Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal

Teaching English as a Foreign/Second Language Students with Specific Learning Difficulties

Karmen Pižorn — 2022-12-28

Disability, Inclusion and Language-in-Education Policy in the Global South: The Colombian Context

Rosa Dene David — 2022-12-28

This paper calls for a shift related to English language-in-education policy and inclusive education initiatives in Colombia to ensure that English language learners with disabilities receive equitable and inclusive classroom instruction that is context-appropriate. We call for English language initiatives and policies to draw from theories and practices from both the Global South and the Global North in order to teach towards inclusive education. Trends in both English language teaching and inclusive education have drawn upon the Global North for solutions, which cannot be systemised to fit one international standard. Instead, using the Colombian context as an example, the present paper suggests a localised approach to meeting the educational needs of English language learners that incorporates inclusive education at the institutional level. This model would favour the work of scholars within the region to ensure that all students receive equitable classroom instruction that builds in Global South epistemologies and localised ways of knowing.

The Universal Genre Sphere: A Curricular Model Integrating GBA and UDL to Promote Equitable Academic Writing Instruction for EAL University Students

Rosa Dene David — 2022-12-28

This paper proposes the design of an instructional model, referred to as the universal genre sphere, for teaching academic writing in a manner appropriate to all learners, but developed especially with consideration for the needs of English as additional language students with or without diagnosed learning differences. Despite growing research on, variously, second-language writing, English as an additional language and learning differences, there has been relatively little work that explores approaches to the intersections of these topics. Thus, the proposed universal genre sphere model is founded on the pillars of universal design for learning and the tenets of the genre-based approach, especially the teaching-learning cycle, to create more equitable and inclusive, as well as effective, learning environments. The universal genre sphere balances inclusive design that draws upon students’ interests, while breaking learning into manageable and adjustable segments, thus making academic writing more accessible to a greater number of learners. The combination of universal design for learning and the genre-based approach represents an opportunity to create a shift in second-language writing instruction (and, potentially, in L1 writing instruction) that aligns with the principles of inclusive education by reducing barriers in the classroom and providing students with multiple pathways to participate, which could do much to advance knowledge about more inclusive, equitable and effective writing instruction for all learners.

The Influence of Technology in Educating English Language Learners at-risk or with Disabilities: A Systematic Review

Yizhe Jiang — 2022-12-28

With the development of technology, the quantity and quality of electronic devices for students learning English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL) are on the rise, especially since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. To facilitate practices in English language education for students with special needs, the researchers conducted a systematic review of the empirical studies of technology tools for ESL/EFL students with learning difficulties published in the previous two decades. This paper presents the study selection process and findings of the review based on 16 peer-reviewed journal articles and one book chapter. The paper reveals the frequent mental and physical difficulties of English language learning and the typical technology tools employed in and out of class. More importantly, this paper discusses the roles of these technology tools in students’ English language acquisition, specifically their effects on student learning outcomes and the students’ perceptions toward them. With limited primary sources, this paper calls for more attention to the use of technology in English language learning of ESL/EFL students identified as at-risk and with learning disabilities and raises some implications for future research and instructional practices.

Meeting the Needs of Learners with Specific Learning Difficulties in Online and Face-to-Face Language Classrooms: Teacher Beliefs and Practices

Oksana Afitska — 2022-12-28

Drawing on communities of practice and social cognitive learning theories, this paper explores language teachers’ beliefs, knowledge and practices concerning the provision of high-quality education to learners with specific learning difficulties in various educational settings around the world. The data sample for this paper comprises qualitative data (video-recorded interviews and teaching resources) collected from six teachers working across various educational settings (primary, secondary, college and university) across several geographical areas (Europe, Middle East, and Southeast Asia). Thematic analysis was adopted to analyse the data. The findings suggest that teachers continue to experience challenges in educating learners with specific learning difficulties regardless of the educational setting. Limited opportunities for receiving specialised training in this area have been identified by several teachers as one of the key factors affecting the quality of their practice. The change in the mode of instruction from face-to-face to online was not always reported as negatively affecting the quality of educational provision to learners with specific learning difficulties. Technology-assisted online lesson delivery was seen as being advantageous to learners with some types of learning difficulties. Findings from this paper can be useful to teacher-practitioners and teacher-educators who are interested in improving the quality of language education for learners with specific learning difficulties.

