Master thesis English teaching methodology: Teaching English as a foreign language to students at a blind school in Hanoi

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

------

HOÀNG THỊ TRANG

TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

TO STUDENTS AT A BLIND SCHOOL IN HANOI

(Nghiên cứu về việc dạy Tiếng Anh như là một ngoại ngữ cho học sinh

khiếm thị ở một trường chuyên biệt ở Hà Nội)

M.A. Minor Thesis

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 8140231.01

HANOI – 2020

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

------

HOÀNG THỊ TRANG

TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

TO STUDENTS AT A BLIND SCHOOL IN HANOI

(Nghiên cứu về việc dạy Tiếng Anh như là một ngoại ngữ cho học sinh

khiếm thị ở một trường chuyên biệt ở Hà Nội)

M.A. Minor Thesis

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 8140231.01

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Nguyễn Hòa

HANOI – 2020

DECLARATION

I certify that the thesis entitled “Teaching English as a Foreign Language to students at a Blind school in Hanoi” is the results of my own research for the Degree of Master of Arts at The University of Languages and International Studies – VNU, Hanoi, and the substance of this research has not been submitted for a degree to any other university or institution wholly or partly.

i

Signature Hoang Thi Trang Hanoi, 2020

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis could not have been completed without the help and support from a number of people. First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Professor. Nguyen Hoa who has given me much invaluable advice and encouragement since the beginning and has always been my frequent secure of many valuable insights. I am also grateful to his for reading my manuscript and helping me make the necessary changes. In addition, I would like to send my sincere thanks to all of the lecturers of the Department of Post Graduate Studies, Vietnam National University for their useful lectures and materials which are great of value to my thesis. A special word of thanks goes to all the teachers and students at School X for their participation in completing the project. I also want to send my appreciativeness to my family, my friends and other people who have encouraged, assisted and supported me during the process of this project. Finally, due to the limited time to complete this work, it is unavoidable to have the mistakes; therefore I am solely responsible for them and would like to have comments from others who concern to my study.

ii

Hanoi, September 2020 Hoang Thi Trang

iii

ABSTRACT In an attempt to investigate the reality of English teaching and learning in a secondary school for the disabled (the Blind and Visually Impaired) in Hanoi (hereinafter called School X), the main purposes of the research were to find out: (1) the reality in teaching and learning English to blind and visually impaired students; (2) the difficulties in teaching and learning English via the teachers and students‟ self- reported difficulties they faced with; (3) the reasons why the teachers and students have these difficulties in teaching and learning English; (4) the ways to help teachers and students reduce difficulties they have in teaching and learning English. To conduct the research, I used the descriptive qualitative method. The subjects of the study were eight randomly selected blind and low- vision students and four English teachers at School X. The data was collected from class observation and interview. The results of the research shows that: (1) The process in teaching and learning English to visual impaired students in inclusion class at School X are still teacher- centered, so the students are learning depend on the teacher‟s instruction; the English materials for visually impaired students are same with normal students; (2) The problems faced by teachers and visual impaired students in teaching and learning English in inclusion class; (3) The solving of the problems faced in teaching and learning English by teachers and visual impaired students. It is hoped that this thesis will improve the teaching and learning English process more successful at School X in particular and all the secondary schools for blind and low vision students in general. Key words: visually impaired students, language learning, language teaching, challenges

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LISTS OF TABLES

v

Table 1: Students‟ reasons for learning English (N=8) ............................................28 Table 2: Students‟ opinions about the importance of learning English (N=8) .........28 Table 3: Students‟ opinions about the importance of learning English in comparison with other subjects (N=8) ..........................................................................................29 Table 4: Students‟ opinions about their passion learning English (N=8) .................29 Table 5: Students‟ learning competence (N=8) ........................................................29 Table 6: Students‟ opinions about the importance of good marks (N=8) .................30 Table 7: Students‟ attitude to English lessons (N=8) ................................................30 Table 8: Students‟ feeling in English lessons (N=8) ................................................30 Table 9: Factors affecting students in learning English (N=8) .................................31 Table 10: Students‟ opinion when they are learning English in class (N=8) ...........32 Table 11: Students‟ opinion when having difficulties in learning English (N=8) ....32 Table 12: Students‟ opinion about the most difficult aspect (s) in learning English (N=8) .........................................................................................................................33 Table 13: Students‟ opinions about English learning activities (N= 8) ....................34 Table 14: Students‟ materials for learning English better (N=8) ..............................34 Table 15: Students‟ evaluation on their textbooks (N=8) .........................................35 Table 16: Students‟ difficulties in learning English (N=8) .......................................35 Table 17: Students‟ solutions to improve their English (N=8) .................................36 Table 18: Students‟ suggested solutions to improve their English (N= 8) ...............36 Table 19: Information about teachers participating in the survey (N= 4).................37 Table 20: Teachers‟ years of teaching English and teachers‟ years of teaching English to blind and low vision (N=4) ......................................................................37 Table 21: Teachers‟ training background (N=4).......................................................37 Table 22: Teachers‟ opinions about the importance of teaching and learning English (N=4) .........................................................................................................................38 Table 23: Teachers‟ opinion about the importance of learning English in comparison with other subjects (N=4) ......................................................................38 Table 24: Teachers‟ and students‟ opinions about student‟s passion learning English (N=4) .........................................................................................................................39 Table 25: Teachers‟ judgment about students‟ learning competence (N=4) ............39 Table 26: Teachers‟ attitudes toward English teaching aim (N=4) ..........................39 Table 27: Aspects that teachers‟ focus on in their teaching English (N=4)..............40

vi

Table 28: Teachers‟ opinions about the most suitable method for their teaching English (N=4) ............................................................................................................40 Table 29: Techniques are often used by teachers in teaching English (N=4) ...........41 Table 30: Ways of using the textbook of the respondents (N= 4) ............................42 Table 31: Frequency of using other materials besides the textbooks in teaching English (N= 4) ...........................................................................................................42 Table 32: Frequency of using the mother tongue in teaching English of the participants (N=4) .....................................................................................................43 Table 33: Some cases of using the mother tongue in teaching English of the participants (N=4) .....................................................................................................43 Table 34: Teaching strategies often used in teaching English (N=4) .......................44 Table 35: Factors affecting the teachers‟ language teaching (N=4) .........................45 Table 36: Teachers‟ solutions to improve English language teaching (N=4) ...........45 Table 37: Teachers‟ suggested solutions to improve their English teaching (N=4) .46

1

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION This chapter presents the rationale of the study, the aims of the study, the research questions and methods used to achieve the aims. The scope and significance of the study are also presented. Finally, the chapter introduces the structure of the thesis. 1.1. Rationale of the study In the context of integration and globalization, English is now becoming one of the most effective means of communication in the world and Vietnam is also no exception. Hence, foreign language teaching and learning, especially English, is more and more essential and the master of foreign language – English - appears as an urgent requirement at present. As a result, there has been a positive trend of teaching and learning English in Vietnam. People, from children to adults, are being stimulated to study English for a better life, which takes no exception to the blind people. However, it is assumed that blind and visually impaired foreign language learners experience more difficulties in their learning process than sighted learners. The obstacles derive mainly from the absence or reduce input of visual information which may negatively influence the teaching/ learning process. In addition, the opportunities for incidental/ implicit foreign language learning/ acquisition are limited in the case of low- vision or blindness. As Aiazzi (2005) states in her project that “eighty percent of learning is through sight”, it could be implied that teaching English for the blind is confronted with quite a few problems. For example, in a class with blind students, teachers cannot use many teaching techniques such as “writing on the board, gesturing, miming and showing objects to pupils” (Aiazzi, 2007: 1). Therefore, how to teach English to blind and visual impaired students has been a controversial issue. Thus, investigating the reality of teaching English in blind schools should be carried out in order to identify the difficulties that teachers and students there encounter and the factors that affect their English teaching and learning process. Moreover, concerning “teaching English to the blind people” helps me realize that this area has received little attention from the specialists. There is not much research carried out on this problem especially in Vietnam, there is no study conducted to investigate the difficulties in teaching and learning English to the blind students, which is a considerable disadvantage to people with visual limitations.

2

Because of these all above mentioned reasons, I have decided to conduct a research titled: “Teaching English as a Foreign Language to students at a Blind school in Hanoi”. This study helps us to have a deep understanding about teachers‟ and students‟ difficulties in teaching and learning English. In general, it can be affected by a variety of factors coming from teachers‟ side, students‟ side and classroom condition. Through this study, I expect to find out some appropriate solutions to overcome the difficulties for more successful teaching and learning English at School X. 1.2. Aims of the study This research is designed to explore the difficulties in teaching and learning English as a foreign language to blind and low vision students at School X through teacher and students‟ self- reported difficulties they encountered in teaching and learning English. With the hope to be some of help to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning English to blind and visually impaired students at School X, it is expected to achieve the following aims: (i) To explore the reality of teaching and learning English to blind and visually students at School X and investigate the difficulties in teaching and learning English via the teachers and students‟ self- reported difficulties they faced with. (ii) To gain understanding of why the teachers and students have these difficulties in teaching and learning English process in order to suggest some solutions to help teachers and students reduce difficulties they have in teaching and learning English in context of a blind school in Hanoi. 1.3. Research questions In order to achieve the mentioned aims above, the following research questions are raised for this study: 1. What difficulties do teachers and students at School X encounter in teaching and learning English as a foreign language? 2. Why do they have those difficulties? 1.4. Methods of the study This is a survey study, and the major method used for the study is qualitative. Data were collected via interviews for both teachers and students and classroom observations. The study was carried out by some steps as follows: First, the interviews for both the teachers and students were employed to find out their difficulties in teaching and learning English and also help the researcher gain deep insight into the teaching and learning problems and realize the reasons behinds

3

them. Besides, the students‟ opinions of the solutions that they and their teachers can do to overcome the problems was revealed through the interviews. Second, the classroom observation was employed to get information about both teachers‟ ways of teaching and students‟ ways of learning in class as well as to ascertain the prevalent problems forwarded by the teachers during the interviews. After that, the data was collected, sorted, and analyzed qualitatively to obtain realistic results. From that, the researcher will give some suggestions to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning English to blind and visually impaired students. 1.5. Scope of the study The study aims at finding out the difficulties in teaching and learning English faced by teachers and students at a blind school in Hanoi in teaching and learning English as a foreign language. There is no intention to generalize the results. In other words, what is true to the group of students participating in this study may not be true to other groups of students. There are many types of difficulties that teachers and learners met when they taught and studied a foreign language. However, due to the limitation of time and the narrow scale, the study only focused on the most common difficulties in teaching and learning English faced by teachers and students at School X from the perspectives of teachers and students in order to offer some suggestions for improvement. 1.6. Significance of the study Theoretically, the result of this research is expected to give contribution for the science in English teaching and learning process, especially for visual impaired students and their teacher. Practically, this study is expected to be useful for the teachers, for the visually impaired students and for the school. For the teachers, it is expected to be kind of teaching method and reference for the teachers in developing or creating new more interesting methods and techniques of teaching English for the visual impairment students especially in inclusive school so that they can learn well. For the visual impaired students, the researcher hopes that the visually impaired students will get an appropriate treatment in English learning so they can learn English confidently;

they can decrease their difficulties; they can accept the same education right in class. It can motivate visual impairment student to compete with normal students. For the school, this research will be expected to be a reflection for English teaching and learning process, especially in inclusion class. As an implementation guide for English evaluation for students with visual impairment, it can be a consideration to change the best strategy in teaching English; moreover can improve the quality of English teaching and learning.

1.7. Structure of the thesis This thesis has five chapters. Chapter One: Introduction. This chapter briefly states the rationales of the study, the aims, the research questions, scope, methods, the significance and the design of the thesis. Chapter Two: Literature review provides a review of literature on the theoretical foundations for the whole study as well as the concise review of related studies worldwide. Chapter Three: The methodology contains the core part of the study including the setting of the study, the methodology, the collection and analysis of the data for the research. Chapter Four: Findings and discussion analyze the statistical results from interviews and class observations which aim at answering two research questions mentioned in the previous chapter. Chapter Five: Conclusion. This chapter addresses the key issues in the study, summarizes the main findings, gives some limitations of the study and offers some recommendations to improve the quality of teaching and learning English to blind students and also some suggestions for further researches.

4

1.8. Chapter Summary In the Introduction chapter, I have covered the rationale, the aims, the scope, the research questions, the methods, the significance and the structure of the thesis. The following section- Chapter two- Literature review will present a review of literature on the theoretical foundations for the whole study as well as the concise review of related studies worldwide.

5

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter focuses on some of the most important issues in the theories of difficulties in teaching and learning English as a foreign language to blind students in general and in School X in particular. Firstly, briefly overview of blindness theories will be presented, include the definitions, the types and special educational needs in foreign language teaching and learning. Secondly, the impacts of visual impairment on learning and the reality in teaching English to blind students will be mentioned. After that, some approaches in teaching English as a foreign language and some problems related to teachers and students in teaching and learning English will be listed. The final part will be a review of previous related studies. 2.1. Background Information on Blindness Visual Impairment The terminology to define loss of vision or reduced vision is quite diverse. The terms used more often are: blindness, low-vision, vision/visual impairment, visual disorder, vision loss and visual disability. There are also different definitions in use depending on whether these terms are used in medicine, rehabilitation or education. And, the two basic criteria to indicate that a person does not have vision, or has only partial vision, are vision acuity and vision field. According to the World Health Organization‟s classification (WHO, 2010), a person is “visually impaired” (or with “low-vision”) if his/her vision acuity in the better eye with best possible correction is less than 0.3 (normal vision is 1.0) or vision field from the centre is less than 30 degrees (normal vision field 180°); a person is totally “blind” (or with “blindness”) if his/her vision acuity in the better eye with best correction is less than 0.05 (3/60) or his/her vision field from the centre is less than 10 degrees. In education, „visual impairment‟ and „blindness‟ are conditions which cause special educational needs; being defined as “an impairment in vision which, even after correction, adversely affects educational performance” (Castellano, 2005:15). In addition to the abovementioned definitions, Castellano suggests to use a skills definition of blindness/visual impairment. According to that, blindness/visual impairment (BVI) means “using alternative skills and tools in place of, or in addition to, eyesight in order to gain information or perform tasks” (Castellano, 2005:16). The simplest definition of visual impairment used in practice is that a person is visually impaired if s/he cannot read ordinary printed text due to his/her vision loss without special aids or adaptations.

