French with Mild Dyslexia

[TheAttachedMama]

Hello Everyone,

My 8th/9th-grade daughter has dyslexia and wants to learn French.  Up until now we have been learning Latin together because a) the spelling is VERY regular, b) the grammar is pretty explicit, and c) pronunciation is not as big of a deal as a modern language.   However, she really wants to switch to French in High School.   I am concerned because I feel like this may be one of the most difficult languages for a person with dyslexia to learn.   On the other hand, since she is asking to take it, I would like to find a way to support her.  

I currently have her enrolled in AIM Academy's French program with Mme Barstow.   (I've heard nothing but good things about this class.).   I've reached out to the teacher and explained some of my concerns before enrolling my daughter.   Mrs. Barstow says that she can work with a child with learning challenges.   However, I am still worried that the pace of the class will prove too difficult for my daughter.  I am afraid that the class will move too fast, and my daughter won't actually be able to work toward mastery.  (But, obviously, it's so hard to predict how she will do.  I had some concerns with her learning Latin, but I enrolled her in the Memoria Press online classes in middle school.  She was able to earn all As!    So she may do great with French too.)

I enrolled her in the class because she does not do well working independently.   Plus, I have another high schooler and a 3rd grader with learning challenges.  So I don't have a huge amount of time to devote to teaching French this year.  At the most, I could do an assign and check approach.

My question is this:   What would you do if you were me?  

Do I keep her in the class with AIM Academy?  Or perhaps try to teach her French at home this year so she can work at her own pace?   If I keep her at home, what would I use to teach her (ULAT, Getting Started with French, etc.?)

She is currently going through the Paul Noble audio program (listening and speaking only) and Duolingo over the summer to prepare.    I also happen to own Getting Started with French.  

 

Edited June 14, 2022 by TheAttachedMama

[PeterPan]

Do French at home so you can keep it sane. High school foreign language sucked way more time and energy from my ds than it was worth. I’m a language person but with her issues she just bogged down. Liking the class only makes it worse because you work all the more. 
 

Focus on useful expressions, culture, etc. Your transcript should be units (time spent) not credits. 

[Lawyer&Mom]

I would continue with Paul Noble.  It’s a very good program.  I would add this work book:  

https://www.cle-international.com/adolescents/grammaire-progressive-du-francais-niveau-debutant-complet-livre-cd-appli-web-2eme-edition-9782090382754.html

There is a separate answer key:

https://www.cle-international.com/adolescents/grammaire-progressive-du-francais-niveau-debutant-complet-2eme-edition-corriges-9782090384529.html
 

You can get these on Amazon or elsewhere, but the CLE website has samples to review.

I absolutely adore the CLE Progressive series.  Each lesson has explanations on one page and exercises on the facing page.  Very straightforward, very thoughtful progression through the material.  Perfect for self-teaching. When you finish one level you can advance to the next, and each level reviews and builds on the one before it.  They have other books (phonetics, reading, orthography, conjugations) at each level, but I think just the grammar would be a fine place to start.  Especially since Paul Noble would help with speaking.  

 

[wisdomandtreasures]

Disclaimer: I don't speak French and I don't have to deal with dyslexia. I just read a lot of homeschooling sites and squirrel away ideas "for someday" ...

Now. This lady and her kids are learning Italian, not French, but she has a ton of great ideas and keeps all foreign language work oral in the earliest stages...

https://joyouslessons.blogspot.com/search/label/Italian

I have taken pages of notes and many a screenshot of her blog, and I remember she said she would use Pimsleur at the pace of 1 lesson (30 minutes) split into 3 10-minute sessions a week, repeated the second week, plus folksongs and reading simple picture books. Maybe she'd do well with a slow and steady oral introduction before starting to read.

Speaking of introducing French reading, Margarita Madrigal wrote a French version of "Magic Key to Spanish" (on Scribd; you can sign up for a free trial and download it) which introduces many, many cognates for quick vocabulary building. For example, in the Spanish version, she has all the words ending in -or listed. Doctor, actor, and so on are identical in Spanish, just change the pronunciation a little. Perhaps starting off seeing French words that are identical or very similar to English, rather than words that have 3-5 silent letters, words would help?

