Contemporary Issues in Foreign Language Education by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9783031286551
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

6 FL Learning and Teaching: Findings, Recommendations

The available literature in the field of visual impairment and FL education shows that both researchers and practitioners’ interests revolve around determinants of visually impaired learners’ FL success. Two main facets may be distinguished here, namely didactic process and affective-cognitive traits. Undoubtedly they pose a challenge for contemporary language education in the context of learners with vision deficit.

FL success is an attainable goal if certain conditions are met. The inclusion policy requires from language teachers to introduce all necessary adaptations aimed at minimising the barriers to FL learning. This may be achieved by implementation of appropriate teaching methods and the choice of special didactic devices.

In line with the current language education recommendations communication is the main aim of modern language teaching. This may imply that speaking and listening should be prioritized, which works at advantage of visually impaired learners as they rely primarily on aural input. Yet, it should be emphasised that all four skills must be given equal weighting. Visually impaired students should be able to use Braille in a FL they are studying though they may be some students whose literacy skills cannot be assessed. As Mason et al. (1997) state reading and writing should be regarded as reinforcement skills rather than as means of access and assessment, particularly in the early stages of learning. The authors give a few practical tips to teachers who introduce writing and reading skills, namely they should concentrate on the spelling of individual words and phrases and then on the sounds of the words and the relationship between sound and shape. To achieve the abovementioned aims in teaching four skills both in mainstream and specialized settings, FL teachers need to adapt their teaching style to encourage students’ maximum access. The adaptation may involve the elements of cooperative language teaching which is particularly beneficial for students with vision loss and deficit. This type of teaching allows them to develop communication skills during peer-peer and team interactions without competing with each other. Apart from developing social skills the cooperative teaching method contributes to enhancement of visually impaired learners’ sense of responsibility and building a positive emotional bond between classmates (p. 255). Kalnbērzina (2008) who investigated the method in the specialized setting proved its high effectiveness, particularly in FL grammar learning. The method affected not only students’ academic attainments in grammar but also the level of social skills, enjoyment of learning and self-confidence. The researchers noticed, however, that cooperative language teaching did not appeal to all visually impaired students, particularly to introvert, inhibited ones at initial stages of their learning. Such learners were reported to express dissatisfaction with the method and reluctance to work in collaboration with other classmates.

Apart from cooperative language teaching the holistic approach to teaching the content is also advocated. Wyszyńska (2013) implemented such an approach in her experiment. The psycho-linguistic method Touching the World, as the author called it, treats a visually impaired learner as a whole together with their emotions and mental blockers. The

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