Social Research Applied to English Language Teaching in Colombian Contexts: Theory and Methods was edited and published by Editorial Universidad El Bosque.
April 2013
Bogotá, Colombia
Social Research Applied to English Language Teaching in Colombian Contexts: Theory and Methods fue editado y publicado por la Editorial Universidad El Bosque.
Abril de 2013
Bogotá D. C., Colombia
Reid Evans currently works as the Director of Special Programs at the Montessori British School in Bogotá, Colombia, as well as a research collaborator with Universidad El Bosque focusing on multilingual literacy and academic writing. He has studied foreign-language education at the undergraduate level and has subsequently earned an M. S. in literacy education from the State University of New York at New Paltz. His research interests include: second-language acquisition theory, multilingual literacy, morphology, linguistic typology, and foreign-language advocacy.
Any teacher of English as a foreign language will attest that English verb construction in colloquial speech presents, quite possibly, one of the largest obstacles in L2 English language acquisition. The difficulty related to the comprehension of the syntactic and semantic properties of English phrasal verbs1, particularly those expressing events of motion, has been indicated by numerous researchers (Ganji, 2011; Ibarretxe-Antuaño, 2004; Ionin & Zubizarreta, 2010; White, B. J., 2012). In their examination of English verb construction, they have pointed directly to the specific linguistic phenomena that make English structurally different from Spanish. These differences, it has been argued, often transfer from the learner’s L1 and hinder the development of L2 English ability (Almeida, 2002; Brown & Gullberg, 2010; Cadierno, 2004; Casado Antoniazzi, 2010; Slobin, 1987).
In accordance with the aforementioned research findings, there exist abundant resources for phrasal verb teaching designs and classroom practices aimed at increasing EFL students’ comprehension and production within this capacity (Alejo González, R., Piquer Píriz, A. & Reveriego Sierra, G., 2010; White, B. J., 2012). However, much of the previous research, as well as the bulk of the proposed instructional design, fail to elucidate the specific syntactic dissimilarities that exist between English and Spanish verb structure. Researchers merely acknowledge such a linguistic dichotomy, yet rarely attempt to develop didactic knowledge in this area (Alejo González et al., 2010; Casado Antoniazzi, 2010; Larrañaga, P., Treffers-Daller, J., Tidball, F. & Gil Ortega, M., 2011; Pozdnyakova & Gunina, 2011; Spring, 2010). As noted by White (2012), “teaching suggestions are often confined to brief pedagogical applications sections at the end of research articles” (p. 420) and, consequently, offer little in terms of instructional guidelines.
The goal of this chapter, however, is perhaps a bit more ambitious. There is a pressing need to recognize the difference in linguistic structuring, referred to henceforth as typology (Talmy, 2000), and to communicate this knowledge both to EFL teachers and their students alike. As such, this chapter carries two distinct objectives in relation to the English phrasal verb construction enigma. First, the typological differences which dictate Spanish and English verb construction will be interpreted within the realm of phrasal verbs, thus providing educators with the essential expertise to incorporate this knowledge into the EFL classroom. Secondly, didactic strategies for phrasal verb instruction grounded on the current research within the field of cognitive linguistics will be discussed as to provide novel approaches to EFL instruction. It is hoped that the EFL instructor will take away a new understanding of English verb construction so that a clearer picture may be delivered to L2 English learners.
To a native English speaker, the fabled lines “Jack fell down and broke his crown/ And Jill came tumbling after,” rarely evoke second thoughts as to the inherent structure of the English verb phrase in relation to the manner, motion, and path of movement. In fact, it undoubtedly requires minimal cognitive effort on behalf of the native English speaker to construct verb expressions of this nature as our lexicon is brimming with phrases such as falling down, tumbling after, trudging along, drifting by, and dropping in. Integral to these expressions is the element of path of motion, or trajectory, represented by an adverb or preposition and not directly encoded on the verb itself. Such a phenomenon has been the direct focus of the work of Leonard Talmy, in which he has set the guidelines for linguistic classifications within the realm of language typology. Talmy’s (2000) designation of typology separates languages into two main categories, that of satellite-framed and verb-framed languages, both of which are entirely dependent upon the conflation of manner, motion, and path in events of motion. Satellite-framed languages, including English, are defined by their reliance on satellites which are added to the verb to depict the path of motion (Larrañaga et al., 2011). “Jack fell down,” as the popular nursery rhyme suggests, requires the use of the preposition down to depict the path of Jack’s falling. In contrast, verb-framed languages, like Spanish, depict motion events in a different way, generally encoding the path of the motion directly on the verb (Spring, 2010; Ibarretxe-Antuaño, 2009). This becomes apparent in the Spanish translation of the aforementioned nursery rhyme: “Jack se cayó.” In this case, both the action of falling, as well as the movement of the figure in regards to the ground, are encoded on the verb itself. As such, these typologies as defined by Talmy (2000) make specific reference to the formation of events of motion within a particular language.
