The Power of Language Ethan Smith English 1A Prof. Ziff 3/13/2024 Language Perspective Essay. Language is a powerful tool. The creation of language has caused the human race to grow and expand on many different fronts. Without being able to communicate, we would have no history to tell, no words to say. With the creation of many different languages, there have also been difficulties that many have faced. Like Gareth Cook, for more than 15 years he has struggled with dyslexia. He struggles with reading and spelling. Both of these things are a major part of learning and using languages. He speaks about his personal difficulties growing up and not exactly knowing what was wrong with him, why he struggled more than his peers. Having dyslexia myself …show more content…
Yet like everyone with dyslexia, we must overcome our struggles and keep moving forward and use the power of our voice. The poem, “Healing Earthquakes” by Jimmy Santiago Baca is a great example of how you can use your voice for something great. Send a message using your voice. He uses his poetry in front of an audience to tell us about the lives that women are forced into living. Within this society, women typically have more difficult lives compared to men. Because of many different factors’ women struggle to gain the same opportunities as men. He really uses this tone of voice to show how negative the things women go through are. I’ve enjoyed writing poems before, and many have found my poetry impactful and full of emotions. I think that using writing forms like poetry and storytelling can really help bring people together and give a place to gather and connect with communities. We use language every day, I’m going to talk about my experiences with using language, how I find Gareth Cooks experience with dyslexia relatable as I have struggled with the same problems he has. As well as how I …show more content…
I really am terrible at spelling so many words. I have only recently learned how to spell words like couch, different, statistics, and a few others. I get nervous and sometimes even freeze up or shake if I feel like someone is watching me write. I can’t stand being made fun of for having a hard time with spelling. I myself have become okay with the fact that me and my auto correct have become best friends. That doesn’t mean I want to be belittled for struggling to spell basic words or words that everyone else finds so easy to spell without any problems. I love to read, and I remember as a child I had a passion to write as well, but I couldn’t spell the life of me. I had no way of expressing my stories in ways people could understand them, because my words only made sense to me. Only I could sound out words like apricot a-prah-e-cot and write it as such too. Sounding out words I didn’t know was a common thing I was told to do, but clearly that doesn’t work for all of us. I’ve dealt with spelling troubles all throughout my school life and it doesn’t get any better with age. Gareth Cook struggles with dyslexia. He may have had just as bad of a spelling problem as me. Around the time he started to notice his struggles is also around the time I did. “As I got older, the spelling problems persisted -- something that teachers marked down for,
When reading the essay “Living with Dyslexia” by Gareth Cook, we come to an understanding that language may not be as simple to learn for one person as it is for another. After keeping his disorder a secret for more than 15 years, he finally decides to “…come out of the closet” (Pg. 158). Throughout the essay we see the struggles that Gareth is faced with, but we also see the motivation that he has. At the end of the essay he says “Its never going to be easy, but put your heart into it and you will blow them away.” (Pg. 159). This quote is clearly shows the significance of perspective. If you have a positive outlook on a subject, you choose how to handle it. That is exactly what Gareth Cook does. He pushes through the difficulties he has, because he is motivated to learn the power of language. He further explains that you will eventually get to where you want to be, but it just might take a bit longer. He writes to inspire the kids that are too living with dyslexia with hopes to shed some light during difficult and confusing times. Like language, one’s perspective can dramatically alter one’s identity. In previous year, the power of language was feared. Dictators took away the right of language from people like journalists, because they held the real power. They had the power to write about the issues and share them with the rest of the world. How someone choses to act upon a subject based off their beliefs
