While children may acquire languages more naturally, learning a foreign language during the adult life becomes a much more complex cognitive process, as it does not only implies the implementation of efficient language learning strategies, but also examining learners’ cognitive mental processes and abilities (Myréen, 2017).
Especially for students with learning disabilities, research shows that they often struggle to meet the demands of foreign language learning, as they face difficulties with working memory, retrieving information, sustaining attention, and transforming the sounds of a language into written form (Ciccarone, 2019). What we will see in this module is success strategies to engage a person with disabilities in the learning as much as possible, to achieve maximum individual achievement and progress, starting with multisensory language learning. This technique offers a pedagogical approach where all senses are used as teaching techniques, rather than proceeding with traditional methodologies. (Myréen, 2017).
| In simple terms, multisensory teaching is “requires students to activate their full faculties—seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, moving, touching, thinking, intuiting, enjoying—in a variety of situations” (Baines, 2008, in Korkmaz and Karatepe, 2018, pg. 81). |
In the above scope, applying multisensory structured language teaching approaches enables the creation of a learner-cantered environment, where emphasis is given to learners’ processes, perceptions, and motivation to become fluent or proficient in a language of their interest. Scientifically speaking, when we seeing, hearing, and moving in order to learn, certain areas of our brain engaged include the Frontal Lobe – which help us with speech, grammar, language, and comprehension – the Temporal Lobe – decoding and sound discrimination – as well as the Angular Gyrus – which enables our ability to read (Schukraft, 2020). For teachers, MSL introduce them to a more “colourful” way of teaching, through using multisensory materials and techniques, thus enriching their way of transferring knowledge and providing a feeling of professional fulfilment.
Multisensory learning can be categorized into three pathways (in accordance to the various types of learners), which can be used simultaneously to enhance learners’ memory and learning (Institute of Multi-Sensory Education, 2022):
| 1 – AUDITORY | 2 – VISUAL | 3 – KINESTHETIC-TACTILE | |
| Definition | the language we hear
students receive phonics instructions by seeing & listening to sounds and letter/sound combinations |
the language we see
students use various tools like photos, thinking maps, flipcharts, books, colours, etc. |
the language we sense/feel
students learn by doing, observing, testing, and being fully engaged in the learning process |
| Example applied in MSL | phonemic awareness – breaking words into individual speech sounds and putting them back together | manipulating objects through using color-coded index cards | manipulating text on a board by using magnetic strips so that the stem of a verb can be removed from its ending |
As said, the above categories can be incorporated within one single method; for example, a teacher might ask the students to use plastic trays, tables, paper plates etc. to “write something on sand” – a method which combines visual, auditory, and tactile pathways to enhance letter-sound correspondence (IMSLE, 2019).
As we will see in later stages of this module, introducing multisensory elements into teaching creates a rather inspiring atmosphere and enhances learners’ motivation by fostering communication and interaction both among learners as well as between learners and teachers (Myréen, 2017). Using music, images, videos, paralinguistic features[1] and other techniques are some examples that teachers can use – always in accordance to learners’ cognitive abilities – in order to help them enter the world of the language being taught.
[1] A form of non-verbal communication that uses techniques such as intonation of voice, gestures, body language, facial expressions, etc. Source: http://gpbhadrak.org/beta/upload/paraling.pdf
Read several ideas and techniques you can use to help students struggling with reading in the following link: https://www.understood.org/articles/en/8-multisensory-techniques-for-teaching-reading
| A good example of applied multisensory approaches is the “Multisensory Space”, created by Senior Lecturer Minttu Räty at Laurea University of Applied Sciences. The professor created the Space in 2007, based on her personal experiences with immigrants, people with disabilities, and the elderly, to raise students’ awareness of multiculturalism and prepare them for their future careers as social workers.
For learners interested in foreign languages, the Multisensory Space provided an experiential environment where they could familiarize themselves with a foreign language, by also learning about their culture and customs. To achieve that, the Space offered auditory, visual and kinesthetic elements during the language classes, which stimulated the brain and build efficient learning pathways by which experiential memories where linked with the language. (Räty, 2014) |
Here are some tips when teaching literacy skills to better engage students’ Multisensory learning (Waterford, 2019):
- When reading a book as a class, try putting on an audio recording or watching a clip of a storyteller performing it.
- Have students build vocabulary words using letter magnets as a tactile activity
- Instead of always assigning students print books to take home, try giving audiobook or video assignments as well.
- Have students make their own illustrations to accompany vocabulary words or simple sentences that they write.
- Teach students to sound out words while pointing at each letter to solidify a link between sounds and print letters.
* paralinguistic features: A form of non-verbal communication that uses techniques such as intonation of voice, gestures, body language, facial expressions, etc. Source: http://gpbhadrak.org/beta/upload/paraling.pdf