As demonstrated above, such classifications of typology stress the importance of path of motion in the construction of motion events in verb– and satellite–framed languages. The satellite, although not a lexical category in its own right, represents a semantic function inherent in s-framed languages: that of displaying the path (p) or trajectory of the figure (f ), or the locative element in a motion event. Note that, according to Talmy (2000), a motion event may be defined as “a situation containing motion, or the continuation of a stationary location alike” (p. 25); therefore, the figure may be considered to participate in a motion event that is either that of translational motion (1a), or simply that of maintaining a stationary position (1b). The following examples are provided to demonstrate the difference of the motion events described above:
Both of these phrases demonstrate the completion of an action that is either translational in nature (1a), or that describes the perpetuation of a spatial position (1b). The action of getting out of a chair clearly delineates a change of location, while that of sitting up maintains the spatial position, albeit with a change of posture.
In verb-framed languages, however, such syntactic constructions are not possible. In her work on linguistic typology, Ibarretxe-Antuaño (2004, 2009, 2012) clearly establishes the elaboration of path in verb-framed languages. Whereas satellite-framed languages routinely express path via a satellite, in verb-framed languages “the core information is not expressed in a separate element, but usually conflated with the verb” (Ibarretxe-Antuaño, 2012, p. 6). This idea is clearly expressed in the following examples of grammatical phrases in Spanish:
These examples clearly establish that the motion verbs (descender; incorporarse) inherently contain an element of path that their English counterparts do not (to go down, to sit up). Here, it becomes clear that the English verbs most frequently appear in a verb phrase to fully confer the semantic meaning of the motion event. Verb-framed languages, conversely, tend to conflate both motion and path within the verb itself.
The dichotomy of verb construction between verb- and satellite-framed languages becomes even more profound when considering sentences with multiple motion events. As established above, path of motion is most often encoded outside of the verb in a satellite in s-framed languages, therefore permitting multiple motion events to be associated with the same verb as demonstrated in (3a) and (3b):
From the examples (3a) and (3b), we see that the verbs to fall and to run can take multiple satellites thus collocating separate motion events onto the same verb. To emphasize this notion, (3a) and (3b) could be written in the manner of (3c) and (3d):
For the sake of brevity, native-like English discourse would never contain expressions of this style. Instead, the verbs to fall and to run are simply assigned multiple satellites that each represent the distinct events clarified in (3c) and (3d). As a result of this paradigm, infinite multiple satellite constructions are possible in English and are quite frequent in colloquial speech. Additional examples of grammatical English sentences that follow this model include:
The verb phrases present in these sentences denote more than one event of motion by the addition of multiple path satellites. From this model, it is not a stretch of the imagination to deduce the grammaticality of (v) which expresses four motion events on the verb to go solely via the addition of path satellites.
This multiple-event expression, however pervasive in the verb phrases of satellite-framed English, is grammatically impossible in languages with verb-framed motion event expression. As Brown and Gullberg (2010) explain, in verb-framed languages “comparable information is spread across [separate] clauses, each associated with different path verbs” (p. 266). As path is often conflated on the verb in verb-framed languages, the Spanish translation of (3a) and (3b) respectively must be written as follows in order to retain grammaticality:
As demonstrated by (4a) and (4b), the path of motion is distinctly encoded in each of the verbs and, therefore, motions following dissimilar paths must be expressed via separate clauses. The verbs caerse and sumergirse both inherently carry within the verb nucleus a path of motion, that of the figure falling downward toward the ground referent, or the figure entering the ground referent respectively. As such, verb-framed languages accomplish the task of communicating the previous event of a man falling down the mountain and into the river differently than would a satellite-framed language. Whereas Spanish requires the use of separate motion/path verbs, English permits the use of the aggregation of satellites to a verb phrase to express multiple paths of motion.