6

In the Update and Revision 2006, WHO divided four levels of visually impaired type: (1) Normal vision (2) Moderate visual impairment (3) Severe visual impairment (4) Blindness Similarly, Manal (2012) also stated that there are four categories of visual impairment: (1) Partially sighted (2) Low vision (3) Legally blind (4) Totally blind Partially sighted means that the person has some difficulties in seeing and reading information, and requires special assistance with learning and reading. Low vision indicates a more serious visual impairment, where reading at normal distances is not possible. People with low vision have to use supportive tools to read and see in their environments. They may even learn through the use of Braille. Legally blind refers to a vision less than 20/200 and a limited range of vision. People who are legally blind cannot see things clearly, whether it is near or far. Totally blind means that the person has no vision at all. Their eyes are not able to process images, and they learn through non visual resources, including Braille. Even though visual impairment is a low-prevalence disability, it may happen that there is a child with blindness or reduced vision in a mainstream classroom. Providing real inclusion does not mean just physical attendance, but the primary goal should be ensuring them student‟s participation in an effective learning process. It sounds well in words, but in reality, achieving full participation is a complicated task influenced negatively by multiple factors. The reasons for difficulties may be caused by students‟ individual characteristics, such as personality, psychological traits and mental abilities, which are very variable. Those significant factors are related to accessibility issues. It is a well- known fact that the ordinary learning process is based on vision to a great extent. Mainstream study materials tend to be visual - in addition to the printed text, there are illustrations, visual clues and effects, which are designed to support and

motivate learning. Also the teaching methods and activities are prevailingly based on the use of vision. 2.2. Visual Impairment and Its Impacts on Learning Visual impairment can be defined legally and educationally. It can be congenital, occurring at or shortly after birth or acquired through other means later in life. Before teaching students with visual impairments, it is important for the teachers to acquire information about how the loss in vision influences the teaching-learning processes. Visual information is fundamental in helping children observe and interpret what happens in the environment. It is also an important prerequisite for conceptual development in a student‟s learning (Mwakyeja, 2013). A visual impairment can make learning very difficult. Students with visual impairments have unique educational needs which are most effectively met using a team approach of professionals, parents and students. In order to meet their unique needs, students must have specialized services, books and materials in appropriate media (including braille), as well as specialized equipment and technology to assure equal access to the core and specialized curricula, and to enable them to most effectively compete with their peers in school and ultimately in society. The teachers, who are working with visually impaired students need to plan the environmental conditions based upon the following factors: (Mwakyeja, 2013).

7

Learning Environment – The learning environment should be created in such a manner that students should be able to adapt easily and enhance their learning. The availability of learning materials should be well-organized in order to facilitate learning. When the learning environmental conditions will not be supportive to the students, then their learning will automatically get interrupted. It should contain the technology and the assistive devices, whose utilization will be able to assist students in the acquisition of education. Therefore, there is a need for all the stakeholders in education to consider reformation of the education system to enable these students learn better. Assessment of Learner’s Needs – Assessment of the learner‟s needs refers to the systematic procedures of gathering and identifying the needs of the learners. Quality teaching can only take place in an effective manner, when the needs, backgrounds and prior knowledge of the learners is known. Assessment of the learning needs of the students with visual impairment, prior to the beginning of the study program is important for both the students and the teachers. The reason being, it allows for an

8

understanding of the student‟s academic abilities, approaches, strategies and learning styles. Individualized Education Plan - Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is a plan of study taken from the general curriculum, which is structured specifically to meet the needs of these students. This plan of study consists of a list of precise goals to be met, and the strategies to be used to meet those goals. Parents and teachers are required to work in co-operation to regulate these specific goals and academic needs of the students to enable a teacher to plan and implement teaching. Teaching Collaboration (Co-teaching) - Teaching collaboration (Co-teaching) is an important aspect of inclusive education, because inclusive classrooms comprise of students with different learning needs. A single teacher cannot have all the skills needed to meet students‟ diverse needs within inclusive classrooms. Co-teaching involves two teachers teaching the same class at the same time. The regular teacher taking responsibility of the main teaching, and a special needs teacher, dealing with disability specific needs of the students. A teacher, who has specialized in visual impairments, should help students with visual impairments learn and understand. A special teacher will be assisting a general teacher in preparation of teaching materials and learning environment for these students. A co-teacher will also be responsible for teaching skills like reading and writing by using Braille, glasses, lenses etc. Collaboration with Parents - Parents make a major contribution to the education of their children, and are prospective sources of information about the academic abilities of students with visual impairments. Parents are the ones, who know their children well; they know their interests and the things that can prove to be beneficial to them. They also know their educational needs, and can plan their future. They will provide information about social, physical and emotional development. 2.3. Teaching English to the Blind and Visually Impaired Students According to Christidou (2016), the teaching of foreign languages to pupils with visual impairment presents some peculiarities and difficulties. The Transmission of Meaning - A key feature of language teaching is that while in other courses communication is used to teach the course content, in foreign languages content is used to teach communication. The non-verbal methods of communication are key players in the teaching of meaning, while in most classes

9

where languages are taught, vision plays a dominant if not an exclusive role. Consequently, the teachers of the visually impaired who are unable to use visual means to support their teaching, must look for new ways to facilitate the teaching of the target language without making compromises regarding the transmission of meaning. Means and Materials- Today foreign language teaching is greatly based on vision. The meanings are often transmitted visually, using pictures, maps, and diagrams which are inaccessible to the visually impaired students. One solution is to prepare differentiated material which is though time consuming and costly. The students who use customized sources and material lose many physical-random learning opportunities and the chances to strengthen the incentives of the secondary information which is contained in the original material. In addition, students‟ opportunities to choose by themselves the readings which they find pleasurable are reduced. Reading and Writing Skills- The difficulties in reading and writing in all subjects met by students with vision problems are commonly accepted, but are significantly increased in the case of learning a foreign language. The readers may have a particular difficulty with the handwriting of a foreign language. Another difficulty might be presented in the use of documents (catalogs, brochures, etc.) to be read which vary in font sizes, interpretation codes and sometimes present peculiar text arrangements. Moreover, stresses are often not so visible and should be highlighted. The Braille users follow a more unified system, with different types of difficulties. Each language has different abbreviations. Despite the use of the first degree Braille for foreign languages in order to include symbols for stresses and symbols for common words, a risk of confusion still remains. Students from a point and on will have to either learn to use the Braille code of the foreign language, which requires a very good command of the Braille code of their mother tongue to avoid confusion, or to work with recordings. Access to Reference Materials - A particular point of difficulty for students with visual impairment is their effective access to dictionaries whose use is a major problem for both printed text users and Braille users. Volunteer readers can be a solution to this. In this case, however, the use of the dictionary is a troublesome dependence on others for the students and is not a skill of the student. Talking

10

computers and mobile signs in Braille can help, but what is really needed is a complete and effective talking pocket dictionary with good pronunciation. Use of Information Technology Where Appropriate- Despite the students‟ with visual impairments relative familiarity with the use of computers, the commercially available software for language learning is mainly visual. The sound synthesis systems available for text editing vary in capacity to produce foreign languages and mobile Braille signs are expensive. CD-ROMs can provide reading materials with sound, but when it comes to its selection, teachers should make sure that the visual elements are not the dominant ones. Assessment Procedures - Reading comprehension during an assessment may be a big test for the memory since the student does not have the opportunity to keep notes in order to be helped. The additional time given to the students as to complete the examination is necessary, but it puts to test their physical endurance and their ability to concentrate. 2.4. Some Strategies of Teaching English to the Blind and Visually Impaired Students Mwakyeja (2013) has stated some adaptive teaching methods that teachers are required to utilize in order to facilitate learning among visually impaired students. Encouraging Collaborative Learning – Encouragement of collaborative learning among students with different learning capabilities and learning needs in an inclusive classroom has proved to be effective in promoting academic achievement, positive attitude towards the subjects and in improving social interaction among the students. When individuals are working in collaboration with each other, they are able to devise solutions to their problems and are able to improve their learning. Teamwork and collaboration also helps the students to generate awareness regarding the use of innovative techniques and methods. Individuals come to know about others perceptions and viewpoints, when they work in collaboration. Using Questions and Answers – Verbal communication among the teachers and the students is regarded as an imperative means of facilitating learning. After providing verbal explanation of the concepts, the teachers should encourage the students to clarify the doubts that they may have. Verbal communication of giving instructions and obtaining answers from the students is also a helpful technique.

11

The teachers should record the answers given by visually impaired students, so that they are able to assess their needs and requirements in a better way. Sound Projection and Calling Students Names – The teachers need to be clear in their speaking and in addressing the students. The voice of the teachers should be pleasant, he or she should be interesting to listen to, should read out loud and be coherent in providing explanations, and one should avoid the use of vague phrases, such as, this, that or over here. The teachers should make use of simple presentation and communication. The best teaching method is following up on the tasks of the individuals to ensure that they are able to understand the lesson plan in a better way. Adapting Written Texts - Teaching materials need to be adapted. For example printed text can be adapted through increasing the font size, bolding the text, increasing contrast, adding colour, adjusting spaces between characters and large writing text should be used on the blackboard or visual aids. However, the extent of these adaptations is determined solely by the rigorousness of visual defects and the needs of the students. Therefore, it is important to consult a specialist teacher on preparation of materials prior to the lesson, the reason being, different students use different materials depending on the degree of their visual impairment. The Use of Audio, Optical and Non-Optical Devices – Verbal learning proves to be beneficial to the students with visual impairments. The incorporation of audio devices primarily assist the teaching processes, these include audio cassettes and compact discs. Optical devices such as, eye glasses, magnifiers and telescopes use lenses to increase a person‟s residual vision and are normally prescribed by a medical specialist. The examples of non-optical devices include large prints, Braille and Braille writer, tape recorders, book stands, recorded and talking, books and calculators and computers. The role of both optical and non-optical devices is to improve vision and increase functionality of the students through the use of other senses. It is the role of a teacher to encourage these students to use visual devices and assistive technologies to help them with vision. The Use of Tactile Materials – Teachers must be aware, that students with visual impairments experience deficiency in conceptual experiences and understanding due to non-appearance of visual ability. Therefore, adaptations of teaching materials becomes principal, if they have to learn all the things other students without visual impairments learn in class. To help this, these students should be taught physically using concrete experiences. Tactile diagrams are important to understand the

images and concepts, which are difficult to explain and describe in words. Therefore, they should apparently be used, when figures and designs are important to understand the concept but also, when the real objects are not available to help teaching. Tactile images or diagrams can be drawn on Braille papers, using a special mat and stylus. Extra Time Allowance – The students with visual impairments are slow in completing their work. Therefore, extra time allowance is important for them in completing their work, to process visual information and complete their written assignments. Students with low vision take longer time to read a text as compared to students with normal vision. Also reading and writing in Braille as well as getting information from tactile sources for students with blindness is time consuming. At the same time, students with blindness need much time to integrate information coming through hearing. Normally, it is adequate to add half of the time for students with low vision, and twice as much for students with blindness. Many external examinations identify this requirement and give them allowance of up to 100% additional time for students with visual impairments. 2.5. Factors affecting the process of teaching and learning English There is a great deal of factors affecting the quality of language teaching and learning but because of the limited scope of the study, the focus is only on some factors affecting English teaching and learning process in a blind school in Hanoi. Basing on Larsen-Freemans‟ views, difficulties in language teaching in general and difficulties in teaching English to student‟s vision loss in particular are examined from internal factors which include factors from teachers‟ view and blind students‟ view together with external factors which related to the characteristics of the class/ classroom structure and climate, the textbooks/materials, the school facilities and the extra classes/tutorials. 2.5.1. Difficulties from internal factors Internal factors are those that the individual language brings with him or her to the particular teaching/ learning situation. It means that these are the problems come from English teachers and visual impaired students themselves. 2.5.1.1. Difficulties from teachers’ view Teachers’ teaching methods

12

Through the history we have experienced the existence and development of many teaching methods that can be divided into two types: teacher- centered and learner-

centered methods. Stern (1983) listed out some main methods including: Grammar- traditional method, Direct method, Audio-lingual method, translation or Audiovisual method. Listing out these methods does not mean that we can choose a method to be perfectly applied to a certain class to increase students‟ involvement. In order to have a suitable method, the teacher should take some of the other factors into consideration including learners, teaching purposes and other available classroom/ school conditions. This method can be one or a combination of those above mentioned methods. Choosing an inappropriate or not being flexible in applying methods to a certain class may have negative effects on students‟ learning/ studying.

Teachers’ knowledge

In the study “What makes a Good teacher”, Breach (2005) pointed out that most students believe that the teacher is a fountain of knowledge and their main responsibility is to pass on the knowledge to students: Language, Specialist knowledge, General knowledge of English- (speaking country).

Teachers’ characteristics

Barry (1993) pointed out some characteristics a teacher should have that help motivate students in learning/ studying in classroom in general: being natural, being warm, being pleasant, being approachable and being tolerant. It should be noted that hardly any teacher can have all the above characteristics once starting the teaching job but she/he should bear in mind that her/his characteristics partially account for success in her/ his teaching job so she/he should try to obtain them day by day.

Teachers’ roles in classroom

With an increasing concern about the CLT approach in foreign language teaching and learning, in which learners are the centre of the lesson, the roles of a teachers are different from those in the traditional grammar- translation method, Harmer (2001) used the term “facilitator” to suggest the teacher‟s roles in a learner- centered classroom. According to Harmer (2001), a teacher can have the following roles: Controller, Organizer, Assessor, Prompter, Participant, Resource, Tutor, Observer, Feedback provider.

13

Teachers’ teaching strategies/ Experience in teaching Blind students As for Ming-Nuan Yang (2007), it is important for English teachers to believe that effective strategy use can determine students‟ success. It is believed that both sight and blind students need teachers who inspire them, who have rapport with them, who have high expectations of them, and who can provide them with supportive environments which bolster their confidence. Therefore, the teachers need to be

able to communicate with the parents, to modify the curriculum where needed, and to have the skills and the time to talk with students about life and its problems. 2.5.1.2. Difficulties from blind students’ view

Students’ aptitudes

Caroll defines aptitude as the “capability of learning a task” (1981, cited by Ellis, 1994: 494). This capability is an additional advantage in language learning but it does not guarantee one‟s achievement (Ellis, 1994). Nevertheless, to be able to discover learners‟ aptitude helps to explain their success in language learning (Williams and Burden, 1997). Examples of language aptitudes are memory for new vocabulary, the ability to memorize new sounds and to understand how words function grammatically (Lightbown & Spada, 1993: 37). In teaching and learning, students‟ aptitudes provide hints of which teachers can use in selecting activities to develop students‟ capabilities. Students’ anxiety

Anxiety, simply speaking, is a kind of troubled feeling in the mind. Spielberger (1983:1) defines anxiety as- the subjective feeling of tension, apprehension, nervousness, and worry associated with an arousal of the automatic nervous system (as cited in Brown, 2007:161). More simply, it is associated with feelings of uneasiness, frustration, self-doubt, apprehension or worry (Scovel, 1978:134). If the students are afraid of losing face as making mistakes or being laughed at by other students, they are certain to keep quiet and wait until they are required to speak in English lessons. Anxiety is obviously an important factor in the foreign language learning. Therefore, language educators should strive to promote a non- threatening environment and have techniques to reduce students‟ anxiety like: creating a relaxed and safe atmosphere for students, avoiding negative evaluation of students in classrooms and comment on students‟ behaviors with more encouragement and taking some measures to relax students‟ attention to exams or evaluation.

Students’ attitude and motivation

14

There have been a large number of researches on the attitude and motivation of students on learning and teaching English. According to Gardner (1985), “positive attitude and motivation are closely related to success in foreign language learning”. An attitude is a mental or neural state of readiness organized through experience, exerting a directive or dynamic influence on the individual's response to all objects and situations to which it is related (Allport, 1935). Language attitudes may have an effect on second language or foreign language learning. The measurement of language attitudes provides information which is useful in language teaching and language planning (Richard et all, 1993).

Motivation is one of the important aspects of second language acquisition. Motivation has been identified as the learner's orientation with regard to the goal of learning a foreign language (Crookes and Schmidt, 1991). Brown (2007) considers motivation as an affective factor that plays a central role in learning a second or foreign language. According to Siegel (2003), motivation is affected by learners‟ attitudes toward the L2, its speakers, and the speakers‟ culture. Motivation is a kind of desire for learning. It is very difficult to teach a foreign language in a learning environment if the learner does not have a desire to learn a language. The teaching process will be success if students have motivation in the learning. Because of it, the teacher need grow the student‟s motivation.

