[etni] Re: proper teaching Re: etni Digest V3 #163

It used to be "I have dyslexia, hence I cannot spell;" it has gradually 
become "I cannot spell hence I have dyslexia." The consequences did not take 
long to ensue, as we all know: the number of "dyslexic" pupils has grown 
tenfold in the last decade; most of them never use the "dispensation" they 
are eligible for. This logical switch reminds me of a saying some of us 
might have forgotten:
"This is why it is thought impossible to be a builder if one has built 
nothing or a harper if one has never played the harp; for *he who learns to 
play the harp learns to play it by playing it, and all other learners do 
similarly.* " (ARISTOTLE TEXT 27: Metaphysics, Book IX: Aristotle's account 
of the relationship between matter and form, act and potency.)
 Let's be frank: after the first few times we require writing and see the 
horrendous results, many of us give up. It really takes lots of writing (= 
and marking!) to develop good writing skills (including spelling) in our 
pupils. With our workload increasing and working conditions deteriorating, I 
cannot blame anyone for not adherring to this slow and painful (both for the 
pupil and for the teacher) process. As soon as writing truly becomes part of 
the required EFL activities again, things will no doubt improve. All it 
takes is some devotion - but how many of us can still feel devotion after 
all the humiliation we endure?!
 Best -
 Lev

On 6/15/05, Yoseph and Leah Urso <urso2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
---snip---
Dyslexia is a real syndrome, and a teacher can waste a lot of
time focusing on it with a particular student. I've noticed my students 
improve their spelling and reading skills by writing and re-writing about 
things that interest them, including letters to friends and journal writing.
---snip---

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