With the idea of path established as a determining factor in typological classification, it becomes necessary to examine the manner in which each of the motion events is depicted and the implications of such in verb- and satellite-framed languages. Talmy (2000) refers to the manner of motion as a co-event, or an associated motion that often expresses the manner in which the event occurred. This type of lexicalization, prevalent in satellite-framed languages, permits the verb to express not only motion, but the manner of the co-event as well. As Talmy (2000) indicates, “the relation that the co-event bears to the main motion event is then indicated by a form like WITH-THE-MANNER-OF or WITH-THE-CAUSE-OF” (p. 29). This idea is best expressed by first referring to the simple expression of motion in (5a):
In this example, we can infer that a man began on one side of the room and arrived to the opposing side, yet noting is mentioned about the manner in which he completed the action. The verb to move used in (5a) is simply demonstrating movement, yet it does not convey the manner in which the movement occurred. However, in the following examples, English manner-of-motion verbs are used to elaborate not just the movement, but the manner in which the man moved across the room:
As Talmy (2000) suggests, the idea that the man danced across the room can thus be interpreted as the following:
From this example, the conflation of both manner and motion on the verb root in satellite-framed languages becomes evident. This phenomenon allows the speaker of a satellite-framed language such as English to interpret an event in such a way that the motion event and the co-event essentially become inseparable.
The conflation of manner and motion evidenced in the previous examples (5b-e), however typical in satellite-framed languages, is a syntactic construct that is considerably less ubiquitous in their verb-framed counterparts. Attempts to directly translate the previous sentences would result in phrases perceived as markedly cacophonous in native speech. As such, the following examples are provided to convey the difference in manner encoding in verb-framed languages, such as Spanish. Note that the sentences marked with an asterisk (*), although perhaps direct translations, express dissimilar interpretations of movement.
It is noted that the Spanish translations rely on an adverb or adverbial phrase to express the notion of WITH-THE-MANNER-OF. Furthermore, the sentences presented in (6d) and (6e), although grammatically correct, express a slightly different path of motion than their English counterparts. The motion expressed in (6d) is that of a man moving around within a room with the manner of running, not necessarily a completed movement from one side to the other as in (5c). Likewise, the movement communicated in (6e) conveys a dissimilar action to a native speaker of Spanish than that of the English equivalent seen in (5e).
To express the same movement of a man crossing a room, the manner of motion in examples (6a) through (6c) cannot be contained within the verb itself and is placed outside of the nucleus in an adverb or adverbial phrase. The consequence of the typological paradigm, as Ibarretxe-Antuaño (2012) suggests, is such that speakers of verb- and satellite-framed languages are motivated to communicate motion events in certain predetermined ways. This concept becomes apparent when considering the conceptualizations of movement expressed in (6d) and (6e) as opposed to their English counterparts.
It is not to say, however, that verb- and satellite-framed languages cannot contain both manner-of-motion and path-of-motion verbs. This, of course, is evidenced in the numerous grammatically-appropriate constructions of English and Spanish. Rather it is the frequency and diversity that is representative of a language that determines its specific motion-event constructions (Lemmens, 2005). In fact, work on linguistic typology makes specific reference to the characteristic expressions of language, maintaining that classification must be based on colloquial expressions that are both frequent and pervasive within quotidian speech (Talmy, 2000). As such, the English language may permit the phrase the mountain climber ascended the mountain and descended safely, akin to the Spanish example in (2a), yet this manner of speaking is often reserved for literary or perhaps high-brow discourse. The English verbs which make this type of path construction possible (e.g. to ascend, to descend) are most frequently Latinate in nature and, therefore, their path-conferring structure is borrowed from another language (Brown & Gullberg, 2010; Spring, 2010). Consequently, the verb constructions that prove to be both the most frequent and the most pervasive in the English language are those that appear in the form of the phrasal verb, often designating motion and manner directly on the verb and leaving path to be expressed in a satellite.
As has been demonstrated in the prior examples, the typological structure of motion events often varies between languages and, as a consequence, may present specific challenges to the language learner within this realm. Students whose first language is verb-framed (e.g. Spanish) may have difficulty conceptualizing a motion event in the manner of a satellite-framed language such as English (Ionin & Zubizarreta, 2010). The challenge, as a result, would be for L2 English learners to begin to think of verb constructions in a new way, a task which has been shown to increase the processing load of the mental faculty (Larrañaga et al., 2011). Thus, it can be assumed that miscues will be abundant, as the processing load will require a higher degree of cognitive dedication to the computation of learned rules and the production of grammatical sentences. This may be especially true for those learners who lack the understanding of language typology and the differences between languages. In a study designed to target the effects of L1 transfer, Cadierno (2004) sought to determine how second-language learners come to express motion events in an L2 with differing typology. Her results suggest that L2 learners often use knowledge from their L1 when they are confronted with situations in which they lack the knowledge to express themselves appropriately. Such findings support the concept of explicit instruction in the second-language classroom in order to minimize L1 transfer. The consequence of such transfer is non-native speech production, particularly evident within multi-motion event constructions requiring various satellites. In order to combat this non-native production, the importance of the direct instruction of satellite framing has been suggested so that the fossilization of the L1 structures can be avoided (Spring, 2010).
