Unit 5.

4 Catering for SEN

Session 4: The notion of an inclusive EL classroom
Handout 1: Attitude to an inclusive classroom

Read about the teachers’ experiences of teaching children with special educational needs
and decide whether you agree or disagree with each teacher.
On a scale of 1 to 6, decide whether you agree with the views of each of the teachers.
1 = strongly disagree through to 6 = strongly agree

1 2 3 4 5 6
Teacher 1 - Marie option option option option option option

1 2 3 4 5 6
Teacher 2 - Jenny option option option option option option

1 2 3 4 5 6
Teacher 3 - John option option option option option option

1 2 3 4 5 6
Teacher 4 - Rob option option option option option option

1 2 3 4 5 6

Marie – Teacher 1
Many teachers are worried because they do not receive any specialist training about how to deal
with special educational needs in their classrooms. However, many classrooms around the world
now include children with special educational needs and teachers have to teach them. This unit is
designed to help teachers feel more confident about dealing with some of the main issues and
teaching problems.
Jenny – Teacher 2
There is a range of special educational needs and some children may need more specialist help.
However, most children in your classes are probably at the less severe end of the range. In
addition, parents sometimes want their children to be educated in school with other children and do
not want them to go to a special school. Other children can also learn tolerance and acceptance of
difference if they have children with special needs in their class.
John – Teacher 3
It is good to be curious and want to find out more. Flexibility and curiosity are helpful characteristics
in dealing with children who have special educational needs. You do not need to be an expert or a
psychologist but you do need to be prepared to learn more about the children in your class and
their difficulties. There are some basic teaching strategies which can help.
Robert – Teacher 4
Children with behavioural problems also have special educational needs, they have often not
learned appropriate behaviour and teachers can help with this. We need to see behaviour as a
form of communication. Behaviour is often telling us something about the child’s difficulties and
unmet needs. We cannot make assumptions about a child’s background. Poor behaviour also
impedes learning and as teachers we need to address problems which are stopping learning taking
place.
Unit 5.4 Catering for SEN
Session 4: The notion of an inclusive EL classroom
Handout 2: Feelings about inclusion

Select one answer to show how you feel about each of the following learners and how easy
it would be to include them in your future classroom.
1. Mirek is a child with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. He is in a children’s home because his
parents are dead. This is his third home in two years. He gets angry very easily and hits out at other children
when he is frustrated. He can be very rude to the teacher. He seems to trust no-one and often does not try to
do his work. He is good at maths and sports but has fallen behind in other subjects due to his continual
moves.
I feel _________ towards Mirek.

unsympathetic

a little sympathetic

sympathetic

very sympathetic

I feel it would be ________ to include Mirek in my lesson.

very difficult

difficult

easy

very easy
2. Joseph has dyslexia. He is active in class and very good orally. His reading and writing is poor and he
takes a long time to complete tasks. He is cheerful unless he has to do a lot of writing and then he gets
upset.
I feel _________ towards Joseph.

unsympathetic

a little sympathetic

sympathetic

very sympathetic

I feel it would be _________ to include Joseph in my lesson.

very difficult

difficult

easy

very easy

3. Farah is a refugee. She can speak very little of your L1 and her parents use their own language at home.
No-one in your school speaks her language. She is shy and seems quite nervous.
I feel ________ towards Farah.

unsympathetic

a little sympathetic

sympathetic

very sympathetic
I feel it would be _________ to include Farah in my lesson.

very difficult

difficult

easy

very easy

4. Miriam is visually impaired. She can only see some light and dark. She uses a braille reader and has a
helper in her class. Miriam is a lively, extroverted student.
I feel... ...towards Miriam.

unsympathetic

a little sympathetic

sympathetic

very sympathetic

I feel it would be ________ to include Miriam in my lesson.

very difficult

difficult

easy

very easy

Information text
We all have personal sympathies and biases. You will notice that you feel more sympathetic towards some
of the children and that you find some easier to teach. We, as teachers, need to be aware of our own
sympathies and biases and make sure we give all pupils the same opportunities in class. We might need to
work with other colleagues to do this. We need also to realise that some children’s difficulties are more long
term or permanent than others. This will have an impact on our teaching methods.
For example,
Miriam’s difficulties are long-term and permanent. Her teachers will need to have a plan which will work
during her whole time at school.
Farah might learn the L1 of her country and become more confident in general in learning. Over time she
might no longer need extra help and not be considered to have special educational needs.
Joseph's reading and writing problems may improve with the right support and he might become a more
confident learner. He will always have dyslexia.
Mirek's problems may be more long term and difficult to overcome. He will need a plan throughout his
schooling and probably he will need on-going support.
Unit 5.4 Catering for SEN
Session 4: The notion of an inclusive EL classroom
Handout 3: General principles for inclusion within the classroom

I. Read the text and identify principles for inclusion within the classroom.
All good teaching strategies and techniques include the planning and stating of carefully balanced,
varied learning sequences with clear achievable objectives, so learners know what is expected
from them. In addition, a well-managed classroom will be one where routines are established,
classroom dynamics analysed and class layout and seating arrangements planned accordingly to
accommodate diversity and provide equal opportunities for all learners. You will recognise many of
the suggestions below as standard techniques for any classroom.

Many learners can have difficulty paying attention without having an attention deficit disorder. They
may have trouble focusing because they are anxious, upset and not feeling well, or simply bored.
Do not make any learner stand out as being different, needy or the subject of any special attention.
Ensure that all learners can see and hear you and other learners. Present information in a variety
of ways in order to accommodate different learning styles (auditory, visual, kinaesthetic).
Factors that mitigate against an inclusive classroom include poor materials, misunderstandings,
lack of communication, inappropriate teaching methods, poor or insufficient planning and an
unsuitable classroom environment.

