Students in the English Department assist Learning Disabled students in Elkana’s elementary school

By Dr. Vitela Arzi, 

Head of the English Department, Elkana campus

Students in the English Department taking the course "Teaching English to Students with Learning Disabilities (L.D.)" have an excellent opportunity to implement their theoretical knowledge by teaching students in the neighborhood elementary school on a one to one basis.

The goal of the program is to allow our future English teachers to have hands-on experience to practice what they have been taught. The first semester of the course was dedicated not only to the teaching of the remedial program for teaching reading to L.D. students, but also to the acquisition of concepts and topics related to L.D. learners, such as attention deficit disorder and visual and audio perception problems.

The participants in the program are students who were selected by the elementary school advisor after consulting with teachers. All have some form of a learning disability and have had difficulties learning English.

Orot students come equipped with the necessary material for assessment and teaching while the class instructor, Mrs. Tzila Rabinovitz, an experienced professional in the field of Teaching English to Learning Disabled students, makes the rounds and supervises the activity. After the lesson, the students and instructor discuss and summarize their work.

Both students and pupils benefit from the program. The students gain practical experience in teaching the remedial method they have learned and the pupils benefit from being taught in a way that accommodates their learning styles.