An Interview About Dyslexia with Belma Erkan

Interviewer: What are some problems that children with dyslexia suffer from when learning English?

Belma Erkan: Every child with learning disabilities has different obstacles to overcome when it comes to learning English. So I can say that not every child has the same problem.

English is a very different language than Turkish. In Turkish, you read the letters as they’re written. That’s one of the reasons English is a very different language than Turkish. In English, each letter sounds different when another letter comes next to it. Because of this, it’s less likely to write as we hear or to read as it’s written. And that’s the most challenging problem for dyslexic students. If a student learned English by talking and chatting, it’s not a big problem with speaking but difficulties arise when it comes to writing and reading.

Interviewer: What is the reason that you are supporting this project?

Belma Erkan: Basically to raise awareness and to help dyslexic children who suffer from learning English. My goal is to do different things and to point to this problem. And I think the awareness that will be raised will help the dyslexic children. 

Interviewer: What do you think the students will benefit from this app?

Belma Erkan: First of all the students will have the chance to practice and they will do this practice from their phones and tablets which they enjoy spending time with. To provide a different study space for them will make the study more tempting. 

Interviewer: Have you ever studied with a similar application?

Belma Erkan: There are some applications about dyslexia on the Internet but they don’t serve the same purpose. Up to now, I haven’t seen an application intended for dyslexic children, especially about English.

Interviewers: Aslı Çaylak and Egesu Köseoğlu

Translator: Kayra Tuncer