A question that has
puzzled me over the years I have been teaching English is why most course books
contain exercises modelled on the ones that are set in the exams five or six
years later.
To my mind, material
writers should be striving for as much variety as will accommodate learners’
widely differing approaches to second language acquisition. Ideally, the
activities should suit individual learners’ needs, which vary depending on the
mother tongue, age, exposure to English where they live, learning difficulties
and many others. Of course, this would involve more varied course materials
aimed at different markets and, potentially, less profit for publishing
companies. And this is where our mindset and genuine concern for equality is
pitted against homogenisation and globalisation.
Exams, in their turn, should
reflect the different approaches to learning, which takes a good deal of
research and the will to set aside convenience and time-saving considerations when
creating exams.
How sound is it
scientifically to subject a dyslexic candidate to the same test as non-dyslexic
ones and content oneself that the extra 25% of time allotted to the former will
compensate for the inequality especially when we know that there is even a
special font – Dyslexie font -- to help people struggling with reading? One
would expect updated exam types to reflect those new facilities meant to
support different learners.
Even if one thinks of the
weight of the different parts of most tests administered nowadays for the total grade, some steps towards equalising the
results are imperative if fairness is to be ensured. For instance, in class we
acknowledge the fact that dyslexic students perform better in spoken English
both passively and productively than in written English. How can we take this
into account when we calculate the grades of dyslexic candidates?
I may have focused on one
group of “different” candidates but the same applies to all other groups of
students with special needs, and in an age when “difference” is glorified
perhaps more should be done to really prove our commitment to this attitude.
