Pedagogical Tools Available for the Development of Reading Skills in English as a Second Language (ESL) for Students with Dyslexia - A Literature Review

Sammanfattning: Dyslexia is a widely known disorder that impairs the diagnosed students’ literacy in multiple ways. There is a lot of research done on how dyslexia hinders literacy skills in a person's first language; however, not as much research has been done on how the disorder affects the reading skills in English as a second language (ESL). The purpose and aim of the literature review is to examine and evaluate how dyslexia affects the reading skills and reading comprehension, and to explore what pedagogical tools that are available to better facilitate reading skills for dyslexic students in ESL. The method used for conducting this literature review was through searching peer-reviewed scientific articles in two separate databases. Furthermore, the results showed that dyslexic students’ reading skills were impaired by poor working memory and poor phonological awareness. Nevertheless, the results also indicated that there are several pedagogical tools available, such as computer-based instruction for example, in order to aid dyslexic students in developing their reading skills in ESL. Consequently, the findings of this literature review coincided with the Swedish curriculum and the Swedish syllabus for the English courses in the upper secondary school concerning using various teaching strategies and pedagogical tools in the teaching of ESL. The almost certain inevitability of teaching dyslexic students in ESL in the future profession as an ESL teacher further validates and amplifies the importance of this study.