Undergraduate and Graduate Students’ Beliefs about Dyslexia: Implications for Initial Foreign Language Teacher Education

Alma Žero — 2022-12-28

The purpose of this study was to explore undergraduate and graduate students’ beliefs about dyslexia at the Department of English Language and Literature of the University of Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina and subsequent implications for initial foreign language teacher education. The study follows a convergent parallel mixed methods design. A questionnaire was used to gather quantitative data on students’ beliefs about dyslexia and to consider potential variances at different levels of study. A group interview was used to gather qualitative findings for further consideration in initial teacher education on dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties. The findings have shown that both undergraduate and graduate students have an almost equal number of misconceptions about dyslexia, with the majority (96.03%) affirming that they need more training in teaching students with dyslexia or other specific learning difficulties. Furthermore, the study follows an emergent framework with reference to three main themes: (1) teacher beliefs and attitudes, (2) teaching practices, and (3) teacher preparation, which also reflect the main areas of undergraduate and graduate students’ concerns in teaching students with dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties.

Inclusive Teaching Practices with Learners with Dyslexia: Face-To-Face Training-Induced Changes in Foreign Language Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Beliefs, Concerns and Attitudes

Joanna Nijakowska — 2022-12-28

The survey research reported in this paper aimed to show how foreign language teachers’ (N = 69) self-efficacy beliefs and concerns related to implementing inclusive instructional practices with learners with dyslexia, as well as their attitudes to inclusion in foreign language education, change as a result of the teachers’ participation in an intensive face-to-face course on dyslexia and foreign language teaching. The pre-post comparisons identified a statistically significant improvement in self-efficacy beliefs and attitudes, with large and medium effect sizes, respectively, as well as a decrease in concerns, with a small effect size. Moreover, the perceived level of knowledge of dyslexia reported by course participants after the course increased significantly compared to pre-course knowledge, with a large effect size. The perceptions of knowledge were crucially related to pre-course self-efficacy beliefs and concerns, as well as to post-course self-efficacy beliefs. The impact of several background variables on self-efficacy beliefs, concerns and attitudes was investigated. We found no significant effects of general teaching experience, experience in teaching learners with dyslexia, teaching context (country), full-time employment and level of education on self-efficacy beliefs and attitudes both before and after the course. The initial effect of previous training on self-efficacy beliefs disappeared in the post-course questionnaire. No significant effects of previous training were observed for pre-course and post-course concerns and attitudes. The initial effect of level of education and experience in teaching a foreign language to learners with dyslexia on concerns disappeared in the post-course questionnaire. Teaching context (country) and full-time employment differentiated participants with regard to how concerned they were about implementing inclusive teaching before the course, and these differences persisted after the course. Age differentiated participants in the attitudes to inclusion they held before the course, but this difference disappeared after the course. Finally, teacher trainers differed significantly from other course participants regarding pre-course self-efficacy and post-course concerns, with a small to medium effect size.

Dyslexia and English as a Foreign Language in Norwegian Primary Education: A Mixed Methods Intervention Study

Christopher Flaten Jarsve — 2022-12-28

Τhe current study explored the effect of specific teaching accommodations for English language learners with dyslexia in a Norwegian primary school. Specifically, this single group intervention project investigated the impact of a range of multisensory techniques on spelling skills and motivation. Participants included a special education teacher and five dyslexic pupils from the fifth and sixth grades. Pre- and post-tests were administered to observe development in spelling, while data were also collected via a pupil evaluation questionnaire and a teacher interview after the intervention. The findings revealed that the intervention was quite successful. The group exhibited substantial differences in mean scores between the pre- and post-test. However, there were individual differences in scores and comorbid disorders appeared to impact the effectiveness of the intervention. Nonetheless, all of the pupils reported gains in their motivation and improvement in their attitude towards learning English, which was confirmed by their special education teacher. The paper concludes by offering specific didactic suggestions regarding accommodations for English language learners with dyslexia.