Unfortunately, many educators are unfamiliar with the linguistic typology paradigm and, therefore, often neglect any direct instruction in the syntactic constructs of English phrasal verbs. Formal instruction in this realm often affects performance in a second language as the comparison of linguistic forms may prove beneficial to the L2 learner. Such cross-linguistics inferencing is often ignored in the language classroom, yet the consideration of such syntactic differences may provide L2 English learners with the necessary tools for success (Kao, 2001).
In an attempt to provide a more effective learning environment, the second-language educator must consider the recent work within the field of cognitive linguistics which has proposed many new approaches to the teaching of English phrasal verbs. The goal of any language classroom, of course, is to encourage speech that approximates native-like proficiency, thus providing the most benefit to the student. As such, many instructional suggestions have been offered so that an enlightened teacher-student team may work together to overcome the typology paradigm. The current work in cognitive linguistics has demonstrated the need for both the explicit instruction of English phrasal verbs, as well as an approach that favors a conceptualization of meaning as opposed to rote memorization which now seems antiquated in the language classroom (Alejo González, et al., 2010; Camacho, 2010; Casado Antoniazzi, 2010; Ganji, 2011; Pozdnyakova & Gunina, 2011).
One of the most common misconceptions in EFL instruction is that the opacity of English phrasal verbs is somewhat insurmountable and, as such, rote memorization is essential to mastering these lexical elements. This type of instruction, however, often fails to provide the L2 English learner with the profound awareness that leads to native-like speech production. Explicit instruction of both syntax and semantics, conversely, has proven successful in the acquisition of phrasal verbs in a number of studies. Camacho (2010) tested such a hypothesis in a study of phrasal verb methodology in an attempt to discover the effectiveness of explicit instruction. She found that in the EFL classroom setting, students who were directly taught the role of the preposition, as well as general concepts of phrasal verbs, scored higher on their posttests than did students taught in the traditional way. Furthermore, Camacho included translation exercises in her methodology which focused on motion-event constructions to elucidate the typology differences between English and Spanish. The students were given Spanish phrases such as cruzar nadando, huir corriendo, salir andando with the task of translating them to encourage conceptualization in English (Camacho, 2010). Such phrases, due to typological differences, cannot be directly translated to English without some sense of ungrammaticality. The students were required to construct phrases utilizing English manner-of-motion verbs and, as a result, become cognitively aware of the contrasts between English and Spanish.
It has also been demonstrated that the use of negative evidence in the language classroom may prove advantageous to the second language learner. Larrañaga, et al. (2011) establish the value of negative evidence and suggest that students rarely have access to ungrammatical sentences in the second-language classroom. This approach is particularly important as it helps to expose the errors that may result from L1 transfer since, as the authors propose, some language structures exist that cannot be acquired without access to such negative evidence (Larrañaga, et al., 2011). Considering the sentences presented in Camacho (2010), it becomes necessary to demonstrate to the students that to cross swimming, and to flee running are expressions that do not sound particularly grammatical to the native English speaker. Thus, the research suggests that explicitly disclosing the syntactic structures of the English language, paired with the presentation of negative evidence may greatly impact the L2 learner’s capacity in the context of phrasal verbs.
In addition to the explicit instruction of syntax and semantics, several researchers have cited phrasal verb instruction via conceptualization and metaphor as convincing next steps in the language classroom. Discovery of meaning and logical analysis on the part of the student has been shown to encourage contextual reasoning, language competence, and a deeper understanding of semantic meaning (Casado Antoniazzi, 2010; Ganji, 2011; Pozdnyakova & Gunina, 2011). Teaching phrasal verbs according the metaphorical meaning of their satellites, as Ganji (2011) suggests, facilitates language comprehension as such an understanding “plays a much more active role… when students come across untaught idioms with the same particles as taught ones” (p. 1503). Simply memorizing a list of phrasal verbs with similar particles, therefore, is not as effective as encouraging the growth of mental representations of certain satellites. Prompting students to create a metaphorical concept of the preposition off, for example, as something that is no longer connected or attached will promote the comprehension of phrases such as: to take off, to give off, to run off, to put off, etc.
