A literature review was conducted in order to explore the international bibliography on middle school students with ADHD (Attention Deficit & Hyperactivity Disorder) who learn a second or foreign language. In this case, the target language will be Modern Greek (GSL or Greek as a Second Language), but it can be used as an example for learning any second or foreign language, especially English that is ESL (English as a Second Language), since the student population here is English-speaking. In particular, the student population discussed in this paper is Greek-Americans of first and second or even third generation whose primary language is English. Professional knowledge of both English and Greek languages and deep understanding of the linguistic, cultural and pedagogical aspects of using both languages in the teaching praxis are required for the teacher to demonstrate effectively when teaching this particular student population. The study focused on the unique challenges of Modern Greek, especially in parochial Greek Schools and their day and mostly afterschool programs. The study took into consideration students who were both Greek and non-Greek descent, but most of them of Greek dissent. The challenge for students with ADHD who are in the middle school is that they enter puberty and at the same time they need to learn a hard language with a different alphabet than their first language, English. Those of Greek dissent often receive a lot of pressure from their demanding and over-protective Greek-American family and at the same time they get very frustrated and tired after a long day in the public school (afterschool) or after dealing with the demanding standardized test-oriented American curriculum, which is an issue for every Middle School student, so it is even worse for the student with low attention span, impulse-control deficit and hyperactivity.
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This paper is based on a term paper submitted for the MA in Rehabilitation Counseling Program (School of Education, Counseling & Guidance Dept.) at the New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU) (2010-2013).
In-Text Citation: (Colombos, 2018)
To Cite this Article: Colombos, A. (2018). Teaching a Second or a Foreign Language to Middle School Students with ADHD: Modern Greek Taught as in the USA as an Example. Multilingual Academic Journal of Education and Social Sciences, 6(1), 1–11.
Copyright: © 2018 The Author(s)
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