Participation in Intervention Programmes of Children with Poor Reading Skills in Hungary

Zsóka Sipos — 2022-12-28

In this century, the value of information has become more significant; reflecting this change, focus has shifted to preparing pupils for the functional use of reading. Therefore, the latest international assessments of reading literacy are set up to address this kind of knowledge. Significant numbers of individuals are performing below the minimum level in these assessments in Hungary, signalling lower capacity for participation in the community. When attempting to eliminate functional illiteracy, it is crucial to analyse the present support system, and the efficiency of recognising reading problems in the early stages, in order to improve the provision of education systematically. When examining the probable causes of the struggle to comprehend texts, one of the prerequisites of understanding written language is appropriate decoding. This research focuses on investigating the access to intervention programmes of 5^th-grade children with poor reading skills. The speed and accuracy of the aloud reading of 957 pupils attending mainstream classrooms were measured and compared to the data regarding the participation in rehabilitation programmes. The most relevant finding of the research was that only less than half of the children with poor reading skills receive help to improve their performance; 55% of slow readers and 60% of non-accurate readers were left without support, even though their performance is significantly worse than that of their peers. This finding indicates the need to revise the screening system and necessitates more extensive and less diagnosis-based access to intervention programmes.

The Collaborative Wall: A Technological Means to Improving the Teaching-Learning Process about Physics

Ricardo-Adán Salas-Rueda — 2022-12-28

Nowadays, teachers seek to improve learning conditions and build new educational spaces through technological advances. This mixed research aims to analyse students’ perceptions about the use of the collaborative wall in the teaching-learning process for physics, considering data science. The collaborative wall is a web application that allows the participation of the students in the classroom through the dissemination of text and images. The participants are 77 students of the National Preparatory School No. 7 ‘Ezequiel A. Chávez’ who took the course of Physics IV during the 2019 school year. At home, these students searched for and consulted information about the physics of hearing in order to create their infographics collaboratively using the Piktochart software. During the face-to-face sessions, the teacher of the course of Physics IV requested the creation of teams (maximum six members) to carry out the collaborative activities and used the projector to show the collaborative wall. Subsequently, each team uploaded their infographics on the collaborative wall through mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones to initiate the discussion of the Physics of Hearing topics. The results of machine learning (linear regression) indicate that the dissemination of infographics on the collaborative wall positively influences participation in the classroom, students’ motivation, and the learning process about the physics of hearing. Data science identifies three predictive models about using the collaborative wall in physics through the decision tree technique. Finally, the collaborative wall facilitates the active role of the students during the face-to-face sessions, communication in the classroom and realisation of the collaborative activities.

Insights into Engineering Education Teaching Practice in Slovenian Primary Schools during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Distance Learning Model

Bernarda Urankar — 2022-12-28

When the Covid-19 pandemic started in March 2020, the educational process had to be redesigned to meet current needs. At the Faculty of Education of the University of Ljubljana, pre-service engineering and technology teachers (3^rd and 4^th years of undergraduate two-subject teachers’ study programme) are obliged to complete a teaching practice in educational institutions and submit a teaching practice diary. Due to the closure of primary schools, the teaching practice was transformed to distance/online practice. This empirical study examines a recently developed intuitive model for distance learning, which took place during the teaching practice. Teaching practice diaries served as an instrument for gathering data. The sample size encompasses 56 lesson plan activities for the compulsory primary school Design and Technology subject for students aged 12–15 years at 15 primary schools in different parts of Slovenia carried out during online teaching practice by 11 pre-service technology teachers in the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 academic years. The research methodology is focused on lesson-type determination and model elements analysis in lesson plan making and implementation activity. Distance learning model elements are evaluated with regard to online/offline learning tools from e-learning platforms to engineering education field-specific tools (e.g., technical drawings and electric circuits). Online teaching practice was as new for pre-service technology teachers and teacher-mentors as online learning was new for students. The advantages and disadvantages are highlighted. Furthermore, the distance learning model from the first Covid-19 wave teaching practice was adapted to challenge the second Covid-19 wave. The pandemic has enabled the rise of blended learning, which has been gaining focus in secondary and higher education levels in recent years; however, it encountered obstacles when entering the primary school domain. How to encompass blended learning into the evolved distance learning model will be shown.

Michele Daloiso, Supporting Learners with Dyslexia in the ELT Classroom, Oxford University Press, 2017; 213 pp.: ISBN 978-0194403320

Alma Žero — 2022-12-28

Irena Lesar and Mojca Peček (Eds.), Immigrants in Slovenia through the research prism of students of the Faculty of Education, University in Ljubljana, Faculty of Education, 2021, 276 pp.: ISBN 978-961-253-276-5 )

Špela Razpotnik — 2022-12-28