Issues of assessment and second language learning in special education

This edited volume focuses on the learning and assessment of a second language within the context of special education. On the one hand, it examines the most appropriate ways of assessing the oral and written language skills of people with SEN in the second language. On the other hand, ways of learning oral and written language in a bilingual (second/foreign language) context by people with ASD are analysed and specific teaching interventions are proposed to provide educational support for these people. The areas studied in this paper are the following: assessment of bilingual populations in special education; identification of specific learning difficulties in children; translated mental vocabulary assessment tests; accessibility in language certification examinations; the role of memory in second language assessment in students with dyslexia, differentiated instruction in the foreign language classroom, teaching a foreign language to students with special educational needs in general and more specifically to students with dyslexia, hearing impairment, writing disorders and gifted students. Many applications of the above in different languages (such as Italian, Greek, English) in language assessment and in the teaching and learning of a foreign language through the lens of special education are also presented.