The Acquisition of German as a Foreign Language in Dyslexic Learners at Czech Lower Secondary Schools
The Acquisition of German as a Foreign Language in Dyslexic Learners at Czech Lower Secondary Schools

Summary/Abstract: The study presented here examines children with dyslexia and their acquisition of German as a foreign language. Individuals diagnosed with dyslexia frequently encounter challenges in fundamental language skills, particularly in the domains of phonological and orthographic processing. The latter pertains to the process of identifying printed text. These difficulties impact their ability to decode words, connect letters to sounds, and understand written language effectively. The present study focuses on learners with dyslexia at Czech lower secondary schools who are learning German as a foreign language. The present study pays close attention to the linguistic coding deficit hypothesis. A valid and reliable testing tool focusing on the morphological-syntactic, lexical-semantic, and pragmatic levels of language was used to collect data. The testing tool demonstrated high reliability, evidenced by a Cronbach‘s alpha coefficient of 0.903. The programme was developed in accordance with the Framework Educational Programme for second foreign languages, at the A1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, employing commonly available textbooks for lower secondary schools. The research sample consisted of pupils with dyslexia in the 9th grade of lower secondary schools in the Hradec Králové region, learning German as a second foreign language. The control group in the study consists of typically developing peers. The findings reveal a substantial discrepancy between the two groups, with individuals diagnosed with dyslexia demonstrating significantly diminished performance in comparison to the control group across all levels of the evaluated domain. The items that presented the greatest challenges were those focused on the morphological-syntactic level. It can be concluded that difficulties resulting from dyslexia in the native language may have a negative effect on foreign language acquisition.

• Details
• Contents