Schultz writes, “Many specialists believe learning a foreign language for a dyslexic is a form of abuse” (Schultz, 2011). I love that quote I think it is a great way to explain to other people what it’s like for a dyslexic to learn a foreign language. I have never heard it explained like that, but I am very happy I have now because this could help explain to people who are not familiar with dyslexia why learning a foreign language is so difficult for them. Fourth, Philip Schultz wrote about the reality of a child who has a learning disability. Schultz wrote about the bullying some kids face each and every day at school just because of their learning disability. He wrote about having to feel apologetic because of having a learning disability. One quote that stood out to me was, “I never meant to be annoying, forgetful, delayed, overwhelmed, and dumb-sounding and –looking. I never wanted to be made fun of or anger my teachers or keep an entire class late because I didn’t understand a concept. But that’s what often happened as a consequence of my learning disability”(Schultz, 2011). I know that those are very true thoughts of a child who has a learning disability. I know this because I have dyslexia and there have definitely been multiple times in my life where I had some of those same
Language is integral to learning as it is linked to our thoughts. It helps us to organise our thoughts in an organised way. If a child has difficulties in communicating with others due to a speech and language delay or disorder, they will not be working to their full potential, as they will be less able to organise their thought processes and express themselves. This becomes even more of a problem as children become older and the curriculum becomes more demanding, the use of rational and abstract thinking will become more important, hence the importance of early detection and intervention. The early years are a time of rapid learning and development, therefore the earlier the diagnosis of delayed language acquisition, the easier it will be for professionals and others to target the childâ€TMs needs so that they are able to give appropriate support, thus benefiting the
Students with the learning disability can be taught in different ways that are more suited to their needs (54). Alternative lesson plans such as the Orton-Gillingham approach can help dyslexic students learn to read and write as well as their peers (9). Better learning programs can also help people with dyslexia overcome mental health issues such as low self-esteem. When students are doing well in school, they are more motivated to learn. Struggling students can also find better ways to study on their own, such as recording class lectures and listening to them at home (58). Regardless of the methods used to treat dyslexia, it is absolutely crucial for the child’s health to start therapy at a young age
Dyslexia has been a commonly known problem in the Unites States. Even though, dyslexia is a mental problem that causes disabilities in reading, most people do not know the truth about it. There have been movies where a person with dyslexia sees letters moving around, yet people with dyslexia do not have disabilities like moving letters around. The truth is that there are plenty of misconceptions. The myths going around of what dyslexia supposedly is, is not the truth. These myths are just misconceptions and the truths about dyslexia are more complex than what it seems like. Dyslexics have different learning processes and different ways of handling the problems at hand.
He struggles with reading and spelling. Both of these are important aspects of learning and utilizing languages. He recalls his own challenges growing up, for example, not knowing what was wrong with him or why he suffered more than his friends. Having dyslexia makes writing this essay challenging for me, since I also struggle to spell things correctly.
Dyslexia is a very common learning disorder that affects more than three million cases reported every year. It can also be referred to as a language based learning disability. Dyslexia is a disability that impairs one’s ability (usually identified in children) to read and interpret different letters/words. It cannot be cured and is generally a lifelong condition but can be treated with therapists/specialists. This disorder does not translate to poor individual intelligence, just simply an individual that struggles in an area of learning. More often than not, this disability can be self diagnosed by an adult. This disorder is the most common learning disability in American children. Although, scientists cannot pinpoint the percentage of children
Dyslexia is the most prominent learning disability here in the United State but, it is also the most misunderstood. For centuries, those with dyslexia have been labeled as stupid and incompetent, when in fact they extremely intelligent, excelling in areas such as art, science and music. Due to our lack of knowledge and understanding, we as a nation are ignorant, deeming truth to the stereotypes that have long been associated with this so called “disease.” In order to reverse the damage that has already been done, we must differentiate fact from fiction. In order to fully understand dyslexia, individuals need to be provided with resources that address every aspect of the disability, including what it is, the possible causes, signs, symptoms and treatments available. Awareness is key to change.