Students’ learning strategies

15

Language learning strategies refer to approaches or techniques that learners use to enhance their progress in developing L2 skills and play an essential role in L2 learning (Malley & Chamot, 1990). Most of the research indicates that there is a positive association between strategy use and L2 achievements and that both the frequency of strategy use and the choice of strategies are distinguishing characteristics between successful and unsuccessful students. Moreover, Holec (1981) claimed that language learning strategies not only enable learners/ students to learn L2 effectively and efficiently but also help develop their abilities of independent and autonomous learning which are believed to be another important factor leading to successful learning. 2.5.2. Difficulties from external factors External difficulties come from other elements instead of the teacher and students themselves. Some elements of the learning environment and the context of teaching also cause difficulties to the blind students in learning English. These elements include the textbooks/ materials, the classroom structure and climate, the school facilities, and the extra classes/tutorials. 2.5.2.1. Textbooks/ Materials A great deal of researchers considers textbooks as a factor affecting the teaching and learning foreign/ second languages. Richards (2001) suggests: “Textbooks are a key component in most language programs. In some situations they serve as the basis for much of the language input learners receive and the language practice that occurs in the classroom. They may provide the basis for the content of the lessons, the balance of skills taught and the kinds of language practice the students take part in [...]. In the case of inexperienced teachers textbooks may also serve as a form of teacher training-they provide ideas how to

16

plan and teach lessons as well as formats that teachers can use”. Moreover, Rivers (1968: 475) states that the textbook plays an important part determining the major part of the classroom teaching and the students‟ out-of-class learning. In Vietnam all the textbooks for schools are produced by the Ministry of Education and Training and no alternatives are available. These course books are used in both private and public schools and all the teachers follow the same syllabus. Thus, students and teachers from blind/ special schools have difficulty in learning and teaching English. 2.5.2.2. Classroom structure and climate Classroom structure refers to how the physical environment is organized to facilitate students‟ success in learning. When students enter the classroom, they should be able to identify where their workspace or desk is located, and where the play or break area is located. Therefore, classroom structure can be a powerful factor in setting up the environment successfully by letting individual knows what is expected, what to do next, and when they finish with an activity. A well-structured classroom not only improves learning opportunities, and can increase opportunities for appropriate social interactions but also decreases frustration, which may result in fewer challenging behaviors. A well-structured classroom should be a positive, pleasant place where students and staff alike want to be. 2.5.2.3. School facilities Most teaching takes place in a specific physical location (a school building) and the quality of that location can affect the ability of teachers to teach, teacher morale, and the very health and safety of teachers. Many factors contribute to the quality of the school building and, in turn, affect the quality of teachers‟ life, teaching and educational outcomes. Successful teaching and learning take place in school buildings that are clean, quiet, safe, comfortable, and healthy (Blagojevich, Illinois Capital Development Board, & Illinois State Board of Education, 2006). There are many factors related to school facilities that affect the quality of teaching and learning. 2.6. Review of related studies It is admitted that in regard to the topic “Teaching English to Blind Students”, not much research has been carried out until now, which is a considerable disadvantage to people with visual limitations. The following are some most recent studies of the topic which were conducted in the countries where English is taught and learnt as a foreign language. They are studies by Lovi (2013), Michael (2013), and Aryanti

17

(2014). All of these studies share a common purpose in discovering the reality of teaching and learning English of visual impairment and suggesting possible solutions. The first study “Aspects of Teaching and Learning English as a Foreign Language in The Case of Blind and Visually Impaired Learners in Estonia” by Lovi (2013) explored the factors influencing the process of teaching/learning English as a foreign language in the case of students with blindness or low- vision and to highlight the supportive measures used in practice in Estonia. The instruments used in the study were two surveys among learners with blindness/ low- vision and among foreign language teachers of visual impaired students in Estonia and two different questionnaires for the sample groups. The study identified that blind and visually impaired can achieve same foreign language skills that those without sight problems. The ability of acquiring a foreign language is definitely influenced by individual characteristics and individual differences of learners. However, there are specific factors caused by blindness/ visual impairment. It is assumed that learning foreign languages, including English as a foreign language, maybe more complicated for BVI learners in comparison with sighted learners. The reasons for possible difficulties and challenges lie mainly in the absence or loss of vision which limits access to information. Therefore, information should be adapted into accessible format and special skills and techniques are necessary to master for using technical accommodations. Lovi (2013) proposed some suggestions that FL teachers should consider in teaching BVI foreign language learners. In particular, the teachers should estimate the factor of time while designing and using reading tasks and activities based on reading. Also, it is recommended that while teaching visual impaired learners in the mainstream environment, teacher should consider the needs of sighted group members. The second study by Michael (2013), “Teaching Students with Visual Impairments in Inclusive Classrooms aimed at investigating the way general teachers teach students with visual impairments in inclusive classrooms and the challenges facing them at one of the secondary school located in southern part of Tanzania. It employed qualitative case study design using four general teachers teaching in classes having students with visual impairments. Data collection was done using semi-structured interviews and participants- observation methods .The study found that general teachers have little knowledge about inclusive education and how it should be practiced not only for students with visual impairments but for all students with special needs. The knowledge about inclusion and teaching in inclusive classroom is highly needed among general teachers to practice inclusive teaching for students with visual impairments in a professional manner. Michael

18

(2013) suggested a lot of recommendations for the teachers, the ministry of education, the government, and future researchers. The teachers should have preparation of teaching resources, like audio and tactile materials, reading braille writings, and instructing students with visual impairments the proper way of using their visual devices. Another previous study is taken from journal article, written by Aryanti (2014) under title “Difficulties in Learning English Faced by Visually Impaired Students at Center of Language Development (P2B) in State Islamic University (UIN) Sunan Kalijaga”. The objectives of this research are to describe some learning strategies and difficulties faced by Visual Impaired Students (VIS) in learning English at UIN Sunan Kalijaga and to describe some strategies of the lecturer in dealing with difficulties in English teaching and learning process for VIS at UIN Sunan Kalijaga. The type of research is descriptive qualitative research in the form of case study. In this research, the researcher used two instruments. They are observation and interview. There are three subjects involved in this research. They are two blind students and one low vision students. The observation was done when the researcher did teaching and learning process at Class Dakwah R. The data were taken from observation and interview. The researcher used the data to analyze the VIS‟ difficulties in learning English. The result shows that there are some difficulties faced by Visual impaired students. These difficulties can be put into two different categories: internal and external difficulties. Internal difficulties come from the VIS themselves which relates to VIS‟ sight conditions and their learning strategies. External difficulties come from the learning environment including difficulties from the lecturer, friends, materials and the facilities. VIS has different learning strategies. The lecturer should discuss some classroom adaptations such as seating arrangement, friends‟ assistance and peer teaching, adapted facilities and exam accommodation, for instance exam assistance, longer exam time, inclusive examination and larger print for low vision students. Finally, the lecturer should choose appropriate teaching strategies, media and teaching aids. Based on the previous studies above, the researcher proposed current research that is different from the previous researches. Firstly, in terms of subject and object of the research, the current research took challenges faced by English teachers and visually impaired students in inclusive setting as a subject research while previous researches only focus on problems faced by either teachers or visually impaired students. The objects of the current research are both teachers and impaired students at a secondary school for the blind and low vision in Hanoi while previous studies conducted in the countries all over the world. Secondly, in terms of method, the current research is a survey study, and the major method used for the study is

19

qualitative while other related studies use case study as the main method. Lastly, in terms of the way to collect data, the current research use interviews for both teachers and students and classroom observations as the main data collection instruments while the previous studies use questionnaires to collect data. In conclusion, all the previous studies mentioned above showed many different difficulties which are related to different aspects in teaching and learning English of teachers and students with visual impairments. As regards research works in this area, there has not been much conducted to explore the reality in teaching and learning English to the blind and visually impaired students in Vietnam, I conducted my thesis with the hope to explore more specific difficulties and proposing/finding out possible solutions and make a new and useful contribution to the development of education system in Vietnamese teaching context. 2.7. Chapter Summary In this chapter, the researcher has presented a number of issues related to the research questions. These include the definitions, the types and special educational needs in foreign language teaching and learning; the reality in teaching and learning English for Blind students and some approaches in teaching English as a foreign language; some difficulties related to teachers and students in teaching and learning English and a review of previous related studies. This literature review serves as the theoretical framework for the researcher to design the interview questions and adapt class observation checklist with which the investigation of the teachers and students‟ difficulties in teaching and learning English at Blind School was carried out, and then to analyze the data collected as well as to suggest some pedagogical implications for learning English at School X.

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

20

This chapter provides the general description of how the study had been conducted. The chapter includes the following sections, namely, the research setting, participants, data collection instruments, research procedure, and data analysis. 3.1. The setting of the study 3.1.1. An overview of the research site This research was conducted at a secondary school for the disabled (the blind and low vision)- School X. This is a public school which was founded in 1982. Since then, it has been virtually the only one place for students with blindness or serious visual impairment in Hanoi to receive formal education. It means that School X was applied inclusion class in which students have visual impaired learnt together with normal students. In the academic year 2018-2019, School X has 33 classes from grade 1 to grade 9 (21 classes for primary students and 12 classes for secondary students) with 1700 students in which there are 203 blind ones (116 blind students live in dormitory). Each class consists of 50 students, in which 6 to 7 are blind. The teaching staff composes 90 in total (both primary and secondary teachers) (70 females and the others are males) who are in charge of teaching all the subjects in the school. Most of them are young (from 28 to 37 years old), enthusiastic and creative. Those teachers often attending training or re-training courses organized in the school or in some others to brush up their professional knowledge, especially the teaching techniques and the adaption of new textbooks. Moreover, festivals are held every year to encourage students to study not only English but also other subjects. The physical condition in this school is quite good, eighty percent of classrooms have speakers, projectors, but there are not any special rooms for teaching and learning English. 3.1.2. The teachers of English at School X At School X, there are four teachers of English currently working. All of them are female and have obtained BA degree in English language teaching. Their experience of teaching English varies from 3 to 15 years. They have over 4 years of experience in teaching English and at least 2 years in teaching English to blind students. They are helpful, enthusiastic, and willing to make some renovations in teaching methodology. They often have weekly meeting to discuss and adjust their lesson plans, to find solutions to the difficult exercises, and to design tests.

21

3.1.3. The students at School X The school has 12 classes with over 600 students ranging from grade 6 to grade 9, at the age of 11 to 16. They started learning English from grade 3 on. Most of them live in Hanoi so they are provided with good learning conditions. They have enough textbooks and almost have reference or supplementary materials. The Blind and visually impaired students at School X There are about 60-70 blind and visually impaired students studying at School X- Hanoi every school year. In the academic year 2018-2019, there are 69 blind and visually impaired students who are integrated into 12 classes from grade 6 to grade 9. According to the school‟s principal and teachers, all of the students are in the state of “near-total vision loss” and “total vision loss” (number 6 &7 in the aforementioned Range of Vision Loss). They are equipped with course books in Braille of the same contents with their classmates. Most of the blind students live in the dormitory in School X, where they often receive extra lectures by teachers/volunteers for further understanding of the lessons they learnt in class. 3.1.4. The current situation of English teaching and learning at School X 3.1.4.1. The materials for teaching and learning/ Textbooks At School X, English is one of the compulsory subjects in curriculum. As in other secondary schools in Vietnam, the textbooks currently used for teaching and learning English is a series of textbooks from “Tieng Anh 6” to “Tieng Anh 9” published by Ministry of Education and Training. The blind and visually impaired students are equipped with course books in Braille of the same contents with their classmates. 3.1.4.2. The facilities The facility of the school meets the standards for basic Vietnamese Secondary classroom with one black board, 20-25 student tables, one teacher table, two big fans and lights. There is one projector but no computer or any high technology teaching aids. Sometimes, laptop and microphone can be provided by teachers to connect with the projector in order to raise the effective level for their lessons. The classroom setting follows the type “rows of tablet- arm chairs”, two students in a table, facing the blackboard and the teacher table. The blind students do not have any special or fixed spots in every class, they seat with their normal classmate. 3.1.4.3. Tutorials/Extra classes A number of tutorials/ extra classes have been conducted in School X with the aim of supporting the blind and visually impaired students in learning English. Based on

22

their different organizers as well as timetables, these tutorials are divided into three main types: Noon, afternoon and evening tutorials. Noon tutorials After finishing their lunch at school canteen, almost all blind and visually impaired students come to join in tutorials conducted by foreign volunteers from charity organization at about 12: 30 three times a week. In these extra classes, students are often involved in fun and useful activities to enhance their background knowledge and to foster their English competences. For example, students are told some stories in English, learnt new words and join in discussions about some topics raised by the volunteers. Afternoon tutorials The afternoon tutorials, known as the extra classes for blind and visually impaired students, are in a program set up by the School X staffs, purporting to help these students catch up with their peers in normal official classes which often take place in the morning. Regarding the English tutorials, there are two classes per week and the duration of each class is around 45 minutes. There are no assigned rooms for the tutorials; class location is changed continuously, depending on the teachers, the students and other surrounding factors. The number of students for each class is also unfixed as their demand in learning is different in time. At School X, there are four English teachers and they all take part in the program. Their students in the extra classes are also their official students in the morning classes. The content of the lessons are flexible in accordance with the student needs. Usually, teachers tend to help students revise what have been taught in the morning classes so that they will not stay behind their classmates. Sometimes, new lessons can be carried beforehand to make it more convenient for the blind to follow the lessons in their next classes. Evening tutorials In the evenings, blind and visually impaired students at this school also receive tutorials by volunteer students from colleges and universities in Hanoi. During the time working with these undergraduates, the blind and visually impaired students can raise any questions related to all the subjects they learn, not restricted to only English. 3.2. Participants In order to get the data for the study, eight students and four teachers of School X are the research subjects.

Eight blind and low- vision students have been randomly chosen from grade 6 to grade 9 (2 students per grade). Their ages vary from11 to 17. They are 4 females and 4 males. They have been studying since grade 1. Some of them do not live in Hanoi; they are from different cities in the North of Vietnam. Four teachers who are teaching English at school were invited to participate in the research. As being stated from the previous section, they were all female and their time length of teaching English is different: minimum is 3 years and maximum is 25 years. 3.3. Data collection instruments 3.3.1. Interview

To allow collection of detailed information from the teachers about how they teach students with visual impairments in inclusive classrooms and the challenges facing them, interview method was used as a main method. In this study, the researcher used structured interviews, in which the researcher creates a set of interview questions in advance and these questions are asked in the same order so that responses can easily be placed in similar categories. A structured interview is also known as a patterned interview, planned interview or a standardized interview. The questions in the interview guide were developed from the research questions and theoretical literature presented in chapter two. They are about the problems faced by visual impaired students in learning process especially learning English in inclusion class. The duration of interview session for every teacher ranged from 45 minutes to 1 hour, mainly in Vietnamese (with students), only with English words, phrases, or sentences (with teachers). Basic interview questions were prepared (for details of the interview, see Appendix A and B). With interviewees‟ permission, the interviews were tape- recorded. All interview data were analyzed interpretatively.

