1. What are special educational needs?
The term ‘special educational needs’ – SEN for short – is imprecise at best. It is used to refer to learners with a wide range of needs, from students with cognitive and learning challenges like mild dyslexia and mild intellectual disability at one end of the spectrum, through to severe learning difficulties and autism at the other. It includes learners with behavioural challenges such as ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), or other social or emotional difficulties. It also includes those with physical challenges like visual or hearing impairments and mobility issues, including restricted movement and limited motor skills. Clearly, these very different needs require differing levels and types of support with learning.
2. Why might I have SEN learners in my language classroom?
There are two main approaches to dealing with SEN learners in education. On the one hand, we have what we might call a ‘deficit’ model. In this model, SEN learners are perceived to have a ‘problem’ which education should try to put right through special learning programmes in separate schools. This corresponds to a medical or clinical approach to SEN. On the other hand, we have a social, or inclusive, approach, in which SEN learners are considered to be unique individuals with their own strengths and weaknesses. In this model, SEN learners are integrated into mainstream schools, with specialists like educational psychologists helping teachers develop strategies and materials to support these learners in the classroom. Depending on the educational views and strategies for dealing with SEN that are prevalent in your context, you may well have learners with disabilities such as dyslexia, ADHD and mild-to-moderate intellectual disabilities, as well as physical special needs, integrated into your language classes.
3. What’s the connection between SEN learners and technology?
Technologies have been used to support SEN learners in general education for decades. For example, tape recorders were originally used to provide learners with audio prompts to help them understand and/or produce language. Later, MP3 players and portable DVD players could be used to deliver audio and video prompts, with the added advantage that SEN learners could carry these smaller technologies around with them, for support outside the classroom and in their daily lives. More recently, mobile devices such as tablet computers have been enthusiastically taken up by SEN educators, because of their assistive features – more on which below.
4. What are assistive technologies?
Mobile devices, especially tablet computers, include a range of assistive features that can support SEN language learners. For example, dyslexic learners can listen to, rather than read, an English text by activating a tablet’s audio capabilities. Conversely, learners with hearing impairments can have audio content transcribed into text by activating closed captions (subtitles not visible unless activated by the viewer) for video content on a tablet. The font and size of these subtitles can be changed, so that learners with visual impairments can easily read them. For students who may have better hearing in one ear, many tablets include a mono option in the sound settings; and hearing aids can be connected to some tablets via Bluetooth. For learners with motor-skill challenges, tactile screen settings can be changed from swipe movements to tapping movements, which are easier to control; also, the screen display on mobile devices can be locked into one position so that screen movement for these learners is reduced. Finally, some tablets include an ‘assistive touch’ feature that allows teachers to guide the students around the screen as they read.
Unsurprisingly, there is also a wide range of educational apps available for SEN learners, including those learning a second or foreign language. For example, for dyslexic learners, there are writing apps that can help them learn to spell letters by tracing them on a touch screen. Learners who find writing challenging can use text-to-speech apps that deliver written texts in audio format. Learners with hearing disabilities can use speech-to-text apps that can provide written transcripts of audio texts. More sophisticated apps can enable teachers to create video scenarios in order to help learners with autism or behavioural challenges to develop empathy and social skills.
5. Where can I find out more about supporting SEN learners?
The OUP English Language Teaching Global Blog:
- Five myths about teaching learners with SEN
- Teaching students with attention, concentration and hyperactivity difficulties
- Dyslexia – a problem or a gift?
Help organisations:
Nicky Hockly is Director of Pedagogy of The Consultants-E, an online teacher training and development consultancy. Her most recent books are Digital Literacies (Routledge), Webinars: A Cookbook for Educators (the-round.com), Going Mobile (Delta Publishing) and Focus on Learning Technologies, which will be published by OUP later this year. She maintains a blog at emoderationskills.com. Email: [email protected]