This type of study lends itself particularly well to the use of visual/spatial-type classroom exercises. When students are required to create visual representations of the metaphorical meaning behind opaque phrasal verbs, the product frequently leads to a mental representation which facilitates future understanding. This type of exercise would impart critical understanding of phrasal verbs with the English verb ‘to get,’ for example (e.g. to get up, to get around, to get off, to get over, etc.). Asking students to illustrate the meanings of these expressions, first in the literal sense, then through their metaphorical meaning, would encourage a more profound comprehension as the structure of the satellites would be compared through visual representation. Such a notion has been explored in a study conducted by Takahashi and Matsuya (2012) in which they tested visual aids on the retention of opaque English phrasal verbs. Their findings suggest that the use of cognitive-oriented learning devices, specifically visual images of phrasal verbs, is capable of promoting the uptake of phrasal verbs (p. 1298).
As such, the teaching of English phrasal verbs should be considered from a cognitive linguistics perspective as the “technique of making learners aware of the motivation underlying the figurative meanings of phrasal verbs is one potential tool for semantic elaboration” (Alejo González, et al., 2010, p. 62). Furthermore, various instruc tional techniques within the realm of phrasal verbs do exist which may ultimately facilitate the learning and incorporation of native-like expression in the English L2 classroom. Direct instruction of the role of English prepositions, the use of negative evidence in the EFL classroom, and instruction via conceptualization and metaphor have all been proven to support the effective instruction of English phrasal verbs. These techniques may be incorporated wholly or in part into any EFL classroom in which the goal is greater native-like capacity for L2 English speakers.
While much research has been previously conducted in the area of linguistic typology and second-language acquisition, there is still much room for advancement to connect the findings of such research directly to classroom instruction. Instructional design which makes specific reference to typological classifications, and incorporates conceptualization and metaphor to enlighten and endow learners may prove particularly beneficial in the L2 classroom. It is further suggested by Yu and Pan (2012) that research must be done regarding the retention and comprehension of metaphorical phrasal verbs specifically within the framework of cognitive linguistics. In addition, examining the socio-linguistic limitations of second-language acquisition including cross-linguistic influences and pragmatic transfer may provide insight into the development of a non-native tongue.
As such, investigation which specifically highlights and explores these phenomena should be considered of significant importance in second-language acquisition research. Various researchers have hitherto begun to work within this realm, yet this previous investigation should be further explored so that research-based instruction can remain innovative for the second-language classroom.
As it has been demonstrated, the elaboration of manner and path is said to determine the paradigms of verb formation– paradigms which display distinct categorical variation between verb- and satellite-framed languages. The conceptualization of motion events, therefore, is said to be conceived differently by speakers of Spanish as by speakers of English as these two languages are typologically dissimilar (Spring, 2010). This notion expresses the urgency of the direct instruction of linguistic typology to L2 learners whose mother tongue and target language are typologically dissimilar. Native-like fluency in the EFL classroom, consequently, may be greatly hindered if the concept of verb construc tion is unknown to the L2 English learner. As such, the preponderance of the research within this field posits that second-language educators must learn and incorporate the concepts of linguistic typology to foster growth within the area of phrasal verbs.
Jenny Lorena Rodríguez Guerra holds a bachelor degree in Bilingual Education from Universidad El Bosque. She is an elementary teacher at Domingo Savio bilingual school. She has experience with children and teenagers teaching basic subjects in English. Her research interests include social interaction strategies in EFL applied to students with impairments.
Hellen Rocio Guzmán is a candidate for the bachelor degree in Bilingual Education from Universidad El Bosque. She has teaching experience with children, adolescents; and at risk populations. Her research interests involve social fields, interaction, and classroom management strategies in teaching English as a second and foreign language.
Lady Johanna Mancera López is a candidate for the bachelor degree in Bilingual Education from Universidad El Bosque. She is an English teaching assistant in pre-school at the Gimnasio Vermont School. Her experience as a teacher is predominantly in bilingual education with children and teenagers using immersion methodologies.
Karol Lindsay Betancur Lozano holds a Bachelor Degree in Bilingual Education from Universidad el Bosque. She teaches English at the primary level in a school which includes a special-education population. Her experience as teacher includes teaching children with special education needs.