23

3.3.2. Class Observation In order to see the reality of the process of teaching to students with visual impairments in inclusive classrooms, observation was selected as the second important method. In this study, the researcher assumed the role of non-participant observer. This type of observation was chosen because of the limited time that was available for data collection. Observation schedule was used to guide and maintain the focus of the observed behavior. The behaviors observed from teachers were recorded through writing notes immediately as the behavior was occurring. From

24

classroom observation, the researcher wanted to see how English classes were really going on by the teachers of English in an inclusive class such as how they organized classroom activities; how teachers conducted their teaching; what challenges teachers coped with their classroom teaching; how teachers actually dealt with those challenges. Moreover, the purpose of having classroom observation was to ascertain the prevalent problems given by the teachers during the interviews. The observations were conducted in 4 English lessons at 6, 7, 8 and 9 grades of 4 selected teachers on language skills and language knowledge. 3.4. Data collection procedure According to Seliger and Shohamy (1989) once the researcher has selected a specific design for the study which is consistent with the objectives of the research, the next step is to collect the research data. In collecting the data it is important to use procedures which elicit high quality data, since the quality of any research study depends largely on the quality of the data collected and the data collection procedure. The data of the research was collected by means of interviews and classroom observations. The informal interviews took place in a face-to-face situation with the teachers and students during the second semester of the academic year 2018-2019, and the interviews were tape-recorded. The interviews helped the researcher to get the necessary information on the challenges that teachers and students faced in teaching and learning English process at school. The observations were conducted in 4 English lessons at 6, 7, 8, 9 grades of four selected teachers. The observations strengthened the information gathered in the interviews. 3.5. Data analysis 3.5.1. Interviews Basing on the knowledge about students‟ problems gained through years of experience as a teacher of English, the theoretical framework and literature review in the previous chapter, the investigator designed two kinds of interviews which consists of both close questions (students and teachers only choose one option) and open-ended questions (with more possibilities at their disposal) to find out difficulties which teachers and students encountered in teaching and learning English and what they done to overcome these difficulties.

25

Concerning the interview for teachers, it is aimed at exploring the difficulties perceived by the English secondary teachers while teaching English to blind students in School X. Also, the researchers wish to learn about practical solutions suggested or experienced by the teachers themselves to overcome mentioned hardships. The interview questions for teachers consist of 21 both close questions and open- ended questions. All these questions were focused on the following categories: - Teachers‟ background/ teachers‟ teaching experience and teachers‟ teaching experience to blind and low vision students (Questions 1, 2, 3, 4) - Teachers‟ attitude towards teaching and learning English. (Questions 5, 6, 7, 8) - Teachers‟ opinion about the most suitable methods, techniques, strategies, activities, materials and conditions for their teaching English at present (Questions 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18) - Teachers‟ difficulties in teaching English to blind and low vision students. (Question 19) - Teachers‟ solutions to improve English language teaching. (Question 20) - Teachers‟ suggestions to improve their English teaching. (Question 21) Likewise, the interview for students will also follow the above format of the students‟ interview which includes three main categories: personal information, internal factors and external factors. Students will be asked about the obstacles they have to face in and out of class time regarding developing their English learning proficiency. Also, the researchers hope to receive their ideas of how to solve their own existed problems. The interview questions for students consist of 21 both close questions and open- ended questions in which most of the questions were multiple choices. All these questions were focused on the following categories: - Students‟ background and their learning experience. - Students‟ attitude, motivation towards learning English and students‟ linguistic competence and anxiety (Questions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) - Students‟ strategies in learning English (Question 10, 11, 12) - Students‟ learning facilities (Question 13, 14, 15, 16) - Students‟ access to resources of learning English (Question 17, 18) - Students‟ difficulties in learning English (Question 19) - Students‟ solutions. (Question 20) - Students‟ suggestions in teaching English. (Question 21)

26

All the interviews, which were approximately 45- 60 minute long, were audio recorded with the permission of the interviewees for later references and then were transcribed for the purpose of analyzing. 3.5.2. Class Observation As classroom observation has long been believed to effectively aid in the research process and to “help to make the educational research more accessible and practical” (Hoang & Nguyen, cited in Vu, 2008), it is fully employed at the first stage of the research for two main reasons. Firstly, it helps partly to answer the first and second research questions with some surfaced difficulties such as blind students could not hear clearly because of the noisy class, or teachers have some problems with louder, etc. Secondly, observation method is applied with the aim of collecting some raw data about the behaviors of the teachers and students in teaching and learning English from which the researcher can find out some problems for deeper investigation in the following interview part. The researcher attended the classes, noting down the factors affecting teachers and students teaching and learning English by completing observation checklist (for details of the class observation checklist, see Appendix C).). I observed the four classes which are taught by four English language teachers with different abilities. During the process of observations, some aspects taking in class were focused on as follows: - Classroom setting - The participants of VISs - Delivery of the lesson (classroom management, method of teaching) - Teachers‟ follow up and motivation - Availability of teaching and learning materials. 3.6. Chapter Summary In brief, this chapter has given brief necessary considerations when conducting the study about “Teaching English as a Foreign Language to students at a Blind school in Hanoi” by covering the English teaching and learning situation in School X, the teacher, the students, the textbooks, the extra classes and the facilities and learning environment in English lessons/ classes. The research participants, the research methods, research instruments and data collection/ analysis procedures were also represented so that the reader can have on overview of the study. The next chapter will present the results from the two instruments used by the researcher in order to answer the research questions mentioned above.

27

CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION The previous chapter has clarified the methodology applied in this study, particularly the descriptions and justifications of the choice of participants, the instruments and data collections and analysis process. In this chapter, all the results collected from the interviews and classroom observations will be presented and discussed in detail. 4.1. Findings 4.1.1. Findings from interviews After having invited the participants to answer the questions in survey interviews, it took a lot of time for the researcher to collect and analyze the data. And here are the results. 4.1.1.1 Findings from interviews with students a. Students’ personal information and English learning background The participants‟ background information from the questionnaire shows that students are at the age from 12 to 18. They belong to two kinds of visual impairment: blind and low vision. There were 8 blind and low vision students who participated in answering the interview questions. Among them, 4 students (50%) were male, and 4 students (50%) were female. Most of blind and low vision students at School X have learnt English for quite a long time. 50% of the students (4 out of 8 students) have studied English for more than 3 to 7 years. This is the same number with students who claimed that they have learnt English more than 7 years (50%). However, their English results (average marks of English) previous semester were not high, ranking from 4.2 to 8.7. b. Students’ attitude, motivation towards learning English and students’ linguistic competence and anxiety (Questions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) Reasons for learning English (Question 1) In the interview, the participants (the blind and low vision students) were asked to response to the question showing reasons for learning English. The result was presented in table 1 below:

Students’ reasons for learning English

Number of respondents 5 0 0 0 2 1 0 Percentage (%) 62,5% 0 0 0 25% 12,5% 0

I learn English to pass examinations. Because English is an international language. I learn English to communicate with foreigners. I like English. It was a compulsory subject. For a better high school. Others (Please specify): - To have a good job in the future - To study or work abroad if I have a chance

Table 1: Students’ reasons for learning English (N=8) The statistic in the above table showed that the majority of students (62, 5%) learnt English because they wanted to pass the examinations. Quite a large number of students (25%) really needed it because it was a compulsory subject. It can be seen from statistics that no one really loved English and learnt it as a hobby. From this result, we can see that most students are not willing to acquire English. They learnt it for purposes: pass the examinations, get a better high school and be a compulsory subject. Students’ opinions about the importance of learning English (Question 2)

The importance of teaching and learning English

Number of respondents 4 2 2 0 0 Percentage % 50% 25% 25% 0% 0% Vey essential Quite essential Essential Not very essential Not essential at all

28

Table 2: Students’ opinions about the importance of learning English (N=8) It can be concluded from the table 2 that half number of students (50%) thought learning English was very essential. The number of students considered learning English was quite essential is the same with the number of students found that it was essential to learn English. Only one student found that learning English was not very essential and no one thought that learning English was not essential at all.

Students’ opinions about the importance of learning English in comparison with other subjects (Question 3)

The importance of learning English in comparison with other subjects

Number of respondents 2 2 4 More important than others As important as others Less important than others

Percentage % 25% 25% 50% Table 3: Students’ opinions about the importance of learning English in comparison with other subjects (N=8) When being asked about the importance of learning English in comparison with other subjects (Math, literature, physics,), 25% of the students considered that it was more important than other subjects and 25% considered it was as important as other subjects. The number of students who thought that learning English was less important than other subjects is very high/ big (4 out 8 students), which made up 50%. Students’ opinions about their passion learning English (Question 4)

Options

Very much Quite much Normal Not really Not at all Percentage % 12,5% 25% 50% 12,5% 0%

Number of respondents 1 2 4 1 0 Table 4: Students’ opinions about their passion learning English (N=8) As can be seen from the table 4, 12, 5% of them like learning English a lot, 25 % of them like learning quite lot while a large number of students assumed that they liked learning English normally (50%), and a small number of students assumed that they do not like learning English much (12, 5%). Students’ English language competence (Question 5)

Options

Very good Quite good Good Not very good Not good at all Number of respondents 0 1 2 4 1 Percentage % 0% 12,5% 25% 50% 12,5%

29

Table 5: Students’ learning competence (N=8) As presented in the table 5, very few students judged that their English level/ competence were good, quite good and very good. The percentage of these students only took up for 37, 5%. In contrast, 5 out of 8 students which took up for 62, 5% found that their language competence/ level were not very good and not good at all.

This information should only be used as reference because some students did not tell the truth about their English competence. Students’ opinions about the importance of good marks (Question 6) As for the importance of getting good marks, table 6 shows that nearly half of the respondents (37, 5%) said that they just wanted to get a pass mark, they did not care whether their mark was high or not. Also, 37, 5% of the respondents paid much attention to good marks. Only 25% of them did not care about the marks. The importance of good marks Percentage %

Very important Just to get a pass mark Do not care about them Number of respondents 3 3 2 37,5% 37,5% 25%

Table 6: Students’ opinions about the importance of good marks (N=8)

Students’ attitude to English lessons (Question 7) With regard to students‟ attitudes to English lessons in class, table 7 shows that that almost blind and low vision students do not care about the interest of the lessons. A small of the respondents (25%) found their English lessons interesting while the number of the participants who felt excited, interested in and bored with their English lessons were equal. It confirms that a great number of students in the case of low vision or blindness have a negative attitudes to their English lessons.

Students’ attitude to English lessons Percentage %

Very interesting Interesting Normal Boring Number of respondents 0 2 4 2 0% 25% 50% 25%

Table 7: Students’ attitude to English lessons (N=8)

Students’ feeling in English lessons (Question 8) Students’ feeling in English lessons

Number of respondents 0 2 6 4 6 Percentage % 0% 25% 75% 50% 75%

I feel interested. I feel confident. I feel bored. I usually feel anxious, especially when my name is called. I feel unwilling to communicate. Others (More ideas- Please specify): - I want to participate but I feel unconfident. - I like learning English but I dare not learn.

30

Table 8: Students’ feeling in English lessons (N=8)

It can be calculated from question 8 in the table 8 that all of the blind and low vision students (100%) suppose learning English is an important subject from normally to highly important scale, but no one (0%) feels interested in English classes. 50% of the respondents often feel anxious, 75% of them often get bored, and also 50% of them often have no desire to learn in English class. Two respondents further state that they actually like and want to participate in activities/ lessons/ tasks but feel unconfident and dare not learn. Therefore, it can be concluded from question 2 and question 8 that although students acknowledge clearly the importance of learning English, they have no or very low interest, willingness, confidence, or desire in participating in English learning classes. These students have very low motivation and attitude to English language learning. Factors affecting students in learning English (Question 9)

Factors

Number of respondents 6 6 4 4 Percentage % 75% 75% 50% 50%

4 50%

Being afraid of losing face when making a mistake. Being not used to studying. Feeling of being forgotten. Difficult topics/ tasks/ activities introduced in the course book. Boring teaching. Others (More ideas- Please specify): - I feel anxious because my teacher talks so fast that I don‟t understand what she says and don‟t know what to do. - I dare not participate because I do not understand/know what to do and how to do the tasks/ activities. - I think my teacher seems not to be patient to listen to me because I usually do the task/ exercise/ answer the questions so slowly, so she usually ignores me to save time, and it makes me de- motivated. - I think my teacher only pay attention to good/ better students.

31

Table 9: Factors affecting students in learning English (N=8) Question 9 is aimed at finding out why students have such feelings as anxiety, boredom, and unwillingness to participate in English lessons. It reveals that 75% of the respondents think that they feel bored, anxious, or unwilling to join in the English lessons because they are not used to learning English. 50% believe that it is due to the feeling of being forgotten in class. The number of respondents who think that the reason is related to difficult topics introduced in the course book accounts

50%, and 50% of the students think it is the boring teaching that leads to such feelings. In addition, being afraid of losing face also has a specific effect on the attitude and motivation of the respondents with the collected response- statistic of 75%. One of the blind and low vision students gives more details of why she feels anxious that her teacher often speaks so fast that she can‟t understand and does not know what to do. Another one claims that because she does not know what to do, she does not want to take part in the lesson. One student thinks that his teacher often ignores him because she is not patient enough to listen to him, and it makes him de- motivated. The last additional idea is about that her teacher often pays attention to better students instead of other weaker. c. Students’ strategies in learning English (Questions 10, 11, 12) What do you often do in English class?(Question 10)

Opinions

Number of respondents 2 6 Percentage % 25% 75%

I actively participate in lessons/ activities I almost keep silent and listen to the teachers and friends. Others (More ideas- Please specify): I use Vietnamese when working with my friends.

Opinions

Table 10: Students’ opinion when they are learning English in class (N=8) What do you often do when you have difficulties in learning English? (Question 11) Percentage % 25% Number of respondents 2

I ask for help from my teachers or better students. I keep silent and do nothing Others: 75% 0 6 0

32

Table 11: Students’ opinion when having difficulties in learning English (N=8) According to figures from tables 10 and 11, only 25% of the respondents ask for help from teachers or better students when they have difficulties in learning English and only 25% of them actively participate in classroom activities. One student gives additional information for question 12 that she usually uses Vietnamese to speak to her friends instead of using English.

Aspects

What is (are) the most difficult aspect(s) in learning English?(Question 12) Percentage % 37, 5% 37, 5% 100% 75% 100% 87,5% 75%

33

Number of respondents Listening 3 Speaking 3 Reading 8 Writing 6 Vocabulary 8 Grammar 7 6 Pronunciation Table 12: Students’ opinion about the most difficult aspect (s) in learning English (N=8) According to the figures from table 12, the two most difficult aspects in learning English of blind and low vision student are reading (100%) and vocabulary (100%). 37, 5% of them think that listening is the most difficult skill in learning English, and a similar number of the respondents state that speaking is the most difficult one (37, 5%) and 75% of the students find that learning pronunciation is difficult than other aspects. d. Students’ learning facilities (Questions 13, 14, 15, 16) With regard to the frequency of using teaching aids by their teachers when teaching English in classes, table 13 below proves that majority of the students (62,5%) said that their teachers sometimes used teaching aids in classes while 37,5% said that their teachers often used teaching aids. Only a few of them (12, 5%) said that their teachers rarely used technologies or teaching aids in teaching process. Question 14 was designed in order to find out the frequency of learning English at language laboratory. As can be seen from the table below, all of the students agreed that they never learned English in language lab room. The reason for this was there is no language laboratory for students to learn English. As for the English curriculum activities that the school organized (Question 15), most of the participants (87, 5%) thought that their school rarely held English curriculum activities for them to participate in. Annually, each semester will have one or two different events related to English competitions like English festival, English singing contests, etc. for all the students in this school. Apart from the frequency of participating in extra classes (Question 16), only 25% of the respondents say that they often join in the extra classes for blind and low vision students, and a number of the students (50%) state that they sometimes take part in the extra classes.

