Flashcards and Guided Visual Vocabulary Practice: Experiences of Students with Learning Disabilities When Introduced to Concrete Spanish Nouns.

Abstract

Successful inclusion of students with learning disabilities in foreign language courses has been problematic, likely due to factors such as heightened anxiety and individualized learning challenges which are characteristic of those with learning disabilities. These learning characteristics often necessitate that multisensory strategies be employed to support students with learning disabilities in academic content areas; prior research has suggested that such strategies contribute to successful completion of foreign language coursework for struggling learners. Accordingly, an initial study investigated the impact of an explicit, multisensory strategy called Guided Visual Vocabulary Practice (GVVP) in recalling English translations of concrete Spanish nouns. Progress of participants (n = 8) with GVVP was compared to performance with traditional flashcards in a single-subject, reversal design spanning a 10-week period. Student performance was assessed by tabulating the number of thematically grouped Spanish nouns correctly translated when presented orally from randomized lists. The findings indicated a moderate effect size (0.54) overall, but the largest impact with GVVP occurred among the three middle school participants included in the sample. An analysis of different aspects of the Spanish vocabulary words (cognates, number of syllables, initial letters) may have correlated with student performance is included, as are implications for future research and instructional practice. Subscribe to LDMJ