Dysorthographia: a teacher’s account of how she changed her practice
Marie has been teaching French at secondary school for fifteen years. For a long time, she marked the spelling mistakes of all her pupils without distinction — it was normal, it was expected. Then, the dysorthographia of a particularly bright pupil led her to question her practices. Today, she candidly shares her journey.
“I thought they weren’t making enough effort”
During the first ten years of my career, I was convinced that pupils who made a lot of spelling mistakes were not working hard enough. I remember one pupil in particular — Maxime, in Year 7 — who took part brilliantly in oral discussions and had remarkable ideas during class debates, but whose written work was riddled with mistakes. I corrected him severely. I told him he had to make more effort. He would leave with his head down.
It was Maxime’s speech and language therapist who changed everything. She contacted me to present Maxime’s assessment and explain his dysorthographia. In one hour, my view of twenty years of practice collapsed.
What I learned about dysorthographia
What the speech and language therapist explained to me that day is what I now teach to my colleagues. Dysorthographia is not a lack of effort — it is a real neurological disorder. A pupil with dysorthographia may understand a grammar rule perfectly and yet be unable to apply it automatically in writing. This is not a lack of goodwill — it is a difficulty with automatisation. And correcting all of their mistakes in red means drowning them without helping them progress.
The concrete changes I have put in place
Since that meeting, I have transformed the way I assess and support pupils with dysorthographia. I no longer penalise spelling in my subject assessments — I point it out, but it does not affect the content mark. I provide the texts in advance for the dictations of pupils who have a PAP. I allow the use of a computer with a spell checker for written work. And I assess written productions on substance — the richness of the ideas, the relevance of the analysis, the coherence of the argument — not on spelling.
The impact on Maxime and my other DYS pupils
Maxime’s transformation has been remarkable. Freed from the fear of making mistakes, he began producing written work of remarkable richness. His confidence has soared. In Year 9, he gave an oral presentation to the whole class on a topic of his choice — something he would never have dared to do two years earlier. He wanted to become a writer. I think he will get there.
Her message to other teachers
What I want to say to my colleagues: systematic red correction does not help dyslexic… pupils progress — it discourages them. Their talent deserves to be recognised despite their mistakes. Training teachers on DYS disorders should be compulsory. For resources and training on DYS disorders for teachers, lesdys.fr offers teaching guides and accessible webinars.
