ERIC Number: EJ1278807
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2011-6721
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
An Exploration of EFL Teachers' Experience with Learning Disability Training
Latin American Journal of Content and Language Integrated Learning, v13 n1 p114-134 Jan-Jun 2020
Approximately ten percent of learners have some sort of learning disability. This means that all English language instructors will encounter students with learning disabilities and could encounter students with learning disabilities in each class. Research has shown that different countries have varying degrees of infrastructure for identifying and accommodating learning disabilities. However, little research on the degree to which English language teachers in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts have received training for learning disabilities has been carried out. This study had three goals: first, to identify whether the participants in the study, all of whom were EFL instructors, had received training for identifying and accommodating students with learning disabilities; second, among the teachers who had received training, to find out specifically the types of training they had received; and finally, to find out whether training had helped these teachers develop competence in assisting students with learning disabilities. The data were collected through a survey of past and current EFL teachers. Overall, the findings revealed that the majority of English language teachers surveyed had little to no training for accommodating learning disabilities, and the majority indicated that they did not feel confident assisting students with learning disabilities. Recommendations from this study include creating greater awareness for identifying and accommodating learning disabilities in EFL contexts among administrators and teachers as well as suggestions for EFL teachers to improve their knowledge of learning disabilities independently.
Descriptors: Second Language Instruction, Second Language Learning, English (Second Language), Language Teachers, Learning Disabilities, Students with Disabilities, Academic Accommodations (Disabilities), Faculty Development, Identification, Teaching Methods, Teacher Attitudes, Self Efficacy, Knowledge Base for Teaching, Graduate Students, Doctoral Students, Masters Programs, Teacher Education Programs, Applied Linguistics, Literature, Foreign Countries
Universidad de La Sabana. Campus del Puente del Común, Km. 7, Autopista Norte de Bogotá. Chía, Cundinamarca, Colombia. Tel: +57-1-861-5555 Ext 41011; e-mail: laclil@unisabana.edu.co; Web site: http://laclil.unisabana.edu.co/index.php/LACLIL/index
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Pennsylvania
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A