AN EXPLORATION OF READING-COMPREHENSION, ORAL READING ERRORS, AND WRITTEN ERRORS BY SUBJECTS LABELED LEARNING-DISABLED

There is a significant number of people labeled learning disabled (LD) who have extreme difficulty learning a second language. Although a la rge amount of research deals with learning disabilities, very little o f it addresses the second language learning situation. The purpose of this research is to explore whether, and how, decoding and encoding pr oblems with a first language acquisition carry over into the second la nguage acquisition of the LD-labeled students and what the consequence s are for comprehension. This research consists of case studies of LD- labeled subjects who have gained a degree of proficiency in a second l anguage. The subjects' performance on written dictations, oral reading s, and comprehension after oral and silent reading are compared qualit atively between their first and second languages. In general, it was f ound that the subjects had the same kinds of problems and made the sam e kinds of errors in the first and second languages. By administering these tests and interviewing the subjects about their language learnin g experiences, the researcher also gained useful information about cla ssroom practices and learning strategies that may help students labele d LD learn a second language. All of these subjects (all adults) repor ted having extreme difficulty in the foreign language classroom as wel l as with English reading and writing skills. In spite of these proble ms with language, four out of five gained a high degree of fluency in their second language outside the classroom in immersion settings (as foreign exchange students, by marrying a native speaker, by working wi th migrant laborers). The fifth subject has been able to survive tradi tional university foreign language classes by working extremely hard a nd being very aggressive about seeking help. The paper discusses why t hese learners succeeded in learning a second language while many of th eir counterparts labeled LD fail.