The most common learning disability in children does not affect only one aspect of their lives, but alters nearly every measure. Dyslexia inhibits one 's ability to read, write, and spell. About 5 to 20 percent of children attending school have some sort of a disability involved with reading. When thinking of a condition that contains no cure, such as dyslexia, you may imagine a lifetime of complications and difficulties; although, dyslexia does not damage a person’s ability to learn, it merely forces them to grasp ideas and think in their own original way. Multiple obstacles can potentially arise, but successfulness and intelligence tends to prevail, and has in multiple situations. Numerous well known people have personally suffered through
Dyslexia is now a widely accepted condition that is prevalent in many classrooms. However, defining dyslexia is difficult as it can be described as a continuum. Although experts largely agree that dyslexia is identifiable as a developmental difficulty of language learning and cognition (Rose, 2009). Dyslexia can pose a host of difficulties for the child and can make daily activities and school life very challenging. The NCLD (2013) states children with dyslexia may have difficulties with ‘accurate and fluent spelling, accurate and fluent written expression, phonological awareness, memory, verbal processing speed and information processing.’ As teachers it is vital that we are aware of the underlying difficulties as the child’s consistent underachievement can appear on the surface as carelessness and lack of effort (Hodge, 2000). Dyslexia is not only about literacy, although weaknesses in literacy are often the most visible sign, it effects all areas of learning as the ability to read and write sufficiently permeates all areas of learning within the curriculum. ‘Dyslexia occurs across the range of intellectual abilities’ however, the difficulties posed by having dyslexia can affect a child’s ability to learn (Rose, 2009). Every child has the right to succeed and so the teacher must strive to provide the key for learning and implement effective interventions which develop the child’s literacy skills and help them reach their full potential (DCSF, 2007; DfES, 2004).
Walking upright on two legs has never been given much thought in my mind, and after the course, it has made me realize just how unique and important that is to us as human beings. However, in our culture, language is so important in communication and being able to get our points across. Every culture is unique, and so is their language, which is so immensely beautiful. Dialects and speech patterns play a big part in language, and it makes each human being unique to their culture. In my personal belief, language is in fact the most important part in being human as in my future career, language and communication will be key. I plan on double majoring in Graphic Communications and International Business and in both fields, communication with social networks, employers, and customers, is very important in holding a professional job. Without communication in these fields, none of the work would be completed and the business would not be able to operate. For humans, without language the world would be a bleak
Dyslexia is a learning disability effecting thousands of students in schools across the world. As with many learning disabilities, dyslexia manifests itself differently in every person. Due to this inconsistency, many people feel it should not be qualified as a learning disability, but because so many students continue to have to overcome their dyslexia it continues to be diagnosed. Thankfully when teachers are aware of their students’ having dyslexia they are able to put supports in to aid their students’ learning. Many strategies exist to aid dyslexic people in carrying out their everyday tasks.
Without language as a way of knowing, it would be very difficult for humans to communicate ideas and gather knowledge. A language’s ability to be “rule-governed, intended, and creative and open-ended” allows it to be a useful tool in the development of culture; and thus aid an individual in the process of discovering his or her own identity (Dunn 57). In essence, different languages to a certain degree affect the views an individual may hold about themselves and the world around them, but this is not the only factor; the environment and experiences also influences these concepts. The biggest implication for such differences in knowledge would be overall misunderstanding amongst people that speak different languages (i.e. language barrier), whether they are formal languages such as Japanese and English, or newly developed languages such as slang.
Through the years the curriculum has become more rigorous, a student's ability to read is the single greatest indicator of academic success. Throughout my teaching career, I have witnessed students become frustrated and unable to move forward academically due to learning disabilities which prevent them from reading at their appropriate level. A key disability causing students to fall behind is Dyslexia. Spoken and written language processing is affected with students who are dyslexic. It makes it difficult to read, decode words, write, and spell (Cook Moatz, 2009).
I learned in elementary school that I am both dyslexic and gifted, but I had no idea then what a vast impact it would have on my life. I have fought this constant uphill battle every day and while I have gained new weapons to fight against it, the fight will never end. I have been able to make excellent grades by many people's standards, therefore, people assume I am academically well-rounded. In reality, I worked much harder than most to obtain those grades in English and history courses. Living with dyslexia has taught me that no matter what obstacles stand in the way if you work hard enough, you can accomplish your dreams.