The benefits of Mandarin for Dyslexia

Aim

I am raising money to fund doctorate level research in to the benefits of learning Mandarin as a second language for dyslexic students.

Aims and objectives of the research: With this research, I aim to investigate the reasons behind my hypothesis that Dyslexic students tend to progress better with Mandarin as a second language. I believe that this phenomenon is due to a combination of reasons.

Firstly, that the very nature of Mandarin being a pictographic language means that the writing is treated like a picture and as such is processed in a different gyrus of the brain thereby negating the effects of dyslexia.

Secondly, I believe that as the grammar functions of Mandarin are easier to grasp and unchanging this makes it easier for dyslexic students to “build sturdy sentence walls”.

Thirdly, that due to the preceding two factors students are able to overcome the anxiety syndrome that dealing with dyslexia can sometimes cause and that this fact may have a knock-on effect with their other studies.

Research Context: As a Mandarin and English teacher who has worked with both Chinese and Western dyslexic and non-dyslexic students I noticed that the student’s dyslexia never presented itself within the Mandarin classroom, only in the English language courses I taught. At present, this is still a relatively new field of research, so there are not many other studies. My own research interest has been heavily influenced by the work of Cao & Perfetti, Siok et al. However, the vast majority of their research focusses on Chinese dyslexics reading Chinese and English. I would hope to swap the focus to native English speakers reading Mandarin and English.

Significance: I believe my research to potentially be of great significance for dyslexic students and for the Scottish Government. At present Mandarin is not commonly given as a language choice for students and as such there are few trained Mandarin teachers. I have personally seen both the immediate and knock on benefits gained by dyslexic students learning Mandarin first hand and the continuing advantages it affords them. Also as the business ties with China for Scotland are increasing and more opportunities are opened between the two countries I believe that now is the time to provide evidence to support the choice for Mandarin to be taught in the classroom as a second language.

Proposed research methodology and methods: I intend to carry out both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Ideally, I would also like to have access to staff who are able and equipped to use MRI scanners to replicate the work of Cao& Perfetti, Siok et al… The majority of the research will be done via qualitative interview. I favour online surveys and phone calls as this allows a degree of anonymity, also negating the chances of researcher influence or bias. From the data produced by the quantitative and qualitative research a few suitable candidates would be asked to participate in the MRI scans if they are willing and if the means are available.

Outcome: The final outcome of this project would, hopefully, be good solid evidence of the benefits of learning Mandarin as a second language. It will take the form of a written thesis and a succinct report that can be presented to the Scottish government and schools.

Ethical Issues: The ethical issues involved with the quantitative and qualitative research are of low risk as the participants will be totally anonymous. However, should the MRI scans be possible then separate ethical considerations must be taken into account. By that point the participants will have been thoroughly vetted for suitability and made fully aware of the procedure and all possible outcomes.

The research is being carried out in association with Dyslexia Scotland.

As with all research institutions, University of Dundee has a rigorous Code of Practice governing research ethics - see the website https://www.dundee.ac.uk/research/ethics/

This project successfully funded on 29th November 2017