Aggeliki Pappa
Founder of ‘i love dyslexia’ EFL-FL School, Greece
Title: The solution for millions of people with dyslexia and SEN globally deprived of EFL-FL learning, provided by the ‘i love dyslexia’ innovative school for EFL-FL and dyslexia
Biography
Biography: Aggeliki Pappa
Abstract
According to “Dyslexia International” 10 to 15% of global population has dyslexia, putting more than 700 million children and adults worldwide at risk of life-long illiteracy and social exclusion. A major problem of today’s education for students with dyslexia and special educational needs (SEN) is education system constraints which prevent learners from being effectively included in the learning process of a foreign language (FL) depriving them of a necessary life skill and a global voice. There is no common European methodology on teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) and FL to students with SEN, with the big majority of educators lacking awareness and practical knowledge on this still quite unexplored field. The award winning ‘i love dyslexia’ (ILD) in Athens, Greece is the first and only internationally, highly specialized school for holistic EFL-FL learning to students (children and adults) with dyslexia and SEN, introducing an innovative combination of authentic and complete FL tool collection and a pioneering multi-level program set to fill the big gap for effective EFL-FL access for millions of students with SEN worldwide, while its system could be implemented in settings where English is taught as a first language. ILD highly structured tool combination and holistic program of studies are designed based on brain targeted teaching, shelf awareness sessions, design thinking and mind mapping, smart multisensory mnemonics, synthetic and analytic teaching, drama and project passed differentiated activities, use of new technology and augmented reality tools in combination with activities in outdoor natural environment, as well as mindfulness and Aikido as educational tools to develop inner harmony and meet challenges of living to thrive in life. Last but not least, ILD provides experiential training courses on EFL-FL and SEN, empowering educators worldwide with practical knowledge and effective tools to support all their students succeed in EFL-FL learning.
