Adaptations for Teaching Children with Special Educational Needs in ESL Context

Abstract

Public policy for inclusive education in Ecuador favors the entry of students with Special Education Needs into conventional schools. However, teachers require to develop adaptations to improve their work with students who have such conditions. This research aims to study the contribution of audiovisuals in adaptations and modifications for teaching English Language to a child reported with attention-deficit. This case of study refers to a boy attending the 4th Grade of elementary school in Manta-Ecuador. The research team designed a 10-sessions educational intervention for stimulating the child attention and improving his communication skills in English as a foreign language. A mixture of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies is applied to determine the participant’s English language skills evolution. This work also introduces teaching strategies that convine games and technology to support the vocabulary acquisition process of children with physical or intellectual disabilities. Results show how the videos catch and keep the participant’s attention during more time; and how the voice self-recording supports his listening and speaking practice. Such circumstance opens multiple possibilities to innovate the current adaptations and modifications for improving the teaching and learning process of children with special educational needs in ESL context.