Frequency of…

Often Number of respondents Sometimes Rarely

3(37, 5%) 5(62, 5%) 1 (12, 5%) Never 0 (0%)

0(0%) 0(0%) 0(0%) 8 (100%)

0(0%) 1(12, 5%) 7(87, 5%) 0(0%)

Their teachers using teaching aids in English lessons Learning English in language lab School‟s English curriculum activities Extra classes/ tutorials 2 (25%) 4 (50%) 2(25%) 0(0%)

Table 13: Students’ opinions about English learning activities (N= 8)

e. Students’ access to resources of learning English (Question 17, 18) Question 17 was designed to explore what kinds of materials that blind and low vision used in learning English. The result is demonstrated in table 14. It is proved that instead of using textbooks are the main materials, students with visually impairments tend to use audio books, smartphones, tablets or internet as the major sources of learning English (75%). It is not surprisingly that no one chose workbooks or reference books as the material for learning English better and there was no selection for newspaper/ magazines in English. It is due to the fact that they are blind and low vision. They cannot read any kinds related to books or paper.

Materials Number of respondents Percentage %

2 2 0 0 8 6 25% 25% 0% 0% 100% 75% Textbooks in Braille Workbooks in Braille Reference books Newspapers in English Internet Others: Audio books/ smart phones/ tablets

34

Table 14: Students’ materials for learning English better (N=8) As seen from the table below (table 15), none of the students thought that the tasks in the textbooks easy for them. In their opinions, the new textbooks were difficult for them (50%) and especially overwhelmed by the amount of the vocabularies (75%) and the length of the reading texts (75%). Some of them (25%) also stated that the contents in some units were not familiar with their life. It is easily understood as the blind and low vision students do not have better proficiency in English as normal students. Learning English with them is really difficult.

Students’ evaluation on their textbooks

Number of respondents 4 0 2 Percentage % 50% 0% 25%

Difficult level Easy level Contents in some units are not familiar with their daily life Too many vocabularies Others - Too many tasks in each skill/ lesson - There are many grammar points in each unit. - The reading texts are long and difficult 6 1 2 6 75% 12,5% 25% 75%

Table 15: Students’ evaluation on their textbooks (N=8)

f. Students’ difficulties in learning English (Question 19)

Difficulties

Number of respondents 5 3 Percentage % 62,5% 37, 5%

teacher does not usually give clear 4 50%

5 62,5%

3 37, 5%

4 50%

learning 3 37,5%

4 50%

I am not really good at English. I am very nervous and afraid of losing my face in front of my friends and my teachers. My instructions. My teachers‟ ways of conveying knowledge are boring and uncreative. My friends/ partners are not willing to share with me. I do not spend much time on studying English at home. facilities such as Teaching and projector, audio, internet are not used very often. I don‟t have any support facilities in learning English. The class time is limited. The new textbooks are difficult. 4 4 50% 50%

35

Table 16: Students’ difficulties in learning English (N=8) According to table 16, 62, 5% of the participants say that they encountered difficulties in learning English due to their not good ability in English. Besides, 37, 5% feel nervous and are afraid of losing face when learning in class. The above table shows demotivating factors rooted from the teachers. It is clearly seen that 62, 5% feel demotivated because of the teachers‟ inappropriate ways of teaching. Concerning teachers‟ method, up to 50% of students find that their teachers do not instruct clearly enough and do not explain carefully what they have to do and what

they are confused. As can be seen from the table, a half number of students (50%) state that the new textbooks are difficult for them. In addition, 50% of students think that they are not supported enough facilities to study English. g. Students’ solutions (Question 20)

Solutions Percentage %

Practice English at home Take part in extra classes/ courses Do more exercises in reference books Participate in English clubs Others Number of respondents 2 6 2 3 25% 75% 25% 37,5% 0

Table 17: Students’ solutions to improve their English (N=8) The majority of students (75%) had extra classes/ courses to improve their English. Very few students improved their English by practicing at home (25%), by the participation in English clubs (37, 5%) and by doing exercises in reference books (25%). The interview with students would offer more information about this situation. h. Students’ suggestions (Question 21)

Possible solutions

Number of respondents 6 Percentage % 76%

2 25%

the should make lessons more 7 87,5%

5 62,5%

5 7 62,5% 87,5%

Teachers should be more encouraging, helpful and enthusiastic. Teachers should check/ test English learning more often Teachers interesting Teachers should create a co-operative and non- threatening classroom environment Teachers should make use of teaching facilities The school should improve learning conditions and facilities Students should work harder. Others 4 0

36

50% 0% Table 18: Students’ suggested solutions to improve their English (N= 8) The statistics in table 18 show that 76% of the respondents wish their teacher to be more willing and enthusiastic to help and encourage them to study more. A small number of them want the teachers to test English more often (25%). As for the teachers, students think that they should make the English lessons more interesting (87,5%), the students also hope their teachers to be more creative in ways of

conveying knowledge and they expect their teachers to be more creative to design suitable teaching aids and motivating activities in English class. Also, many students realize that they should work harder (50%). 87,5% of the students propose that the school should improve the teaching and learning conditions, especially the school should support special facilities in teaching English to blind and low vision students. 4.1.1.2. Findings from interviews with teachers a. Teachers’ background, teachers’ teaching experience and teaching experience to blind and low vision students (Question 1, 2, 3, 4) The information about the teachers participated in the survey and teachers‟ teaching experience are presented in the following table:

Sex Male Female Total Teachers 0 4 4

Table 19: Information about teachers participating in the survey (N= 4)

Teachers’ years of teaching English Number of respondents Number of respondents Teachers’ years of teaching English to blind and low vision

Less than 3 years 3-6 years More than 6-9 years More than 9 years 0 1 2 1 Less than 1 year 1- 3 years More than 3-7 years More than 7 years 1 1 1 1

Table 20: Teachers’ years of teaching English and teachers’ years of teaching English to blind and low vision (N=4) As presented in table 19 and table 20, the number of teachers who participated in this study was 4. All of them were female (100%). The table showed that all of the teachers at School X have had several years of teaching English. Only one teacher has the shortest periods of time of working as a teacher for 3 to 6 years (25%). One teacher (25%) has worked in this school for more than 9 years. 2 out of 4 teachers (50%) have worked as an English teacher for more than 6-9 years.

Teachers’ training background in teaching English to blind and low vision

Teachers 3 1 0

37

Options Yes No Others Table 21: Teachers’ training background (N=4)

Teaching English to blind and low vision is one of the major concerns by all the people and organizations; however, the table 21 shows that not all teachers at school have attended in workshops for training to teach English to blind and low vision students. Only 75% have received formal training in teaching English to visual impaired students. One teacher has never received any kinds of training in teaching English to those types of students. She has general knowledge and her own experience in working with the blind and low vision students as she has read and found out information through the Internet. b. Teachers’ attitude towards teaching and learning English. (Questions 5, 6, 7, 8) Teachers’ opinions about the importance of teaching and learning English (Question 5) Percentage % The importance of teaching and learning English

Number of respondents 3 1 0 0 0 75% 25% 0% 0% 0% Vey essential Quite essential Essential Not very essential Not essential at all

Table 22: Teachers’ opinions about the importance of teaching and learning English (N=4) When being asked about the importance of teaching and learning English, most of teachers (75%) thought that learning English was very essential to blind and low vision. One of four teachers (25%) found that teaching and learning English was essential. Teachers’ opinion about the importance of learning English in comparison with other subjects (Question 6)

The importance of learning English in comparison with other subjects

Number of respondents 1 2 1 More important than others As important as others Less important than others

38

Percentage % 25% 50% 25% Table 23: Teachers’ opinion about the importance of learning English in comparison with other subjects (N=4) When being asked about the importance of learning English in comparison with other subjects (Math, literature, physics,…), only one teacher (25%) thought that English was more important than other subjects. The other (50%) assumed that it was as important as other subjects. One teacher also thought that it was less important than others.

Options

Very much Quite much Normal Not really Not at all Teachers’ opinions about student’s passion learning English (Question 7) Percentage % 0% 25% 50% 25% 0%

Number of respondents 0 1 2 1 0 Table 24: Teachers’ and students’ opinions about student’s passion learning English (N=4) As can be seen from the table 24, teachers thought that their students like learning English little (25%) while 50% of teachers found that their students like learning English normally. Teachers’ judgment about students’ learning competence (Question 8)

Options

Very good Quite good Good Not very good Not good at all Percentage % 0 0 50% 25% 25%

Number of respondents 3 Percentage (%) 75%

Number of respondents 0 0 2 1 1 Table 25: Teachers’ judgment about students’ learning competence (N=4) As presented in table, 50 % teachers said that their students had good English competence while 50 % of the others thought that their students‟ language competence was not very good and not good at all. c. Teachers’ opinion about the most suitable method, techniques, activities, and materials for their teaching English at present (Question 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18) Question 9 was designed to explore their attitudes toward English language teaching. It attempted to find out their awareness of English teaching aim which is presented in the table below: The aim of teaching English to blind and low vision students is enable them to: Understand English grammar and do grammar exercises Communicate with English- speaking people Read simple text in English Acquire a certain amount of vocabulary Get better high school Study abroad Others: Do exams well 25% 25% 25% 50% 25% 100% 1 1 1 2 1 4

39

Table 26: Teachers’ attitudes toward English teaching aim (N=4)

Percentage (%)

Pronunciation Grammar Vocabulary Reading Speaking Listening Writing Conversational/ communicative skills

From the table, it is obvious that all of the participants considered “do exams well” (100%) and most of them thought “understand English grammar and do grammar exercises” (75%) as the aims of teaching English. A minority of them (25%) selected “communicate with English- speaking people”, “read simple text in English”, “acquire a certain amount of vocabulary”, “study abroad” as the goals of teaching English to blind and low vision at School X. 50% of the teachers hoped that their students would get a better high school when they finished their learning at secondary school. Aspects that teachers’ focus on in their teaching English

Number of respondents 2 4 2 3 3 4 1 2

75% 100% 50% 75% 75% 100% 25% 50%

Table 27: Aspects that teachers’ focus on in their teaching English (N=4) The table clearly revealed that all participants (100%) paid much attention to teaching grammar and listening skill in their teaching process which is the reason why they considered helping students to “understand English grammar and do grammar exercises” and “do exams well” to be the main goals of teaching English as realized in the previous question about the aim of teaching English. Moreover, 50% of them focused on teaching reading and speaking skills as well as pronunciation and conversational/ communicative skills to the students. It is resulted from the requirements of the final tests and examinations which only focus on grammar exercises, reading, listening and speaking skills. It is also the reason why teaching vocabulary and writing were less addressed by the participants. Teachers’ opinions about the most suitable method for their teaching English at present (Question 11)

Methods

Percentage %

Communicative Language Teaching The Direct Method Combination of GMT and CLT The Audio- Lingual Method The Grammar- Translation Method (GTM) Others

Number of respondents 1 0 2 0 1 0

25% 0% 50% 0% 25% 0%

40

Table 28: Teachers’ opinions about the most suitable method for their teaching English (N=4)

Techniques often used by English teachers in teaching English (Question 12) There are so many techniques used in teaching English as a foreign language. It depends on many factors such as teachers, students‟ proficiency/ level, students‟ need, learning environment, etc. Question 12 was designed to find out what techniques that were used by teachers in this school. It is presented as below:

Techniques are often used in teaching English

Using blackboard Using tape recorder Using simple teaching aids Using supplementary materials Organizing pair work and group work Using special techniques for blind students Others Number of respondents 4 3 3 1 4 1 0 Percentage % 100% 75% 75% 25% 100% 25% 0%

Table 29: Techniques are often used by teachers in teaching English (N=4) The findings clearly show that all respondents were using blackboard (100%). The table also reveals that all English teachers used pair work and group work (100%) as effective techniques of teaching English in order to that they can involve the blind and low vision in the tasks/ activities. It can be seen clearly from the table that most of the participants (75%) chose “using simple teaching aids” was one of the popular techniques for their teaching. The portion of 25% of the teachers who chose “using supplementary materials” and “using special techniques for blind students” proves that they do not pay much attention to supplementary teaching materials. In addition, they believed that it is very difficult and time- consuming to make/ design the materials for blind students.

Teaching materials (Question 13)

41

Materials have been considered an important tool for teaching and learning English. In secondary schools in Vietnam, the main materials that are used for teaching and learning English are textbooks published by the Ministry of Education and Training. However, using the same textbooks for all students in case of low vision and blindness is problematic, especially in the research school- a school was applied inclusive class for blind students. Although, there have been equipped with textbooks on Braille of the same content with their classmates, English proficiency of most blind and visual impaired students cannot be high as the normal students using the same textbooks. Thus, in the interview questions for teachers, question 13 was designed to find out how teachers in this school use the textbooks.

Ways of using the textbook Percentage

Number of respondents 2 2 4 50% 50% 100%

Teach everything in the textbook Design new exercises Simplify the tasks in the textbooks if necessary Others 0 0

Table 30: Ways of using the textbook of the respondents (N= 4) As the results revealed, all of the respondents “Simplify the tasks in the textbooks if necessary” while half of them (50%) “teach everything in the textbook” or “design new exercises”. It is proved that most of the teachers in this school have been aware of the necessity of adapting textbooks in their teaching in order to suit their students‟ need and proficiency/ level. Related to using English teaching materials, question 14 focused on investigating how they use other materials besides the textbooks. From the result, all of the teachers used other materials besides the textbooks in their teaching process. As being asked about frequency of using other materials, they showed different practices as seen from table 31:

Number of respondents 2 Percentage % 50%

3 0 4 75% 0% 100%

Frequency of using other materials besides the textbooks in teaching English In skill learning lessons (listening, speaking, reading, writing) In grammar lessons Every lessons When some lessons in the textbooks are not relevant to my students Others 0 0

42

Table 31: Frequency of using other materials besides the textbooks in teaching English (N= 4) It is revealed from table 31 that all of the respondents (100%) often used other materials when some lessons in the textbooks are not relevant to their students. Moreover, the table shows that most of the teachers (75%) at this school used other materials in grammar lessons. It is a surprising result from the survey that none of them used other materials in “every lesson”. It is proved that they did not depend on the textbooks in teaching English.

Conditions for teaching English (Question 15) There is undoubting that school facility plays an important role in teaching and learning English effectively. While some schools are well- equipped with many modern teaching as (such as tape recorders, overhead projectors, lab rooms, CDs, etc.), the research school was not satisfactorily supplied with teaching equipment. Question 15 investigates how the school supplies teachers with English teaching facilities and the result improves that all of the teachers agreed that there only few ones which can help them to teach English. As far as I know, this school has equipment each class one projector, one tape recorder, and no lab rooms for 33 classes from grade 1 to grade 9.

Using mother tongue in teaching English (Question 16, 17) The interview questions 16 and 17 demonstrated the frequency of their mother tongue use in their teaching English. The statistics in table 32 shows that majority of the respondents (75%) often used mother tongue in teaching English to both normal and blind and low vision students. All of the teachers in this study often employed their mother tongue in most of the lessons, particularly in teaching grammar (100%). It is clear from the table 33 that many of them (75%) used it in teaching language skills and teaching vocabulary. It is clear that the teachers employed their mother tongue not only in giving instructions but also in teaching most of the lessons (language skills and language focus).