II. In a small group, make a list of these principles.

III. Get into one group and prepare a poster presentation of the principles.

Borrowed from: Creating an inclusive learning experience for English language learners with specific needs:
Case studies from around the British Council’s global network. British Council, 2012. 56 p. Accessed on 19
September 2018 at www.teachingenglish.org.uk
Unit 5.4 Catering for SEN
Session 4: The notion of an inclusive EL classroom
Handout 4: Resource: Teaching strategies which make English learning accessible to all

To foster an inclusive learning experience a teacher should think carefully about the following:

The classroom environment

 Consider the layout of the room and how you can improve it.
 Is it easy for the class to work in pairs without having to move lots of furniture?
 Is there an area that can be used for role-play?
 Is there a quiet area?
 Look at equipment such as interactive white boards, MP3/CD/cassette players, laptops, realia, flashcards,
etc. and decide how best to use them.
 If you are using Language Masters, are they easy to get out?
 If anyone is using a laptop, are they within easy reach of the power socket?
 Is your room stimulating enough but not over stimulating for any learners with Autistic spectrum disorder?
Often classrooms are full of equipment and walls full of posters, maps and pictures that can cause
sensory overload, for some learners.
 Make one corner a stimulus-free area where people can sit and think or engage in quiet study. Make sure
that this is not seen as ‘the naughty corner’ but a place where learners can go to work alone or in pairs.
 Change displays often. They lose their appeal quite quickly.
 Encourage learners to make things for the wall. They often remember things that they have touched and
constructed much more clearly than pieces of writing.
 Interactive white boards are becoming increasingly popular; they are easy to integrate sound and video
as part of the lesson and they can more clearly demonstrate the relationship between the written word
and what is heard.
 Colours and pictures reach out to a wider range of learning styles and those who are visual learners will
benefit greatly from their use.
 The printout facility on an interactive white board can help to reinforce messages and encourage peer
discussion. Printouts are especially useful for learners with dyslexia, who copy inaccurately and may have
short-term memory problems.

Learning styles

Auditory learners benefit from:

 sounding out words when reading
 verbal instructions
 the use of audio tapes / CD / MP3
 rehearsing information, repeating it many times to pronounce the sounds correctly.
Visual learners benefit from:
 the use of visual diagrams
 the use of video, flashcards, charts and maps
 practising visualising words and ideas
 writing out notes for frequent and quick visual scan and review.
Kinaesthetic/tactile learners benefit from:
 tracing words as they are being spoken
 learning facts by writing them out several times
 moving around while studying
 taking risks in learning
 making written notes but also discussing these with others
 making study plans.

Differentiation within tasks

 Adapt tasks to take account of all levels of ability from the most able to those needing the most support.
 Make sure that tasks are adapted according to their mode of input and output; visual, audio, text, etc. as
well as the resources that are used within the activity.
 Make sure that the differentiation takes into account learning styles, particularly for learners with specific
needs.

Resources
 Illustrations are a vital ingredient, whether they are photographs, drawings or cartoons. They motivate
most learners and in many cases give visual clues to the accompanying text. This is helpful to all
 learners, especially those who have a strong visual memory; illustrations also break up text into more
manageable chunks.
 Many learners find reading difficult for a variety of reasons. The majority of texts are still black print on a
white background and this is uncomfortable for some categories of readers. Learners with dyslexia may
use a coloured plastic overlay to obviate the problem of ‘glare’. However, they may still find it harder to
write on white paper.
 Use a range of coloured pens and paper for homework or ‘best work’.
 When producing your own materials, make sure that the font is Arial, Comic Sans, Sassoon or New
Century Schoolbook. Font size 12 or 14 is best for most learners. Bold is fine but italic is hard to read.
Use double or 1,5 line spacing to help learners who have problems with visual tracking. Use lots of
headings and sub-headings as signposts.
Positive Communication

Verbal:
 use simple understandable words
 use the learners first name
 use a moderate rate of speech
 use a moderate and varied tone
 praise good behaviour
 use humour to reduce tension
 give clear instructions
 reflect back and clarify statements
 be non-judgemental
 use ‘I’ statements
 answer questions about self
 respond to the primary message
 summarise
 phrase interpretations tentatively to elicit genuine response.
Non-verbal:
 look at the person who is speaking
 maintain good eye contact
 lean your body towards the listener
 smile
 nod your head
 use touch and praise
 use facial animation
 use occasional hand gestures.
Good communication is important to avoid misunderstandings that could lead to bad behaviour.

Managing behaviour

 be polite; encourage children to say please and thank you

 be fair
 smile
 give praise
 encourage children to put things right/make amends
 help children get out of difficulties
 chat to children about their interests and yours
 label the act NOT the child, e.g. that was unkind, not YOU are unkind
 reward positive behaviour with stickers, certificates and badges
 give children the opportunity to choose to follow the rule and remind them of the consequence if they
choose not to. This helps them become more responsible for their behaviour.

Borrowed from: Creating an inclusive learning experience for English language learners with specific needs: Case
studies from around the British Council’s global network. British Council, 2012. 56 p. Accessed on 19 September 2018 at
www.teachingenglish.org.uk

Follow-up:

Read the information in the blog How to make inclusion work in the classroom

http://www.weareteachers.com/blogs/make-inclusion-work-in-your-classroom?
utm_source=WeAreTeachers&utm_medium=BlogSeries_Blog3&utm_campaign=Brookes_WAT