Teaching Children with Reading Difficulties in Different Language Systems

Abstract

Over the years developmental dyslexia has become increasingly recognised in the UK as an important type of learning difficulty that can give rise to special educational needs. This gradual acceptance of the term dyslexia has occurred simultaneously in the law (Chasty & Friel, 1991) and in government policy (DfEE - Department for Education and Employment, 1994; 1997). Because of the formal recognition of dyslexia as a learning difficulty, the following detailed provisions from Key Stage-1 to Key Stage-5 are prescribed to all the primary and secondary schools in the UK in order to support children with special educational needs including dyslexia during their education. The Key Stages were first defined in the 1988 Education Reform Act to accompany the first introduction of the National Curriculum in the UK. A Key Stage is a stage of the curriculum, setting out the educational knowledge expected of pupils at various ages with six stages, i.e., KS-0 (aged 3-5), KS-1 (aged 5-7), KS-2 (aged 7-11), KS-3 (aged 11-14), KS-4 (aged 14-16) and KS-5 (aged 16-19).