Frequency of using Vietnamese in teaching English

Often Sometimes Rarely Never Number of respondents 3 1 0 0

Percentage % 75% 25% 0% 0% Table 32: Frequency of using the mother tongue in teaching English of the participants (N=4)

Using mother tongue in teaching English

In teaching language skills In teaching grammar In teaching vocabulary Only when giving instructions In most of the lessons Others Number of respondents 3 4 3 3 4 0 Percentage % 75% 100% 75% 75% 100% 0

43

Table 33: Some cases of using the mother tongue in teaching English of the participants (N=4)

Percentage

Teaching strategies often used in teaching English (Question 18) It is certain that teaching strategy is one of the most important factors affecting teaching and learning English. Question 18 was designed to explore some strategies that teachers in this school often used in their teaching in order to help their students learn English efficiently. Teaching strategies are often used in teaching English

Facilitating autonomous students‟ learning Creating a friendly atmosphere Using games Using technology Others Number of respondents 3 4 2 3 0 75% 100% 50% 75% 0%

44

Table 34: Teaching strategies often used in teaching English (N=4) It is clearly seen from the table that all of the teachers (100%) often “create an atmosphere in which students are not afraid of making mistakes and are encouraged to take risks”. Moreover, most of them (75%) considered “facilitating autonomous student‟s learning” and “Using technology” are two effective strategies in teaching English to both sight and blind students. Although the school still lacks modern technology, especially the modern equipment used for teaching blind and low vision students, the English teachers tried to make used of the technology as much as possible. Only half of them (50%) chose “using games” in spite of its advantages. It is due to the fact that the limitation of visual disabilities, blind and low vision could not take part in the game as quick as the normal students. In addition, the school does not have any lab rooms and some classrooms which are not separated from each other (i.e. noise from this classroom is often heard from the next one). d. Factors affecting teachers’ language teaching (Question 19) As mentioned in the “Literature review”, there are many factors affecting the language teaching. The results are presented below:

Factors affecting their language teaching Very important Important Not very important

Students‟ aptitude/ anxiety Students‟ attitude/ motivation Student‟s learning strategy Teaching strategy Teaching methods Teachers‟ knowledge Teachers‟ characteristics/ roles Textbooks/ materials Classroom structure/ climate School facilities Others 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 3 2 2 2 3 2 1 2 1 2 0 Not important at all 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 2 2 0

Table 35: Factors affecting the teachers’ language teaching (N=4) Table 35 shows that all of the respondents found none of the factors listed in the interview questions “not important at all”. It is also revealed that they saw the important role of following factors: Students‟ aptitude/ anxiety (75% selected “important” and 25% for “very important”), students‟ attitude/ motivation (50% for “important” and 50% for “very important”), teaching method (75% selected “important” and 25% for “very important”) while none of the respondents considered school facilities as “very important” factor for their English teaching and learning because all of them knew that school facilities which included the modern equipment and materials are not the major problems, they can adapt themselves. e. Teachers’ solutions to improve English language teaching (Question 20)

Solutions

Number of respondents 4 Percentage % 100%

3 3 75% 75%

Prepare the lesson more carefully (Change the tasks appropriately, use techniques/ materials, etc.) Suggest interesting topics/ activities/ tasks/ exercises Encourage students to take part in the tasks/ activities/lessons Spend more time for lower students Organize extra classes/ English clubs. Others 2 2 0 50% 50% 0

45

Table 36: Teachers’ solutions to improve English language teaching (N=4) As can be seen from the table 36, the teachers have used a lot of techniques to encourage their students to participate in English lessons/ activities or to improve their English competence. It can be seen clearly that all the teachers (100%) tried to

overcome the difficulties by preparing the lesson more carefully in order to get their students involved in the lessons. It is obvious that problems often arise when the students are asked to complete a task especially when it is a difficult or boring topic. Realizing this fact, many teachers (75%) suggested that giving the students some interesting topics/ tasks may attract them more in the lesson. 50% of the teachers usually encourage the blind and low vision students by spending more time with them, and a similar number of teachers (50%) solved the problems by organizing extra classes or English clubs for students. f. Teachers’ suggested solutions to improve their English teaching (Question 21)

Teachers’ opinions Percentage %

Number of respondents 4 4 4 4 2 3 2 100% 100% 100% 100% 50% 75% 50%

46

Give students clear instructions Divide class into small groups Make learning fun and comfortable Provide meaningful and concrete activities Use more authentic materials Adapt the tasks/ textbooks to suit the students Facilitate necessary equipment Others: - Make use of pair work and group work to help blind and low vision students get more involved in the activities/ lessons. - I check their homework more frequently than others. Table 37: Teachers’ suggested solutions to improve their English teaching (N=4) 100% of the teachers stated that they will give students clear instruction, divide the class into small groups and provide meaningful and concrete activities to help them more involved in the lessons, while 50% of respondents answered that they will use more authentic materials to improve their teaching. As we can see in table 37, 75% of the teachers said that the tasks in the textbooks should be adapted to suit the students‟ levels. 50% teachers also emphasized that necessary equipment should be furnished. The teachers also suggest helping blind and low vision students by using group work, pair work and checking their homework more frequently. 4.1.2. Findings from class observations The classroom observation result presented the reality of what the teachers express in their lesson and what they actually did and said in their classroom. The researcher observed 4 teacher‟s English lessons on language skills and language knowledge at 4 different grades with their permission. The observation was conducted using lesson observation checklist which focus on 5 main points:

47

Classroom setting- The class size in all classes observed ranged from 50-56 students, and this was considered manageable by the teachers. Students sit in class in 2-3 at each desk. In this classroom setting, students with visual impairment (6 or 7 students in a class) were also made to sit together with sighted students randomly to get support from their peers. This arrangement was fixed and not carefully planned by teachers. That means it was unlikely for visually impaired students to sit with active students who could give them better support. During the lesson, the blind and visually impaired students were using course books in Braille of the same contents with their classmates. The participation of visually impaired students was solely teacher initiated. The visually impaired students were observed to withdraw from participation due to lack of enough support to do any given tasks. In this case, they were not seen raising their hands for participation like other students. This may indicate that unless teachers are aware of this situation, the mere physical presence of visually impaired students does not bring any kind of change in the process of learning English language. It could have a devastating effect on the process of their learning. Delivery of the lesson- In all classes observed, teachers‟ voice was audible which could enable any students follow the lesson closely. While presenting the lesson, teachers were verbalizing the notes while writing on the board. This was a good strategy to address the needs of students with visual impairment. But the pace of some teachers was not manageable for blind and visually impaired students. Hence, teachers should speak slowly and give enough time to enable blind students grasp ideas and have their own notes. Another problem, during a reading lesson, was that other students would be busing doing exercises given in class. Because of this, it would be difficult for visually impaired students to be engaged in such kind of exercises or activities fully with the help of their seat members. According to lesson observations made, other students were seen mainly concerned with their work, and they would like to help blind students to do the work after completing their own work. Teachers’ follow up and motivation- In most of class hours teachers were observed favoring sighted students. This was typically seen while distributing questions and giving feedbacks. All lessons observed were accompanied by class work and homework and these were discussed in class during feedback sessions. Sometimes these exercises were checked by teachers one by one. In this process, the participation of visually impaired students was minimal. In most of the cases, blind and low vision students were forced to follow the lesson orally. Teachers were

48

also observed giving feedback most of the time orally. In some cases, they were seen correcting students‟ work. But visually impaired students could not get this chance due to lack of common medium of communication. This also made them hopeless in getting encouragement and constructive feedback which are essentially of paramount importance to their performance. Availability of teaching and learning materials- The teaching and learning process observed depended only on textbooks. In the EFL (English as a Foreign Language) context of Vietnam, textbooks represent the syllabus and dictate what should be taught in the classrooms. Teachers teach according to textbooks and students also get language inputs mainly through textbooks. In addition to these, students „achievement tests and exams are designed based on the content of textbooks. In this case, the role of textbooks cannot be underestimated since it is indispensable. The analysis of the observation indicated that most of the challenges forwarded by the teachers did exist in English classes, and some difficulties emerged in the actual classrooms such as the characteristics of the class, the lack of facilities, the lack of various types of classroom activities associated with CLT, too many new words and structures were given in each lesson, students‟ preference of using their mother tongue- Vietnamese language, a large amount of teachers‟ using Vietnamese in class, and student‟s passiveness in learning. In general, all the teachers‟ lessons the researcher observed followed the basic steps of the lesson: warm- up activities, presentation, practice, and consolidation and homework. The lessons on language skills included three stages namely pre-, while- , and post- stage. In the pre- stage, teachers introduced the new language inputs to their students, often new words or phrases, students learned through sounds in class, in chorus or individually. Teachers then introduced the topic of the reading/ listening/speaking/ writing to get students to go to the next stage, while- stage, in which students often got involved in groups, pairs to do the tasks. In the last stage, students were often asked to reproduce the language that they had learnt. 4.2. Discussion 4.2.1. The reality of teaching and learning English at School X Teachers’ attitudes toward English teaching in this school All the teachers in this school were content with the teaching and learning condition here but they found that it really hard to teach English to blind and low vision

49

students. Because of the real need of English at a secondary school and (also the unable to see of the students), they consider the aims of teaching English in this school is to help their students to understand grammar points and do grammar exercises in order to pass the examinations. They pay less attention to language skills (reading, speaking and writing) and even communicative skills. Teachers’ strategies and techniques All of the teachers in this school often use blackboard in their classes. Because of lack of modern technology or teaching aid supply, teachers have to make their own teaching aids (mainly posters and pictures) by themselves to make the lessons effectively. However, it is not useful in teaching English to blind and low vision students. Therefore, they have to spend a lot of time to make the real teaching materials. Moreover, pair work and group work are often used but the teacher interviews reveal that pair work is more favorable. Furthermore, the findings show that most of the teachers often use mother tongue not only in giving instructions but also in teaching most of the lessons (language skills and language focus). Teaching materials The findings also reveal that in spite of their dissatisfaction of the textbooks recently used, all the teachers in this school consider textbooks the main teaching material. The new textbooks which have been recently used are better than the old one with more colorful and nice pictures as well as brief relevant instructions. However, since in the textbooks, there are some contents that are not relevant to the students‟ ability and proficiency, the teachers often simplify, adapt or design them so that their students can acquire the language. 4.2.2. Difficulties that English teachers and blind students at School X faced in teaching and learning English 4.2.2.1. Difficulties from the teachers’ view Lack of knowledge in teaching English to blind and low vision students In Vietnam, there is no official institution, college and university where the English teachers can be trained to work with disabled students in general and blind and low vision students in particular. In addition, the teachers rarely take part in training courses in which they can get more experience in teaching English to students with visual impairment. Therefore, some teachers were not fully aware of the knowledge of blind and low vision in inclusion classes. They even did not know exactly the ways to involve the blind students in the class, especially, the young teacher; therefore, while working with these students, they sometimes felt confused and passive. For example, they do not know how to give instructions when their

language teaching approach and were willing

50

students cannot see anything, they cannot use visual teaching aids and even body language when teaching to blind and low vision students. Habits of old teaching methods Despite the fact that the teachers at School X were well aware of the benefits of using to apply communicative communicative approach in their teaching, some admitted that they sometimes failed to apply this method in classes because of the rigid requirement of the curriculum while most of the students were bad at English. First, the pressure for mid-term of final exams made most of the teachers discard the use of the communicative approach. They claimed that if they tried to use it, paid much attention to improve the students‟ communicative competence, students may fail at final exams. This made the focus of teaching and learning on examination success rather than on effective communication. Second, timing is also a factor, which impedes the teachers‟ innovation. The teachers complained they could not complete the lessons if they indulge themselves in the new teaching approach. In the end, to overcome these hindrances, teachers, again, have to resort to the Grammar Translation Method. The common use of this method can be explained that teachers have been familiar with the GTM for years; it is not easy for them to get out of its influence on their way of teaching while their students‟ level were much lower than the level of the books required and the students were under pressure of taking the tests. Not very good preparation Most of the teachers nowadays are too busy to prepare lesson carefully. They must do a lot of work in the family besides teaching extra classes in other schools to earn more money; which takes no exceptions with the teachers of English at School X. They did not prepare the lesson plan for teaching to blind and low vision carefully. They did not spend enough time on making effective materials/ teaching aids. Some of them often skip this step because of their limited time. 4.2.2.2. Difficulties from the students’ view Low level of English proficiency One of the major factors that prevent blind and low vision students from participating English lessons/ activities is the students‟ low English proficiency. Although the student respondents of this study have learnt English since they were grade 1. Their vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation are still so poor that they do not study English any more. So, they seldom speak/ join in English and have to keep quiet. Gradually, they will lose their interest in trying to study and become discouraged to learn English anymore. Lack of motivation

51

Motivation is very important for the success of the foreign language learning. It plays an important role in any language skills. But, many students just learn English because it is a compulsory subject at schools. They do not recognize the importance of English to them in the future, then, they learn it with very low motivation or no motivation at all. They have to take the final examinations so they just focused on the grammar point to pass exams. In their mind, English is just a “secondary” subject. They have to learn English as it is a compulsory subject in the syllabus and not many of them really love English and learn it as a hobby. Using mother tongue problem All the teachers reported that their students often used Vietnamese in English lessons. As shown in the data analysis many students admitted that they often use their mother tongue when being asked to do the exercises, especially when working in pairs or in groups. This makes noise and waste a lot of time. It has been a big obstacle for the teaching of teaching English. Moreover, many students were shy, unconfident and did not have learning motivation. They just learned English to take pass exams and to get good marks, and they think that it is not important to speak English. Therefore during speaking lessons/ activities, they used mother tongue instead of English. They got used to speaking their mother tongue partly because their teacher used Vietnamese when teaching English. 4.2.2.3. Difficulties from external factors Large and multi-level classes Large classes are considered as other factors affecting process of teaching and learning English. School X had an average class size of 50 students and while the number of blind students take only one tenth, only 5-6 blind and low vision students in one class. They had only 3 periods a week for English, which made communicative activities almost impossible. In such a large class, the teachers faced many problems. First, discipline was a concerned problem. The teachers had difficulty in conducting the lesson when the learners were noisy, inattentive, badly -behaved or simply out of control, for example fighting in class, teasing each other, etc. This violation of class regulations took the teachers much time to solve and discontinued the pace of the lesson. Second, there are only 45 minutes each lesson and there are more fully-sighted students; therefore, sometimes the teachers are forced to finish the syllabus for normal students only. Moreover, teaching blind students will decrease the number of various activities because teachers cannot use visual aids, one of the most important teaching aids. In addition, some types of activities like matching or some special game like guessing have to be omitted. In addition, the class size also causes some problems for teachers in terms of

classroom management. There are about 45-50 students in one class while the number of blind students takes only one tenth, only 3-5 blind students in one class. This crowded class prevents teachers from paying attention to each blind student and also controlling the class.

