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While the whole language method has since been largely abandoned as too limited in scope and phonics have mostly regained their favored status in the classroom, explicit instruction in spelling and handwriting have not returned. "Nationally, only about a third of the [elementary age level] teachers do any formal instruction in spelling and handwriting," says Virginia Berninger of the University of Washington's Multidisciplinary Learning Disability Center. "We think it's a national crisis."
"There is a myth that because we have computers with spell check it's not important to teach spelling, and this isn't true," says Berninger. Spell check functions only help if you can spell reasonably well and so are not helpful to a dyslexic who has never learned specific methods to overcome their disability.
Berninger suggests two changes to the current educational approach that could help dyslexics learn to spell and write as well as their peers. First, dyslexics should remain in remedial education after they learn to read and learn specific spelling and writing strategies to overcome their difficulties.
Second, specific instruction in spelling and writing should be included in mainstream education. This will not only help dyslexics who are mainstreamed but also other students with language learning disabilities as well as children learning English as a second language.
"We are trying to explain to teachers and parents that what dyslexics really need is explicit instruction in language throughout their K to 12 schooling," Berninger says. "Yes, in their primary grades they are going to need phonics, but we shouldn't think that our task as parents and teachers is over when they learn to read at a basic level. They will continue to need very structured language instruction throughout the upper elementary, middle, and even high school grades."
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