Language Learners with Special Needs

Judit Kormos is a senior lecturer at the Department of Linguistics and English Language, Lancaster University. She is the editor of the volume Language Learners with Special Needs: An International Perspective. She was the principal investigator of a research and teacher training project on the language learning processes of dyslexic and Deaf learners in Hungary.Edit H. Kontra is associate professor at the Department of English Applied Linguistics of Eötvös Lorand University, Budapest. Her main research interest lies in individual differences, language testing and the methodology of teaching EFL.

• Introduction - Judit Kormos and Edit H. Kontra1. L1 and L2 Literacy, Aptitude, and Affective Variables as Discriminators among High- and Low-achieving L2 Learners with Special Needs - Richard L. Sparks, Leonore Ganschow and Jon Patton2. Writing Abilities in First and Second Language Learners with and without Reading Disabilities - Katherine Ndlovu and Esther Geva3. Second Language Assessment in Dyslexia: Principles and Practice - Turid Helland4. Input, Processing and Output Anxiety in Students with Symptoms of Developmental Dyslexia - Ewa Piechurska-Kuciel5. Vocabulary Learning in Dyslexia – The Case of a Hungarian Learner - Ágnes Sarkadi6. An Experiment with Direct Multisensory Instruction in Teaching Word Reading and Spelling to Polish Dyslexic Learners of English - Joanna Nijakowska7. Deaf EFL Learners Outside the School System - Ágnes Bajkó and Edit H. Kontra8. Hungarian Teachers’ Perceptions of Dyslexic Language Learners - Judit Kormos and Edit H. Kontra9. Teachers’ and Trainers’ Perceptions of Inclusive Education within TEFL Certificate Courses in Britain - Anne Margaret Smith

This book provides new and important insights into the subject of language learners with special needs from a number of perspectives, especially on topics related to learners' personal experiences of language learning. People with special needs are given a 'voice' which is imperative and very worthwhile, reflecting current approaches to understanding so-called "impairment" or "difference" in many other fields of study.