INITIAL EXPERIENCE REPORT ABOUT THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TO A BLIND STUDENT

Abstract

The research and extension project “Expanding Horizons; Decreasing Barriers: English as Foreign Language for Visually Impaired” was designed to cater to  a demand presented by  a student of the journalism course of the Federal University of Tocantins who requested help in relation to material for English language learning in Braille. During an initial conversation, the student reported that she sought to learn the language in English Courses and autodidactically, however, she realized that the study through listening and speaking activities did not consider an integral learning of the language, as it happens to students without  disabilities. From the demand presented, great uneasiness and questioning emerged, such as, the process of teaching English, principally in Braille written, considering many peculiarities of the language, especially in relation to the pronunciation of words which writing  differs from its diction. In addition, it is highlighted the lack of specific training to work with students with disabilities in the classroom, particularly with regard to L2 learning. Thus, considering the need to foster social inclusion, a  subject widely discussed in academic circles and understanding the teaching-learning of a foreign language as conducive to better opportunities for students to be put in the labor market, as well as a way of the individual to be placed in the world, this work aims to present the experience report about the initial work developed with the student and a reflection about the teacher’s action on how to teach English to students with visual impairment.