Making chemical language easy

Every class is made up of a diversity of learners within which will be some students who have a particular difficulty accessing the subject. Students may have a general learning disability, including language and literacy skills acquisition, or may have specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia. Autism, visual and hearing impairment can also lead to difficulty with the language and literacy of a subject. Some students may not have a diagnosed special educational need but may have literacy difficulties that impact on their learning. While language and literacy difficulties may manifest themselves for a variety of reasons, the implications for teaching and learning may be quite similar and need to be addressed to allow access to the chemistry curriculum for all.

The focus of this article is on meeting students’ language and literacy needs within chemistry, with the aim of examining factors that may impact on teaching and learning. It considers some approaches that can be used, guided by the general approach of universal design for learning (UDL).