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12 February 2018 Photo Supplied
UFS researcher programme aids pupils with ADHD and dyslexia
Dr Carol Goldfus

Many years ago, as a secondary school teacher, Dr Carol Goldfus from the University of the Free State’s Unit for Language Facilitation and Empowerment, realised that reading comprehension ought to be the focal point of teaching. She came to the conclusion that many adolescents were unable to gain fluency in English as a foreign language despite many years of study and that there were those who struggled with the foreign language. With her postgraduate specialisation in neuroscience and the merging of neuroscience and education, she developed a reading comprehension intervention programme.

Reading remains important

Contrary to what we believe, the world is not more visual – but rather more technical, Dr Goldfus explains, and reading with understanding remains of utmost importance in the twenty first century. “Literacy does not only mean reading, but also thinking fast,” she says, “with the ability to sift through the mass of available information. Without reading proficiency, people cannot succeed in a world with so much information. In fact, the ability to identify what is important, and what not, is more crucial than before.”

““It is our duty to give
pupils worldwide the ability
to cope with a sophisticated,
alienated, and technological world.”
—Dr Carol Goldfus
ULFE

One brain, many languages

Reading comprehension is the epicentre of Dr Goldfus’s approach to learning, and her intervention programme may benefit any pupil who is unable to cope with the demands of the academic setting, and can be applied to any language. These pupils include children from seventh to twelth grade (12 to 18 years of age) who read without comprehension, have dyslexia, dyscalculia (problems with maths), and ADHD (Attention Deficit with or without Hyperactivity), or have dropped out of an education setting. “My intervention programme is in English as a Foreign Langue (EFL) but is not static, since it is based on principles from neuroscience and linguistics that are placed in the world of education. Although it is for EFL, it has a backwash effect on mother-tongue reading competence as well. Each programme comprises certain core principles, like developing self-esteem, monitoring comprehension and learning, and developing long-term memory storage. Without remembering, there is no learning.”

No one wants to fail

Dr Goldfus feels that it is our duty to give pupils worldwide the ability to cope with a sophisticated, alienated, and technological world. “My goal is to turn failure into excellence through an understanding of how the brain works. That is what the programme and my research can offer: creating a brain that can support learning where each pupil can fulfil his or her potential.”

Her work is so noteworthy, that Dr Goldfus received a Blue Skies Grand from the National Research Foundation of South Africa for her research: Graphomotor synchronisation to musical stimulation as a diagnostic tool for dyslexia. This proposed interdisciplinary research addresses dyslexia, a language-related disability, through the language of music and encompasses three disciplines: music cognition, physics and education.

News Archive

International organised crime expert speaks at our university
2011-07-25

 

Prof. Johann Henning, Dean of our Faculty of Law and Prof. Barry Rider.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

Prof. Barry Rider, respected amongst others for the vital role he is playing in the struggle to combat money laundering and organised and economic crime delivered a lecture, Stewardship in Islamic Financial Law, at our university as part of the Faculty of Law’s Prestige Series of seminars.

He has taught mainly at Cambridge and London Universities and has delivered a valuable contribution as an academic in various fields of law. He has read papers and taught at more than 300 universities and conferences in more than 63 countries. He has also authored more than 35 legal handbooks and has made a substantial contribution to several more specialist publications. He is editor of, amongst others, The Company Lawyer, the International and Comparative Corporate Law Journal and the Journal of Financial Crime. His main areas of research are in financial law and the control of economic crime.
 
Prof. Rider has a relationship of more than twenty years with our university. In this time, he received the Doctor Legum (honoris causa) for his involvement with the drafting of money laundering and insider trading legislation. The university has also appointed him as Professor Honorarius in the Faculty of Law (only the second in its more than hundred-year history) for his vast and pivotal role in international law reform as an academic law reformer.
 
As part of his appointment as Honorary Professor in the Faculty of Law, Prof. Rider often delivers lectures in the faculty. During his recent visit, Prof. Rider’s lecture on Islamic Financial Law shed light on the importance of this topic in today’s economy, as money generated from Islamic businesses make up $750 billion to $trillion of the world’s economy. After 9/11, the West wanted to understand more about Islamic Financial Law.
 
The Islamic Financial Law system is determined by the Koran. For instance, Muslim business people cannot allow any payment of interest, as it is forbidden by the Koran.
 
Prof. Rider’s lecture on this very relevant topic was very insightful. As consultant to the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) he spoke with authority on the topic. He is the only British academic lawyer assisting this body.
 
Prof. Rider currently serves in an advisory capacity at the international law firm Bryan Cave LLP. Apart from the IFSB, he is also consultant to the Asian Development Bank.

 

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