Revista de Oncología Integrativa

DOLF Method - The use of multisensory teaching strategies in reading and writing learning (on Portuguese people)

Abstract

Ana Severino

Multisensory teaching: Multisensory teaching means that when information is presented, the learner is simultaneously using multiple senses. Visual (what we see), auditory (what we hear) and kinesthetic/tactile (what we feel) are the 3 primary senses that students use, and these correspond to the visual, auditory and motor (or muscle) memory. The more pathways and connections a student use for learning a new item of knowledge, the more pathways they have for retrieval of this information, enhancing memory and the learning of written language. This multisensory teaching strategies also increases listening, speaking, reading and writing skills development. It’s through multisensory methods, involving touch and movement, that the child is able to bridge the gap between oral and written language, facilitating the learning process. Teachers or therapists who use this approach teach children to link the sounds of the letters with the written symbol. In this way, multisensory learning is used as a form of prevention and/or intervention in children with learning difficulties and/or dyslexia, phonological and/or phonetic disorders. Método DOLF - Desenvolvimento Oral Linguístico e Fonológico: The DOLF Method stands for Oral, Linguistic and Phonological Development. It was created by two speech language pathologists with the purpose of establishing an effective technique to support their daily practice with children with learning difficulties. It´s an auxiliary tool in the learning of speech, language, reading and writing and uses multisensory teaching strategies, allowing the child to see, hear, speak, make the gesture and write. The DOLF method associates a gesture to each phoneme in the Portuguese language (sound), subsequently making the connection to its respective grapheme (letter. It draws attention to the movements of the mouth, the way they are articulated or how sounds are produced. The use of the gesture supports the auditory and visual memory triggering a supplementary memory: the motor memory (articulatory-motor). It’s a flexible method that can be applied according to the objective and through each student. The DOLF method can be applied by speech-language pathologists, teachers, psychologists or any technician who works with children with learning difficulties in reading and writing.