Heather J. Hendry
University of Pittsburgh
heh15@pitt.edu
Purpose
 To present strategies that FL teachers can apply in IEP
meetings to increase collaboration with special
educators
 To propose an observation protocol for assessing
students’ difficulties
 To share data that support the protocol
 To suggest foreign language specific accommodations
that are aligned with the protocol
Presentation Agenda
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Share data from study of 3 students with LLDs and
supporting literature
Present Observation protocol
Simulate student assessment using protocol
Share suggested foreign language specific
accommodations
Apply accommodations to simulations
Discuss collaboration with special educators in IEP
meetings
Overview of Study
 3 middle school students with LLDs
 K-12 sequential content-based Spanish program
 Data collection
 Classroom observations, twice a week, 16weeks
 Writing samples at beginning and end of observations
 Student interviews
Participant 1: Nate
• 6th grade
• Shy quiet student
• IEP: Reading and Writing
Writing: spelling, and identifying and
applying definite and indefinite articles
 Reading comprehension: fifth grade level
(one grade level below)
 Reading fluency: 84 words per minute
(15 points lower than the sixth grade target of
100-140 words per minute)

Participant 2: Gayle
 6th grade
 Social student
 IEP: Reading, writing, and attention
• Reading: comprehension and identifying soundsymbol connection
• Writing: lacks organization, frequently omits topic
sentences, transitions, and closing thoughts
• Attention: staying on task and ignoring the behavior
of other students
Participant 3: Tina
 7th grade
 Unique student, enjoys working independently
 IEP: reading, writing, ADHD, mild Asperger’s
Syndrome
• Difficulty attending and socializing
• Word recognition and decoding
• Reading fluency: 110 WPM (7th graders should read
between 110-150 words per minute)
• Writing: spelling, handwriting, organizing and focusing
on content; developing semantic and pragmatic language
skills
Findings: Accommodations
 Designed only for assessments
Limit choices on tests
Repeat directions
Encourage asking for assistance
Provide extra time on
assignments
 Develop study guides
 Lack of accommodations for
presentation/practice of lesson
content
 Generic:
 Not differentiated for each
student
 Apply to many subject areas
 Not specific to foreign language
learning




Findings: Classroom Participation
Teacher Q’s
Observed in 7 classes
Student
responses
Nate
145
7
Gayle
145
6
Tina
159
4
 Infrequent participation
 Participation occurred for questions in English about:
 grammar
 translation to Spanish
 the task itself
 Participation of LLDs was different from non-LLD peers
Findings: Classroom
Participation
Do you raise your hand to speak in Spanish class?
“I don’t raise my hand a lot because I forget the answer,
forget the question, or I’m worried that I’m gonna get it
wrong and people will laugh at me.”
Findings: Writing Performance
15
16
14
12
10
9
10
8
8
Dec
5
6
3
4
2
0
Nate
Gayle
Sept
Tina
Findings: Student Perceptions
X
Nate
Gayle
Tina
Findings: Student Perceptions
Findings: A Summary
 Oral participation of LLDs was infrequent
 Differed from non-LLD peers
 Due to fear of answering incorrectly and risk of
embarrassment
 Students performed differentially on writing tasks
 Students expressed different perceptions of learning
Spanish with reference to learning styles
 Accommodations were designed only for assessments
 Not differentiated for each student
 Generic, applied to many subject areas
 Not specific to foreign language learning
How did students struggle?
 Comprehending target language use
 Comprehending reading tasks
 Participating orally in whole group classroom tasks
 Writing in the target language
 Retaining vocabulary meaning
 Eliminating distractions and attending
 Comprehending grammatical concepts
Observation Protocol for Foreign
Language Students with IEPs
Criteria
Listening Comp
Reading Comp
Oral Participation
Writing
Vocabulary
knowledge and
retention
Classroom behavior
Grammatical
knowledge
Learning Styles
Suggested
Sources of
Information
Observations
Accommodations
How is Protocol used?:
Simulation Part 1
Assessing a student
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Think of a student with an IEP, or create an
imaginary student with an IEP
Assemble a group of 3-4 people
Choose 1 person to represent the student with an IEP
Go through each criteria of the protocol asking the
“student” to describe their performance
Record observations
This information will be used later for Simulation
Part 2
What is an accommodation?
 Accommodations are adaptations to activities that
allow students with LDs to participate at the same
level as their non-LD peers. (National Center for
Learning Disabilities, 2006)
 Accommodations must reflect individual needs
 Accommodations must be aligned with student to
produce a successful outcome
Recommendations for
Accommodations in IEPs:
ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL!
It is recommended that accommodations in IEPs…
 Are specific to foreign language learning
 Apply to all components of lesson, not just
assessments
 Designed differentially to reflect the unique needs of
each individual student
 Suggest the use of alternative forms of assessments
Suggested Accommodations
Criteria
Suggested Sources of
Information
Observations
Accommodations
Listening Comp
Comprehensible input, build
background
Reading Comp
Reading strategies
Oral Participation
Groupings, think pair shares, taskbased activities
Writing
Graphic organizers,
Ling assistance
Vocabulary knowledge
and retention
Context, Visual, TPR, reflect
learning styles
Classroom behavior
Opening routines and tasks
Grammatical knowledge
Context, dialogic approach
Learning Styles
Match with challenges
How is Protocol used?:
Simulation Part 2
Assigning Accommodations
Review the list of suggested accommodations
2. Identify criteria that indicate student struggles
3. Assign accommodations to the criteria in which the
student struggles
1.
IEP Meetings: Collaborating with
Special Educators
IEP Meeting
Observation
Protocol for
Foreign Language
Students with
IEPs