MULTISENSORY STRUCTURED LANGUAGE TEACHING

What is meant by multisensory teaching?

Multisensory teaching is one important aspect of instruction for dyslexic students that is used by clinically trained teachers. Effective instruction for students with dyslexia is also explicit, direct, cumulative, intensive, and focused on the structure of language. Multisensory learning involves the use of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic-tactile pathways simultaneously to enhance memory and learning of written language. Links are consistently made between the visual (language we see), auditory (language we hear), and kinesthetic-tactile (language symbols we feel) pathways in learning to read and spell."

"Just the Facts….Multisensory Structured Language Teaching", International Dyslexic Association., 2009.

Multisensory Instruction based on the Wilson Reading System ® 10 principles of instruction.

Critical Point 1: Teach sounds to automaticity.

Critical Point 2: Teach total word structure - not just sounds.

Critical Point 3: Present concepts within context of controlled, written text.

Critical Point 4: Present the structure of language in a systematic, cumulative manner.

Critical Point 5: Teach all principles of English language structure directly and thoroughly.

Critical Point 6: Teach/reinforce concepts with visual-auditory-kinesthetic-tactile methods.

Critical Point 7: Teach phonemic and syllabic segmentation.

Critical Point 8: Include constant review and repetition.

Critical Point 9: Use questioning techniques for reinforcement and student error correction.

Critical Point 10: Use diagnostic teaching within the scope and sequence of program.

Critical points are abstracted from:
"The Principles of the Wilson Reading System® Critical Points In-depth" Copyright 1990, 2001 Wilson Language Training Corporation.

The Wilson Reading System has been evaluated by the Florida Center for Reading Research.