One more idea... You could email teachers on Italki and hire one that knows how to work around dyslexia. Or check Teachers Pay Teachers.

 

Edit - Oops, that'll teach me to only read 3/4 of the post before responding! Sorry, I suggested something you are already doing. Woops. 😛

Edited June 15, 2022 by wisdomandtreasures

[8filltheheart]

Definitely do it at home and not with a class.  French is REALLY hard with dyslexics (I have had 2 dyslexics take French.)  My dyslexic dd really liked GC's French as a supplement to her other French books.   French  (Wait for one of their sales.  I think I paid $30 or 40 for the course and $10 for the workbook (which is is something like 500 pages.)  Dd made it through French 3, but it was a major struggle.  She is VERY happy that she is done with French.  

[Haanz]

If you want to stick with an online class, you might consider the Middle School French class also at AIM. It's supposed to cover the same material as a French 1 class but spread out over two years. The slower pace may help her be more successful.

[Rebecca]

To answer your question: What would you do if you were me? I would keep her enrolled in the class. More below!

First, I have experienced my daughter (who I write about below) who has a learning disability doing exceptionally well with live online classes with excellent tutors. Especially helpful-- because she can go back and re watch the lectures when she needs to and everything is in writing and easy for her to find. The best thing I ever did for her in high school was provide her with explicit instruction. Your daughter's success with Memoria Press Online truly should be a great comfort/confirmation, in my opinion.

Question:

How severe is the dyslexia and how profound is her difficulty with phonemes (sounds)? French is not recommended for dyslexics because of the sound difficulties. 

I would not be afraid of this class, and I would keep your daughter enrolled (depending on your answers to the above questions). My DD with a severe language learning disability and some dyslexic deficits (but not phonemes (sound issues) or memory problems) also really, really wanted to learn French. We had an educational psychologist offer to write us a note excusing us from the high school graduation language requirement; she didn't think my daughter would be able to learn a foreign language. Another professional told us it was virtually impossible to ever truly get a waiver for foreign language. 

After considering everything, and her own desire and work ethic--I enrolled her in French at The Potter's School. I enrolled her -- her junior year of high school after we had done a lot (A LOT) of remediation and intervention in language skills and language arts. She took two years of French there--- with great success. 

The first year she got an honorable mention in the National French Exam and this past year (her senior year) she earned a Bronze Medal (French 2 level). 

That Bronze medal means more than any perfect score to her and to me because it is her triumph-- her grit, determination, perseverance, hard work-- she worked harder than anyone. It was so worth it.  I still cry thinking about it.  

So, I realize my response I think is different than the majority on this thread-- but this is my BTDT experience. I am SO glad I enrolled my daughter online.  

I hope this helps! -- Note-- one of my ten year old daughters is severely dyslexic-- she is affected in phonemes, working memory, and more. I do not know what I would do if it was her-- I will have to wait and see what her desire is when she is ready for ninth grade-- and I do think I would encourage her to choose a language that is known to be accessible for dyslexics-- but I will still enroll her online with an expert tutor! For my family, learning a foreign language at home is the last possible resort based on my experience with three older children (already graduated- now adults- 19, 21, 22). So, it is totally a student by student and family by family choice. 

-Rebecca

[Lawyer&Mom]

Wanted to add, the ULAT is completely text-free at the beginning levels.  The first 15 lessons are free if you want to give it a try. 

[Farrar]

I would definitely keep her enrolled in the class and I think you've chosen the right one. I've also heard absolutely nothing but good things about Sally Barstow's class, including that she's good at adapting for students.

I cannot imagine trying to get a dyslexic kid who does not learn well independently to learn a language - any language - on their own solo when you're not sure of your own ability to oversee it. I think that would be asking for a wasted language year and a lesson learned.

I've not had a dyslexic kid learn French in my house, but French spelling is very regular. It's the pronunciation that is weird from an American point of view. Again, once you have the hang of it, it won't trip you up... and I'll trust that those who are saying that French was especially hard for dyslexics are correct, but I don't personally see why it would be harder than any language with a regular spelling system. Language processing is just hard for a lot of kids with dyslexia.