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Here you'll find advice from parents and teachers on special needs education.

Languages for dyslexics - MFL or Mandarin?

1 reply

ThisCalmUmberCrab · 11/05/2025 11:18

My son, age 11 has a formal diagnosis of dyslexia (report etc…) and will be starting high school in September.

Academically he is currently very able, but French is a different matter! He is very negative about it. Not only does he struggle with it, but he has a complete lack of interest to the extent that he doesn’t even try as in his words ‘absolutely pointless!’

At high school he’ll also be learning German 🫣

The school also runs a Mandarin in Excellence Programme. His attitude towards the idea of this was much more positive, but sadly there is high demand and he didn’t get a place (selected via a lottery system).

What I am looking for is more information as to whether Mandarin might be easier (as unusual as this might sound!) for my son to learn based on the way his dyslexia presents?

Has anyone being down a similar line of enquiry before or would know where to make a start?

What I am hoping to achieve is … either getting him on the Mandarin Excellence Programme (with supporting evidence) or have him privately tutored in Mandarin and removed from Modern Foreign Languages in school. BUT only if it is a viable option.

Where could I find a ‘super-specialist’ that could analyse his report alongside his strengths and weaknesses…paying particular attention to language-learning?

Grateful for any suggestions!

P.S. I am very aware that this thread is landing amongst threads where people have much greater needs than ours.

OP posts:
perpetualplatespinning · 11/05/2025 12:59

This depends on the individual, I think.

On being withdrawn from languages (or in schools who do 2 languages, only doing one) in school, this is quite a common reasonable adjustment in secondary schools. Although, some schools don’t have the staff for this if DC don’t have an EHCP.

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