is only so much information about your learner and their learning difficulties that can be found when they are originally screened. The important observations come when they are actually performing exercises in tutoring sessions. You should keep your learner updated on your observations so they are aware of what they may be dealing with. They might also be able to provide helpful background information on any learning difficulties they're working with.

The following tables list some characteristics that individuals with learning difficulties may experience. You should keep in mind that everyone is different and that all of us have some these characteristics at times. Noticing that your learner has one or more of the characteristics from these charts is not enough to immediately assume a learning difficulty. Keep an eye on it, but avoid labeling your learner as disabled or characterizing them by their "symptoms." You should view their difficulties as indicators of where to adjust your teaching methods.

Chart:

Reading Characteristics	What It Looks Like in an Adult
Efforts in reading are so focused on word recognition that it detracts from reading comprehension.	Loses the meaning of text but understands the same material when it is read aloud or can read material with illustrations easier than text only.
Has problems with comprehension that go beyond word recognition. May have limited language skills that affect comprehension.	Does not understand the text when it is read to him or her. Does not understand the purpose of material read to him or her.
Rarely practices reading, which may compound reading differences. Lacks complex language and word knowledge.	Recognizes and uses fewer words, expressions and sentence structures than peers. Vocabulary may be limited.
Does not read for pleasure.	Engages in leisure activities other than reading magazines or books; prefers more active pursuits. Doesn’t read stories to his or her children.
Does not use reading to gather information.	Cannot easily use materials such as newspapers and classified ads to obtain information. Difficulty following directions for cooking, filling out forms, etc.
Has problems identifying individual sounds in spoken words.	Does not attempt to sound out words in reading or does so incorrectly.
Often needs many repetitions to learn to recognize a new or unused word.	May encounter a newly learned word in a text and not recognize it when it appears later in that text.
Has limited use of reading strategies. Is an inactive reader; not previewing text, monitoring comprehension or summarizing what is read.	When prompted to do so, does not describe strategies used to assist with decoding and comprehension of text.

Writing Characteristics	What It Looks Like in an Adult
Writing is disorganized.	Omits critical parts or puts information in the wrong place. Writing lacks transition words.
Has difficulty communicating through writing.	Rarely writes letters or notes. Needs help completing forms such as job applications.
Written output is severely limited.	Struggles to produce a written product. Produces short sentences and text with limited vocabulary.
Lacks a clear purpose for writing.	Does not communicate a clear message. Expresses thoughts that don’t contribute to the main idea.
Does not use the appropriate text structures.	Uses sentences that contain errors in syntax or word choice. Fails to clearly indicate the referent of a pronoun.
Shows persistent problems in spelling.	Spells phonetically. Leaves out letters. Refrains from writing words that are difficult to spell.
Has differences with mechanics of written expression.	Omits or misuses sentence markers such as capitals and end punctuation, which makes it difficult for the reader to understand the text.
Handwriting is sloppy and difficult to read.	Has awkward writing grip or position. Letters, words and lines are misaligned or not spaced appropriately. Size of letters in words may vary.
Demonstrates differences in revising.	Is reluctant to proofread or does not catch errors. Focuses primarily on the mechanics of writing, not on style and content.

Listening Characteristics	What It Looks Like in an Adult
Has problems perceiving slight distinctions in words.	Misunderstands a message with a word mistaken for a similar word. Might say “Pick of the grass” instead of “Pick up the glass.”
Has a limited vocabulary.	Recognizes and uses fewer words than peers when engaged in conversation or when gathering information by listening.
Finds abstract words or concepts difficult to understand.	Requests repetitions or more concrete explanations of ideas. Frequently asks for examples
Has difficulty with nonliteral or figurative language such as metaphors, idioms and sarcasm.	Does not understand jokes or comic strips.
Confuses the message in complex sentences.	Will eat lunch first if given the direction, “Eat lunch after you take this to the mailroom.”
Has difficulty with verbal memory.	Doesn’t remember directions, phone numbers, jokes, stories, etc.
Has difficulty processing large amounts of spoken language.	Gets lost listening in classroom or large group presentations and complains that people talk too fast. May be terminated from employment for not completing work.

Speaking Characteristics	What It Looks Like in an Adult
Mispronounces words.	Adds, substitutes or rearranges sounds in words (e.g., uses phemomenon for phenomenon or Pacific for specific).
Uses wrong word, usually with similar sounds.	Uses a similar-sounding word (e.g., uses generic instead of genetic).
Confuses the morphology, or structure, of words.	Uses the wrong form of a word, such as calling the Declaration of Independence the Declaring of Independence.
Has a limited vocabulary.	Uses the same words over and over in giving information and explaining ideas. Has difficulty in conveying ideas.
Makes grammatical errors.	Omits or uses grammatical markers incorrectly, such as tense, number, possession and negation.
Speaks with a limited repertoire of phrase and sentence structure.	Uses mostly simple-sentence construction. Overuses “and” to connect thoughts.
Has difficulty organizing what to say.	Has problems giving directions or explaining a recipe; talks around the topic (circumlocutes), but doesn’t get to the point.
Has trouble maintaining a topic.	Interjects irrelevant information into story. Starts out discussing one thing and then goes off in another direction without making the connection.
Has difficulty with word retrieval.	Can’t call forth a known word when it is needed and may use fillers, such as “ummm” and “you know.” May substitute a word related in meaning or sound (e.g., uses boat for submarine or selfish for bashful).
Has trouble with the pragmatic or social use of language.	Does not follow rules of conversation such as turn-taking. Does not switch styles of speaking when addressing different people.

This chart should not become the focus of your lessons; that is, don't focus so much on looking for a learning disorder in your learner that the quality of your lessons goes down. If you notice that your learner has traits described in the chart that just won't go away, that's when it might be worth looking into. You'll get a feel for this as you get to know your learner and their individual characteristics.

Happy tutoring!
Kris

Kristofer Pieper
Programs and Social Media Intern, English At Large
Tufts University, Class of 2016

ENGLISH AT LARGE
Literacy and Learning for Life
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