Here is a workshop that I recently facilitated.It comes with a free open source document that I masterminded. Special needs is often an elephant in the room in the EFL world. Teachers can feel overwhelmed, underprepared, and challenged by the presence of special needs in their classroom. Due to a lack of training and resources, it can and often does feel like a minefield. I have heard 'I don't know what to do' and seen some people fake the competency they feel they should have with often harmful consequences too many times. I remember the first time I encountered special needs as a brand new teacher fresh of of the CELTA, and being unable to find help. I felt out of my depth and as though I was an awful teacher for not being able to help the student reach their fullest potential. Not only this but I was angry for the child who was not getting the support that they needed. I encountered the same problem several times, and each time no one could help, no one understood what students with autism, ADHD, Dyslexia and much more were experiencing, or how to overcome barriers. Eventually I said enough is enough!
I began some action research. I went onto futurelearn took two amazing courses by the Universities of Kent and Southampton, took on volunteering at an orphanage which cares predominantly for children with disability, and undertook extensive reading. Finally I decided not only to start the ball rolling for myself but for others who had shared my experience. I decided that through networks of teachers, managers, TAs, and parents that together we could combine our experiences and learning to help address this issue.
If you would like to know more about special needs in EFL, and would like to develop your teaching practice this will be very useful. Likewise if you are an experienced teacher and would love to give this workshop or want to contribute some of your own ideas to the open source document, you are more than welcome to. I also invite you to share this with anyone it may be useful to.
Presentation
Materials 1: Jigsaw
Materials 2: activity idea
Open source document