52

Facilities The facilities in School X cannot meet the demand of teaching blind students. Firstly, it takes the teachers a lot of time to prepare handouts in Braille for the blind students. As one of the four English teachers in School X expressed “Preparing for only one handout like this needs at least 2 hours at home”. Moreover, this material cannot be saved in the computer; therefore, it could not be recycled for the second time, which multiplies the work of preparation for the teachers by thousands of times. Secondly, lack of machines used for printing pictures in Braille causes teachers a number of problems when preparing the teaching tools for the lessons: “in the foreign countries, there is one kind of plastic paper used for drawing Braille pictures, but in Vietnam, we find it nowhere”, another teacher said. Thirdly, there are not enough reference books in Braille for students in the library, which challenges teachers a lot when assign students with further practice out of the textbooks. One teacher said “the reference books are printed every year but never enough because students who had borrowed did not return them back because they brought home or some of the pages are torn, they were so terrified that they did not return it back”. Fourthly, the arrangement of the desks in class also hinders teachers from reaching to every blind student in class. From class observation in class, the researcher realized that blind students often sit at the back, which is quite difficult for the teachers to move from the end of this range to the end of another. Tutorials/ extra classes Fortunately, apart from the support from teachers‟ tutorials, visually impaired students at School X also receive the help from foreign volunteers and some Vietnamese volunteers from Hanoi University of Technology. The volunteers are no less helpful to the learning of the students than the teachers. To be more specific, foreign volunteers from charity organization are greatly helpful in creating chances for blind students to communicate in English. Likewise, volunteers from Hanoi University of Technology are also helpful tutors of the blind. However, charity volunteers often get the students to learn new knowledge and to participate in activities they themselves plan. For example, students may have chance to listen and discuss about some stories. These activities, though very exciting and creative, are not directly and closely related to the in-class activities, and therefore do not help students much with their learning in class. The tutors from Hanoi University of

53

Technology, similarly, cannot help blind students much with their English lessons they are not majored in English. Therefore, when students want to ask the tutors some questions related to English, they think the tutors don‟t know, so they do not dare to ask. All in all, this research has found out a lot of difficulties met by both English teachers and the blind and visually impaired students in inclusive class, which were not ever studied in other aforementioned related studies. To be more specific, this research, firstly, has provided some insights into the hindrances to the involvement of blind students in English lessons from the student’s perspective. Besides, the problems faced by teachers in teaching English to blind students have been found out. This could be considered a meaningful contribution as all other related studies only mentioned the hindrances from the perceptions of educators and teachers without considering ones from the students’ angle. Secondly, since this study was particularly conducted in a specific school, to be more precise – School X, the difficulties met by the teachers and students are believed to be more specific and useful in the context of this school. For example, the student’s perceptions of their difficulties related to the tutorials, the facilities, the teachers, etc. are studied carefully so that specific and practical solutions could be drawn, which could not be done effectively basing on other related studies that only mentioned general ideas about English teaching and learning to the blind or on ones that were conducted in different contexts. 4.3. Chapter Summary The data obtained from the interviews revealed that there were a number of challenges that impeded teachers of English in teaching to blind and low vision students namely students‟ low level of background knowledge, low level of English proficiency, limited language skills, the textbook, teachers‟ failure in giving instruction, using teaching materials and teaching methods, lack of teaching and learning facilities, etc. Almost all the interviewees agreed that these problems exerted powerful influence on their classroom behaviors. Together with the data collection from the interviews, the analysis of the observations indicated that most of challenges forwarded by teacher did exist in the actual classrooms, however, some other challenges emerged which teachers had not fully perceived such as lack of various types of classroom activities, too many new words and structures were given in each lesson, students‟ preference of using their mother tongue- Vietnamese language, a large amount of teachers‟ using Vietnamese in class, and student‟s passiveness in learning.

54

Overall, based on the results and findings above, the researcher realized that the challenges confronted teachers of English in teaching to blind and visually students seemed to stem not only from blind and low vision students, but also from the teachers of English. Thus, in order to improve the quality of teaching English, it is crucial to find out solutions for both students and teachers to overcome those challenges. In the next chapter, there will be recapitulations of the main findings, contributions, limitations and some suggestions for further studies.

55

CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION The previous chapters have been dedicated to the elaboration of the introduction, the literature, the implementation and the results of the research. This final chapter will cover a brief summary of the study, sum up the contribution of the study, evaluate the whole paper by pinpointing the limitations, and then lead to an urge in proposing some possible directions to further studies. 5.1. Recapitulations of the main findings Being aware of the significance of studying English as well as the real situation of teaching and learning process of the teachers and students at a secondary school for the blind and low vision, the researcher conducted a study with the aim to help the teachers and the visually impaired students improve their teaching and learning. After reviewing literature related to teachers and students‟ difficulties in teaching and learning English as a foreign language, the researcher designed a list of interview questions for both teachers and students. Next, the interviews were carried out to find out challenges which teach and students encountered in teaching and learning English and what they done to overcome these problems. After completing the analysis of the data from interviews, the researcher conducted classroom observation to get more information about both teachers‟ ways of teaching and students‟ ways of learning in class as well as to ascertain the prevalent problems forwarded by the teachers and students during the interviews. The data analysis from the interviews and class observation showed the problems which teachers and visually impaired students have faced in teaching and learning English in inclusive class. Furthermore, numerous solutions were proposed for better teaching and learning. 5.2. Concluding remarks This part summarizes the study on the "Teaching English as a foreign language to students at a blind school in Hanoi". In this study, some issues related to teachers and students' difficulties in teaching and learning English were taken into consideration both theoretically and practically. Firstly, by summing up and analyzing interviews and class observations, the results showed that all the teachers were content with the teaching and learning condition but they found that it was really hard to teach English to blind and low vision

56

students. In addition, due to the habits of old teaching methods and the lack of facilities, materials or machines caused teachers a number of problems in teaching English to blind students. Secondly, the findings indicated some difficulties of blind and low visions students in learning English. Three biggest challenges they encountered when they study English were their low English proficiency, lack of motivation and the use of mother tongue in English lessons. With these findings, the researcher discovered several reasons behind these problems and a number of suggested solutions were proposed with the hope that they could assist them to deal with these difficulties. Last but not least, after analyzing the difficulties and the reasons behind them, some possible solutions were proposed to support both the teachers and students to overcome these obstacles. Varying the teaching techniques and activities, adapting textbooks, and organizing extra curriculum or classes for language teaching are three major solutions that teachers and students looked for. Besides those ones, other solutions and recommendations were given with the aim to help the teachers and learners in their teaching and learning process. 5.3. Recommendations From the findings and discussion, some suggestions are given for helping the teachers and learners in their teaching and learning process. 5.3.1. Varying the teaching techniques and activities The teachers‟ teaching methods is an important factor in students‟ language learning. When teachers‟ teaching strategies and students‟ expectations are met, students will feel more interested in learning and so that they understand the lesson better. The data collected from the study have shown that in classes, the students were not highly motivated, even sight and blind and low vision students. Most of the visual impaired students participated in the English lessons and teachers‟ activities passively. Therefore, the important implication for the teacher in an inclusion class is to vary the teaching techniques and activities in order to involve both the blind or low vision students and sight students in the lessons and to reduce the boredom and fear of the lessons. Teachers should use a variety of teaching aids which suitable for both sight and blind students (in their language teaching such as pictures, games, songs, funny stories, etc. or even small competition) to reduce tension as well as improve students‟ motivation during the lesson. After such activities, teachers may give

57

good comments and give them small gifts which make them feel excited and leave sweet memories in their mind. Moreover, teacher should make sure that all students participated in the lessons, especially, the blind and low vision because they are easy to get distract in the lesson. It is a very important point in a foreign language class that students should be given opportunities and time to practice and discuss the tasks, exercises, and then exchange their opinions freely. Teachers should encourage them to ask the questions and share their ideas. The open and friendly interactions between the teachers and the whole class and among the students themselves should be highly appreciated. 5.3.2. Adapting the textbooks In meeting the desire to improve students‟ communicative competency in English, the series of new textbooks have been recently used for all secondary schools in Vietnam. However, it is proved from this research that some contents in new textbooks are not relevant to students‟ learning proficiency/ abilities/ levels and background in this school. Hence, it is necessary for teachers there to adapt the textbooks so that blind and low vision students can acquire the foreign language successfully like other sight students. By adapting the textbooks, blind and low vision students can feel more comfortable and confident in learning English in class. Depends on certain units, lessons or topics, teachers can adapt them by simplifying, redesigning, omitting, reordering, adding or replacing with others which can make students easier to acquire the language. For example, in some reading skill lesson, instead of asking the students to read the text, teachers can let them listen to the text by using audio or cassette. However, when adapting the tasks, teachers should make them clearer and simpler but not too easy for them so that they can make their minds working to acquire the language.

58

5.3.3. Organizing extra curriculum/classes for language teaching Since there is a little exposure to English outside the classroom, teachers should provide their students some extra classes/ activities. This can be achieved by organizing extra curriculum or setting up an English club in the school. In this way, students can be encouraged to practice English, share their learning experience/ strategies and discuss some effective language learning methods. It is a useful way to improve the students‟ English since it provides informal language environment for them to practice English. 5.3.4. Providing training to teachers Without training, teachers never do what they are supposed to do. In this case, teachers need to get training on special needs education in general and inclusive education in particular on how to address the needs of learners in their subjects, English language in this case. This implies that they have to vary their method of teaching to meet different learning styles such as visual, auditory and kinesthetic type of learners. In the training special attention should be also given to enable teachers adapt materials for teaching and design appropriate activities which make visually impaired students actively involved in the lesson. Teachers should also be trained how to teach, the four language skills based on their level of difficulty, how to assess visually impaired students‟ work and give feedback by being exposed to appropriate medium of communication. 5.3.5. Improving teaching and learning conditions Teaching and learning conditions are considered a necessary factor in improving language teaching and learning. Because the shortage of teaching and learning facilities, this school should be provided with financial support in order to build up language lab rooms, computer with internet access, teaching aids (posters, CD players, etc.), supplementary and reference books for both teachers and students, especially the materials and equipment for blind and low vision students. 5.4. Contribution of the study This research is believed to be helpful to teachers and researchers or anyone who is interested in teaching English to blind students at School X. Firstly, the study provides an insight into the difficulties teachers may face with when teaching English to blind students. Therefore, new teachers who do not have many experiences in teaching to such students can rely on this study to be more proactive in their teaching process. In addition, the research also studies the difficulties met by the blind students, which can be a helpful source of reference for

59

all the teachers and the school managers to understand their students‟ needs to provide better learning environment and facilitation. Secondly, researchers and anyone who happens to develop an interest in this topic can take this research as a reliable reference for their related studies in the future. 5.5. Limitations of the study Although the study has been seriously and intensively carried out with a big effort of the researcher, like other studies, this research still meets some certain shortcomings due to the time constraints and many unexpected as well as unavoidable factors. Firstly, in terms of the participants, the number of respondents take part in the interviews is not big. However, the researcher did manage to interview all the English teachers of School X as well as equalize the number of interviewed students in each grade. Therefore, this still allow the researcher to have an overview of the difficulties the secondary blind students and their teachers are facing together with the solutions suggested and applied by them. Secondly, the study is limited in the sense that the data may not fully reflect all aspects of English teaching in this school. Moreover, the data were collected at the end of the school year so there was not enough time for class observation for deep information. Thirdly, the interviews are carried out mostly in Vietnamese, and then translated into English. The translation may lose some intension of both interviewer and interviewees. Fourthly, as teachers‟ attitude; teachers‟ strategies and techniques, teaching materials and some factors affecting their English teaching in this school. Last but not least, limitation of the study is that it is a survey study, so it is limited in scope. Its findings may not be generalized but it provides information and data basic for further study. In summary, despite some certain limitations, I believe that the results provided by this study are reliable and trustworthy. Yet, further studies should be aware to produce a more effective paper.

60

5.6. Suggestions for further studies The following directions should be taken into consideration in the future research: Firstly, this is a survey research which investigates the reality of teaching and learning English in a school in Hanoi. This is a secondary school in which the blind and low vision students have chances to study with sight students in inclusion class. Another study with large scope could be undertaken to shed more light on the issues raised in this study. Secondly, because School X has its own characteristics and the textbooks recently used for every secondary school in Vietnam have some contents which are not relevant to the school, designing textbooks and teaching syllabus is a necessary job. A further study should be carried out with aim to writing textbooks or designing teaching and learning syllabus which can meet the appropriateness of the school contexts. Finally, as findings from the research, students‟ motivation on learning English in this school is poor, especially, the blind and low vision students. Hence, a further study should focus on the student‟s motivation for learning English in inclusion class in Vietnam.

REFERENCES

1. Aiazzi, A. M. (2007). Teaching English to blind and visually impaired pupils.

Humanizing Language Teaching (ISSN 1755– 9715). Retrieved from

http://www.hltmag.co.uk/jan08/stud02.htm

2. Manal, N. (2012). Visual Impairment Definition. Retrieved from

http://www.ehow.com/about_4793004_visual-impairment-definition.htm

3. Mwakyeja, B.M. (2013). Teaching Students with Visual Impairments in Inclusive

Classrooms. A Case Study of One Secondary School in Tanzania. University

of Oslo. Retrieved December 05, 2017 from

https://www.duo.uio.no/bitstream/handle/10852/36642/MasterxsxThesis.pdf

?sequence=1

4. Christidou, S. (2016) Foreign Language Learning for the Visually Impaired in

the Region of Central Macedonia, Greece: Problems and Suggestions. US-

China Foreign Language, USA, vol.14.

5. Stern, H. H. 1983. Fundamental Concepts of Language Teaching. Oxford:

Oxford University Press.

6. Breach, D (2005). What makes a good teacher (Part II)? Teacher’s Edition 17,

28-35.

7. Barry K, King L (1993). Beginning Teaching, 2nd.ed. Wentworth Falls, NSW:

Social Science Press.

8. Harmer, J. (2001). The Practice of Eglish Language Teaching. England: Pearson

Education Limited.

9. Carroll, J. B. (1981). Twenty-five years of research on foreign language

aptitude. In K. C. Diller (Ed.), Individual differences and universals in

language learning aptitude (pp. 83–118). Rowley, MA: Newbury House.

10. Spielberger, C. D. (1983). Manual for the State-Trait Anxiety (From Y).

Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto, CA

11. Crookes, G., & Schmidt R.W. (1991). Motivation: Reopening the research

61

agenda. Language Learning, 41(4), 469-512.

12. Brown, H. D. (2007). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to

language pedagogy (3rd ed.). New York: Pearson Education Inc.

13. Siegel, J. (2003). Social context. In C. J. Doughthy, & M. H. Long (Eds.). The

handbook of second language acquisition. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing

Ltd.

14. O'Malley, J.M., & Chamot, A. (1990). Learning Strategies in Second Language

Acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

15. Richards, Jack C. (2001). The Role of Textbooks in a Language Program.

Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

16. Seliger, H. W. & Shohamy, E. (1989). Second language research methods.

Oxford: OUP.

17. Kashdan, S., & Barnes, R. (1998). Teaching English as a New Language to

Visually Impaired and Blind ESL Students: Problems and Possibilities.

Journal of Kaizen Program for New English Learners with Visual

Limitations. Retrieved September 12, 2009, from

http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=44&TopicID=108&SubTopicID

=32&DocumentID=1933

18. Seng, C., (2004). Teaching English to blind students. Teaching English.

Retrieved September from

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/teaching-english-blind-

students

19. Trask (1982) Teaching and Learning Language. England: Cambridge

University Press. Visual standards report prepared for the International

Council of Ophthalmology at the 29th International Congress of

Ophthalmology. (2002). Sydney: p.1

20. Wikipedia, Blindness. Retrieved on Sunday, September 13th, 2009 from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blindness

21. World Health Organization. International Classification of Diseases, 9th

62

Revision (ICD-9), World Health Organization, Geneva, 1977.

