Online event: Special educational needs and disabilities in English language teaching
About the event
The UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) is observed every year on 3 December to:
'promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilise support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities.' United Nations
To support IDPD this year, British Council TeachingEnglish hosted a one-day event to support teachers of English with learners who have special educational needs or disabilities (SEND). The live event took place on 2 December 2022.
About the sessions
Session 1: Creating the inclusive classroom – practical first steps
Speaker
Marie Delaney
Session Information
Inclusion is a hot topic at the moment in many countries. Many teachers feel worried about trying to include students with additional educational needs in their classrooms. This has become even more challenging with the return to school after the COVID pandemic and the pressure to ‘catch up’. In this talk I will look at some of the myths around inclusion and give teachers some ways of identifying students who have additional needs. I will then offer some practical ways the English classroom can provide opportunities to work on inclusion and tips to create a safe, inclusive classroom where all students can achieve to the best of their ability.
Download Marie’s handout
Session 2: Inclusive teaching principles and strategies
Speaker
Katy Asbury
Session information
In early 2022, LearnJam carried out research for the British Council into how to best support teaching provision of special educational needs (SEN) in remote ELT settings in the Americas. In this session we will share the findings from our research, and how that has led to the 7-module toolkit that we have recently developed for the British Council. We will share content from the toolkit and describe how you can use principles and strategies from the modules to create a more inclusive teaching and learning environment in your classroom.
Download Katy’s pre-session task
Session 3: Supporting students who have ADHD
Speaker
Sarah Smith
Session information
An educator who understands ADHD can make a meaningful and long-lasting difference to many children’s lives. So, what exactly is ADHD and how does it manifest?
There are generally 3 types of ADHD, and while many teachers have been trained to recognise hyperactive and impulsive symptoms, other symptoms are harder to spot. This is why I, like many others, got diagnosed with ADHD as an adult.
The ADHD brain regulates attention and emotions differently to its neurotypical counterpart, and this can pose certain challenges in the classroom for both learners and their teachers. However, with the right support and encouragement, students with ADHD can thrive! Remember that ADHD is much more than a disability. People with ADHD are incredibly creative, tenacious, adventurous and empathetic, even if I do say so myself!
In this webinar, I’ll be drawing on my own experiences with ADHD as a student and an educator, sharing the most common ADHD symptoms, and exploring some techniques and activities that will support students with ADHD.
Download Sarah’s handout
Session 4: Divergence in EFL Teaching: Supporting Neurodivergent Students
Speakers
Ozgu Ozturk and Tuba Kizilkan
Session information
Education is undeniably a benefit for all children; nevertheless, for a small group of students, particularly those with learning disabilities, referred to as "neurodivergent students," learning a language might be more difficult and time-consuming than learning something else. Should we disregard them simply because that is the case? This presentation intends to demonstrate English as a foreign language teachers’ attitudes about EFL teaching to students with dyslexia, as well as some ideas and suggestions for intervention strategies. Two Turkish EFL specialists discuss their research and suggestions for supporting dyslexic learners in the EFL classroom. The presenters will offer a brief overview of dyslexia and describe the findings of their research. They will next deliver a session in which they will demonstrate how to use Mind Mapping and Assistive Technology to support students with dyslexia in the EFL classroom.
Session 5: Panel discussion: How to teach English as a foreign language inclusively
Speakers
Marie Delaney, Katy Asbury, Sarah Smith, Ozgu Ozturk and Tuba Kizilkan
Session information
In this final session, we discuss some of the key issues from each of the sessions and our panel of experts answer selected questions from participants who attended the previous sessions.
It is an excellent and very productive webinar!
Thanks again for your knowledge!