Accomodations and Modifications of the FL Requirement

Guidelines for TAs and Students

Updated 11/17/04

The following recommendations, guidelines, and procedures apply to the Required Courses Sequence (FREN 101, 102, 201 and 202) taught by Graduate Teaching Assistants under the supervision of the Language Program Director. The Language Program Director does not supervise courses taught by faculty members.

Neither the TAs nor the faculty of the French Department has the authority to diagnose a learning disability. We may only identify students whose performance in written and oral work seems to suggest a learning need. These are the procedures to follow if you suspect a student has a learning need in foreign language studies.

What To Look For:

A student who

attends class regularly
does all the homework
seeks extra help from you or a tutor

Given the above criteria, the student with difficulties in learning a language often has one or more of the following characteristics. He/she

does better in other courses than s/he does in the language course
has an average of C or lower in the course despite obvious efforts to learn the material
does less well than other students who have taken fewer language courses in high school
placed in the 101 or 102 level despite two or more years of high school language courses
has taken a beginning language more than once
depending on the length of time already spent studying the language, is either eager to learn the language (a relative beginner), or frustrated at numerous attempts (more experienced)
spends excessive amounts of time studying for the course

In addition s/he shows some indication of language learning difficulty, for instance:

difficulty in repeating words or sentences after you
spelling mistakes atypical of those made by most students
inconsistent spelling
poor spelling, handwriting or sentence structure in written English
demonstrated lack of understanding of grammatical structure, for example uses nouns as verbs, uses two articles before a noun (e.g., la une table), in written work.
describes feeling lost in classroom lessons, discussion

If you have any questions, check with the Language Program Director. Bring a sample of work from the student.

When the TA Believes a Student Possibly Has a Language Learning Disorder or Disability the TA:

Talks to the student. In fact, the student will probably seek out the TA to discuss his/her frustration with the course. Remember that TAs can only "suspect " that the student has a learning need. TAs are not qualified to make the diagnosis themselves.
Writes a brief message to the Language Program Director, detailing the student's attendance, work and progress, and attaches a copy of the student's work if possible.
Recommends that the student make an appointment with an expert an the LNEC. The TA may alternatively arrange an appointment for a discussion between the TA, the student and the LP Director. The student, TA and LP Director meet together. The Director will explain the possibilities of accommodation and modification of the language requirement and will recommend that the student make an appointment at the LNEC for advice and/or testing.

Once a Student Has Been Tested:

The LNEC will produce a memo summarizing test results and suggesting accommodations.
The student is instructed by the LNEC to deliver copies of this memo to the language instructor and the Language Program Director.
Student, TA, and LP Director will meet to discuss accommodations. The former students' instructor may be invited to this meeting, if feasible, in order to provide additional information about what aspects of the language course have proven the most difficult.
The Director will summarize the accommodations agreed upon in a letter to the students' association dean (with copies to the instructor, the student, and the LNEC).
Barring major problems with the accommodation procedure, the instructor and student will report back to the Director at the end of about six weeks; at this time any necessary adjustments will be made in the accommodation procedure.
If an accommodation proves unworkable, from the instructor's and student's point of view after a trial period of at least six weeks during the regular fall or spring semester, the Director normally recommends modification to the Association Dean's office, in a letter to the association dean with copies to the instructor and the student.
A modification of the language requirement will not be recommended in cases where excessive absences make it difficult or impossible to evaluate the effectiveness of accommodations.

TAs Should Keep in Mind:

Many students hear the term "learning disability" and assume at first that this is a negative reflection on their intelligence. Some students (and their parents) react emotionally to any discussion of a learning disability.
Do not inflate the student's grades. It is tempting to inflate the grade of a student with a learning disability. However, grade inflation only gives a false reading of how well the accommodations are working. It is difficult for the LP Director to recommend further accommodations, and even more difficult to recommend a modification (much less to have that modification approved by a dean) if the student's grades indicate success in the course as is.

Students Should Keep in Mind:

Attendance and participation are important. The LPD cannot evaluate the effectiveness of accommodations for students with excessive absences, missing homework, etc.

Students are encouraged to keep a work log, indicating the quantity of time spent each day on specific aspects of the course.

The French Department offers free tutoring for all students during the fall and spring semesters. Students with learning disabilities are encouraged to take advantage of this service. Note: the department cannot fund free tutoring in the summer.

The Language Program Director is a nine-month employee. Courses offered during the Summer Session are not supervised by the Language Program Director, who may be out of the state, or out of the country during the Summer Session.

The Summer Language Institute (SLI) is an intensive immersion program offering the equivalent of four semesters (over 60 weeks) of French in nine weeks. This allows little free time for tutoring, extra time for test-taking, and other possible accommodations.

We highly recommend that students with diagnosed learning disabilities who are considering the SLI or any other accelerated courses in French (other summer courses, French 105) meet with an expert at the LNEC to determine whether or not the accelerated course is a wise choice for them.

Frequently Recommended Types of Accommodation:

student keep a work log
generous time limit allowed for quizzes and tests
additional reading of aural component of exams
student gets regular tutoring
grading criteria varied to take into account the student's strengths and weaknesses