I

APPENDICES APPENDIX A STUDENT INTERVIEW QUESTIONS PHIẾU CÂU HỎI PHỎNG VẤN HỌC SINH KHIẾM THỊ Những câu hỏi sau đây dùng cho việc tìm hiểu những khó khăn trong việc dạy và học Tiếng Anh như là một ngoại ngữ cho học sinh khiếm thị và giải pháp để khắc phục những khó khăn đó. Các câu trả lời mà các em cung cấp rất quan trọng với công trình nghiên cứu này. Dữ liệu điều tra sẽ chỉ được sử dụng cho mục đích nghiên cứ, không vì mục đích nào khác. Vì vậy rất mong các em trả lời đúng theo suy nghĩ của mình. Cảm ơn sự hợp tác của các em! Phần 1: Thông tin cá nhân Tuổi: __________ Lớp: __________ Nam: __________ Nữ: __________ Nội trú: __________ Ngoại trú: __________ Mức độ khiếm thị: Mù __________ Nhìn kém: __________ Em bắt đầu học Tiếng Anh từ lớp mấy? __________ Điểm trung bình môn ở học kì 1 là bao nhiêu? __________ Phần 2: Các câu hỏi phỏng vấn: 1. Tại sao em học Tiếng Anh? Mục đích của việc học Tiếng Anh của em là gì? __________ Để vượt qua các kì thi __________ Bởi vì Tiếng Anh là ngôn ngữ Quốc tế __________ Để giao tiếp với người nước ngoài __________ Em thích Tiếng Anh __________ Vì đó là môn học bắt buộc __________ Để có cơ hội vào một trường cấp 3 tốt __________Ý kiến bổ sung: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 2. Em nghĩ như thế nào về tầm quan trọng của việc học Tiếng Anh? __________ Rất quan trọng __________ Quan trọng __________ Bình thường __________ Không quan trọng lắm __________Ý kiến bổ sung: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………

II

3. So sánh với các môn học khác ( Toán, Văn, Vật lý, Hóa học,…), thì Tiếng Anh __________ Quan trọng hơn các môn khác __________ Quan trọng bằng các môn khác __________ Không quan trọng bằng các môn khác. __________Ý kiến bổ sung: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 4. Mức độ thích học Tiếng Anh của em như thế nào? __________ Rất thích __________ Thích __________ Bình thường __________ Không thích lắm __________ Không thích tí nào __________Ý kiến bổ sung: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 5. Em nghĩ năng lực học Tiếng Anh của mình như thế nào? __________ Rất tốt __________ Khá tốt __________ Tốt __________ Không tốt lắm __________ Không tốt tí nào __________Ý kiến bổ sung: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 6. Việc đạt điểm cao trong môn Tiếng Anh có ý nghĩa thế nào đối với bản thân em? __________ Rất quan trọng __________ Chỉ cần trên điểm trung bình __________ Em không quan tâm đến điểm số __________Ý kiến bổ sung: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 7. Em nghĩ gì về giờ học Tiếng Anh ở lớp mình? __________ Rất hay __________ Hay __________ Bình thường __________ Chán

III

__________Ý kiến bổ sung: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 8. Em cảm thấy như thế nào trong giờ học Tiếng Anh trên lớp? __________ Em cảm thấy thú vị __________ Em cảm thấy tự tin __________ Em cảm thấy chán __________ Em cảm thấy lo lắng, hồi hộp, và sợ nhất là khi bị gọi tên. __________ Em không muốn tham gia __________Ý kiến bổ sung: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 9. Những yếu tố nào khiến em cảm thấy chán nản, hồi hộp, hay không muốn tham gia giờ học Tiếng Anh trên lớp? __________ Sợ bị chê cười khi mắc lỗi. __________ Không thích học Tiếng Anh. __________ Cảm thấy không được quan tâm, chú ý đến. __________ Bài tập và chủ đề trong sách giáo khoa khó __________Cách giảng của thầy cô nhàm chán __________Ý kiến bổ sung: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 10. Em thường làm gì trong giờ học Tiếng Anh? __________Em nhiệt tình tham gia __________Hầu như em im lặng và lắng nghe các bạn khác. __________Ý kiến bổ sung: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 11. Em thường làm gì khi gặp khó khăn trong giờ Tiếng Anh? __________ Em nhờ sự giúp đỡ của cô giáo và các bạn mắt sáng. __________ Em im lặng và không làm gì cả. __________Ý kiến bổ sung: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 12. Em thấy phần nào là khó nhất khi nào Tiếng Anh? __________ Nghe __________ Nói __________ Đọc

IV

__________ Viết __________ Từ vựng __________ Ngữ pháp __________ Phát âm __________Ý kiến bổ sung: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 13. Cô giáo Tiếng Anh của em có sử dụng các dụng cụ trực quan (đài, máy tính, ..) trong các tiết dạy không? __________ Thường xuyên __________ Thỉnh thoảng __________ Hiếm khi __________ Không bao giờ __________Ý kiến bổ sung: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 14. Các em có được học Tiếng Anh trong phòng học riêng biệt không? __________ Thường xuyên __________ Thỉnh thoảng __________ Hiếm khi __________ Không bao giờ __________Ý kiến bổ sung: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 15. Trường em có tổ chức các hoạt động ngoại khóa Tiếng Anh không? __________ Thường xuyên __________ Thỉnh thoảng __________ Hiếm khi __________ Không bao giờ __________Ý kiến bổ sung: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 16. Em có tham gia vào các lớp học phụ đạo không? __________ Thường xuyên __________ Thỉnh thoảng __________ Hiếm khi __________ Không bao giờ

V

__________Ý kiến bổ sung: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 17. Em thường sử dụng tài liệu nào để phục vụ cho việc học Tiếng Anh? __________ Sách giáo khoa chữ nổi __________ Sách bài tập chữ nổi __________ Sách tham khảo __________ Báo, tạp chí Tiếng Anh __________ Mạng, internet __________Ý kiến bổ sung: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 18. Em thấy sách giáo khoa môn Tiếng Anh em đang học như thế nào? __________ Các yêu cầu trong sách khó __________ Các yêu cầu trong sách dễ __________ Một vài phần trong sách không thể tiếp cận được __________ Sách có nhiều phần khó. __________Ý kiến bổ sung: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 19. Những khó khăn mà em gặp phải khi học Tiếng Anh __________ Em không thực sự giỏi môn Tiếng Anh __________ Em thường rất căng thẳng và sợ xấu hổ khi nói Tiếng Anh trước mặt cô giáo và các bạn. __________ Cô giáo đưa ra các hướng dẫn không rõ ràng. __________ Phương pháp dạy học của cô giáo rất buồn tẻ, không sáng tạo. __________ Các bạn bên cạnh không giúp đỡ. __________Em không dành nhiều thời gian cho việc học Tiếng Anh __________ Nhà trường thiếu trang thiết bị phục vụ cho việc dạy và học (phòng học riêng, máy chiếu, loa, đài, sách,.) __________ Em không được cung cấp các phương tiện chuyên biệt để học môn Tiếng Anh. __________ Thời gian học trên lớp không đủ. __________ Sách giáo khoa rất là khó __________Ý kiến bổ sung: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………

VI

20. Để cải thiện tình hình học tập môn Tiếng Anh của mình, em đã làm gì? __________ Luyện tập ở nhà. __________ Tham gia các lớp học phụ đạo. __________ Làm nhiều bài tập trong sách tham khảo/ bổ trợ. __________ Tham gia các câu lạc bộ Tiếng Anh __________Ý kiến bổ sung: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 21. Theo em, nhà trường và giáo viên nên làm gì để giúp đỡ các em trong việc học Tiếng Anh hiệu quả hơn? __________ Giáo viên nên khuyến khích, động viên, giúp đỡ học sinh và nhiệt tình hơn trong giờ học. __________ Giáo viên nên kiểm tra chúng em thường xuyên hơn. __________ Giáo viên nên thiết kế các hoạt động mà chúng em có thể tham gia nhiều hơn. __________ Giáo viên nên tạo ra một môi trường thân thiện hỗ trợ lẫn nhau. __________ Giáo viên nên sử dụng các phương tiện dạy học một cách phù hợp. __________ Nhà trường nên cung cấp và hỗ trợ các trang thiết bị dạy và học cần thiết. __________ Chúng em phải học tập chăm chỉ hơn nữa. __________Ý kiến bổ sung: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… Cảm ơn em! Chúc em có một sức khỏe thật tốt và ngày càng có nhiều niềm vui!

VII

APPENDIX B INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS Thank you very much for accepting to participate in my research study about teaching and learning English as a foreign language to Blind Students. For the purpose of data collection, could you please answer the following questions at your earliest convenience? Use as much space as necessary. These questions are conducted with a view to find out the difficulties in teaching and learning English as a foreign language to blind students and suggest some possible solutions. Your completion of this interview is highly appreciated. The data collected are used in the research paper only, not for any other purposes. Thank you very much for your cooperation! Part 1: Personal Information Your gender: Male__________ Female __________ Your age: __________ Number of years of teaching experience: __________ Part 2: Interview questions 1. How long have you been teaching English? __________ Less than 3 years __________ 3- 6 years __________ More than 6-9 years __________ More than 9 years 2. Have you ever taught English to blind and low vision students? __________ Yes __________ No __________Others: …………………………………………………………………. ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 3. How long have you been teaching blind and low vision students? __________ Less than 3 years __________ 3- 6 years __________ More than 6-9 years __________ More than 9 years 4. Have you ever taken in a training course in teaching English to blind and low vision students? __________ Yes __________ No __________Others: …………………………………………………………………. ………………………………………………………………………………………..

VIII

5. What is your idea about teaching and learning English to blind and low vision students at School X? __________ Very essential __________ Essential __________ Not very essential __________ Not essential at all __________Others: …………………………………………………………………. ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 6. In comparison with other subjects (Math, literature, physic, …), English is… __________ More important than other subjects __________ As important as other subjects __________ Less important than other subjects __________Others: …………………………………………………………………. ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 7. How much do your students like learning English? __________Very much __________ Quite much __________ Normal __________ Not really __________ Not at all 8. What do you think about your students’ English proficiency/ competence? __________ Very good __________ Quite good __________ Good __________ Not very good __________ Not good at all __________Others: …………………………………………………………………. ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 9. According to you, the aim of teaching English to blind and low vision students is enable them to: __________ Understand English grammar and do grammar exercises __________Communicate with English- speaking people __________Read simple text in English __________ Acquire a certain amount of vocabulary __________ Get better __________Study abroad __________Others: …………………………………………………………………. ………………………………………………………………………………………..

IX

10. What do you focus on most in your teaching at school? __________ Pronunciation __________ Grammar __________ Vocabulary __________ Reading __________ Speaking __________ Listening __________ Writing __________ Conversational/ communicative skills __________Others: …………………………………………………………………. ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 11. In your opinion, what is the most suitable approach for your teaching at present? __________ Communicative Language Teaching __________ The Direct Method __________ Combination of GMT and CLT __________ The Audio- Lingual Method __________ The Grammar- Translation Method (GTM) __________Others: …………………………………………………………………. ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 12. What kinds of classroom techniques do you often use in your teaching at school? __________ Using blackboard __________ Using tape recorders __________ Using simple teaching aids (pictures/ flashcards/ handouts, etc.) __________ Using supplementary materials __________ Organizing pairwork/ groupwork __________Others: …………………………………………………………………. ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 13. How do you often use the textbook? __________ Teach everything in the textbook __________ Design new exercises __________ Simplify the tasks in the textbook if necessary __________Others: …………………………………………………………………. ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 14. Do you use other materials besides the textbook in your teaching? __________ Yes __________ No

X

If Yes, how often? (More than one choice is acceptable) __________ in skills learning lessons (reading, speaking, listening, writing) __________ in grammar lessons __________ every lesson __________ when some lessons in the textbook are not relevant to my students __________Others: …………………………………………………………………. ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 15. Does your school have many facilities for your teaching? (tape recorders, overhead projectors, lab rooms, CDs, etc.) __________ Yes __________ Yes, but not many __________ No __________Others: …………………………………………………………………. ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 16. Do you often use your mother tongue in your teaching at school? __________ Often __________ Sometimes __________ Rarely __________ Never __________Others: …………………………………………………………………. ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 17. When do you use your mother tongue in your teaching at school? (More than one choice is acceptable) __________ In teaching language skills __________ In teaching grammar __________ In teaching vocabulary __________ Only when giving instruction __________ In most of the lessons __________Others: …………………………………………………………………. ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 18. What teaching strategies do you often use in your teaching? (More than one choice is acceptable) __________ Facilitating autonomous students‟ learning. __________ Creating an atmosphere in which students are not afraid to make mistakes and are encouraged to take risks. __________ Using games (Lucky numbers, crosswords, slap the board, etc.) __________ Using technology (Computers, OHP, etc.) __________Others: …………………………………………………………………. ………………………………………………………………………………………..

19. How important are these factors to your English teaching? (Please tick in which suitable to your ideas.)

Very important Important Not very important

Not very important at all

XI

Students‟ aptitude and anxiety Students‟ attitude and motivation Students‟ learning strategies Teaching strategy Teaching method Teachers‟ knowledge Teachers‟ characteristics/ roles Textbooks/ materials Classroom structure/ climate School facilities Others 20. To improve the English lessons, teacher had to: __________ Prepare the lesson more carefully (Change the tasks appropriately, use techniques/ materials, etc.) __________ Suggest interesting topics/ activities/ tasks/ exercises __________ Encourage students to take part in the tasks/ activities/lessons __________ Spend more time for lower students __________ Organize extra classes/ English clubs. __________Others: …………………………………………………………………. ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 21. To overcome the difficulties, the teachers should/ What have you done to help blind and low vision students? __________ Give students clear instructions __________ Divide class into small groups __________ Adapt textbook and make some changes if necessary __________ Make learning fun and comfortable __________ Provide meaningful and concrete activities __________ Use authentic materials __________ Facilitate necessary equipment __________Others: …………………………………………………………………. ……………………………………………………………………………………….. Thank you very much!

APPENDIX C

INCLUSIVE CLASS OBSERVATION CHECKLIST

Name of the school: ……………………………………………………………..

Name of the teacher: …………………………………………………………….

Qualification: ……………………………………………………………………

Grade: ……………………………………………………………………………

Section: …………………………………………………………………………..

Date of Observation: ……………………………………………………………..

Time: ……………………………………………………………………………..

Lesson observed: …………………………………………………………………

Number of students in class: ……………………………………………………..

Number of VISs in class: …………………………………………………………

Rating Scale:

E= Evident NE= Not Evident NA= Not Applicable

E NE NA

Lesson presentation, instruction, instructional materials strategies

1 VISs are participating in lesson activities by both

answering and asking questions.

2

Teacher‟s voice is heard in teaching/ learning process.

3 A variety of instructional materials appropriate to

learner‟s diversity are used to engage and motivate learners.

4

The teacher provides feedback to students to guide their learning.

5

XII

The teacher facilitates smooth transitions from activity to activity within and between lessons.

6

Students with (low) visual impairments sit in front of the class.

7

The teacher follows up the involvement of the student with visual impairment in group discussion.

8 A variety of grouping patterns are used. Circle

any/ all that apply:

Pair

Small groups

Whole class

Independent Learning

9

The teacher verbalizes the notes while writing on the chalkboard.

10 The teacher encourages students with visual

impairment to answer questions.

11 The teacher pre- teaches vocabulary and key

concepts which relate to the lesson through verbal explanations and concrete examples.

12 The teacher uses multi- sensory approach while

teaching.

13 The teacher gives time for questions and answers

to individual children during the session.

14 The teacher assigns other students to support VISs

to do class activities.

15 Facilities are accessible to children with visual

impairment.

16 There is sufficient space in class for independent

XIII

movement.

17 The teacher makes clear the structure and

objectives of the lesson.

18 The teacher checks for understanding of

instruction, e.g. by asking a child to explain them in their own words.

19 VISs use assistive technology in class.

XIV

General comments about the lesson: …………………………………………………