Currently, the trend in special education has focused on diversity in the class room via a variety of learning styles, multiculturalism, and inclusion (Devalle de Rendo & Vega, 2006; Echeita Sarrionandia, 2006). Educational stakeholders must provide for the academic as well as the social needs of all members of society. Students with disabilities cannot lawfully be denied the right to an education and, as such, dealing with a heterogeneous classroom dynamic of both mainstream and special education students has become a challenge for teachers and schools (Molina & Christou, 2009).
Research in this area has proposed numerous strategies to promote and maintain an inclusive classroom in which all learners are guaranteed the right to learn. However, such research has failed to elucidate the dynamics of inclusion in the English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom (Fandiño & José, 2010). In order to contribute to the discussion of how education can meet the diverse needs of students with disabilities in EFL, this chapter aims to investigate the social dynamics that affect the interactions of special-education students and their general-education peers in the EFL classroom. This chapter seeks to explore the effects that such dynamics have on the social relationships among students with and without disabilities.
To begin, this chapter seeks to make evident the negative effects that unbalanced social dynamics have on the relationships among students with and without disabilities. Next, relevant literature is presented to explore conceptions of inclusive education and policy-related matters by which it is governed. In addition, methodologies are explored to asses the impact on this micro-environment of social relationships. As this investigation focuses on the examination of behaviors and social relationships, it falls within the boundaries of an ethnographic case study. Thus it provides a detailed description of the investigated population as well as background and contextual information that define teaching as a social act.
With the goal of making the teaching-learning process more beneficial to all learners, we share our findings regarding the importance of rethinking the current inclusive curriculum to close the achievement gap within classrooms.
Foreign language teachers face problems every day, although some may be solved easily, others demand research and reflection. One such challenge is the successful inclusion of students with special needs into mainstream classrooms. Colombian law 2082 (1996) and 3020 (2002), along with resolution 2565 (2003), lawfully require such inclusion, but have raised problems of their own such as unequal social dynamics among students in EFL classes. Such social inequality among students leads to exclusion, compounded by the application of different syllabuses and others factors such as group size. The discrimination toward learners with disabilities that arises causes these students not only fail in their academic performance, but also causes problems in the way they perceive themselves as individuals. Through an evaluating all the factors influencing relations among students in EFL classroom, it becomes quite clear that educational institutions and teachers must rethink curriculum approaches in order to implement new and effective ways of dealing with today’s diverse population of learners.
The school studied in this investigation, known henceforth as the H. B. School to protect its identity, is an educational institution that serves both a general-education and a special-education population. Some of those children are mainstreamed into general-education classes according to the inclusion policies in the aforementioned laws which demand curricular adaptation in order to include these learners. Although ideal in theory, in practice, negative effects can be and were observed among students in these classrooms as a result of these policies.
Human values such as equality and justice are inherent in the concept of inclusion. Ideally, inclusion leads to a system of education that does not exclude special needs groups; however, when it is not correctly interpreted and applied, grave problems may arise. Special needs learners are those children with mild to severe cognitive impairments, many of whom suffer from disabilities such as Asperger’s or Down’s syndrome. For this population, teachers develop PEPS —Planes de Estudio Personalizado— in order to address the adaptations to curriculum as required by law. PEPS are personalized syllabi for each student in which their disabilities are taken into account when planning the instruction of academic content. For the general education population, a different program has been designed to match the standards of the Ministry of Education. Designing multiple syllabi implies that within the classroom as a whole, multiple levels of proficiency may result since learners from one group are not taught the same topics in the same way, at the same rate. Consequently, students with special needs are given very different material to work with in English classes –this material is significantly easier than that given to their peers. Because of this differentiated instruction, special needs students do not interact with their peers in the classroom and are perceived as different from the others as the topics taught to them and covered in their textbook are easier. As a consequence, students with special needs who are incorporated in mainstream classrooms are being isolated academically from the general English program. From this reality, poor relationships between students and teachers emerge, giving rise to dynamics such as social exclusion and rejection.
In addition to the effects of multiple English syllabi on class dynamics, other factors including teacher training, student group size, and learners’ physical appearances also contribute to creating an environment of exclusion in EFL classrooms.
In the case of H. B. School, there are many factors that work together to hinder the progress of students with special needs. To begin, a lack of qualified special education teachers means that the problem of inclusion is not being professionally addressed by those who specialize in such complex issues. Most teachers in this institution have not received any specific instruction or training on how to address groups of students including learners with special needs. Furthermore, with large classes —typically exceeding 30 students— teachers must teach the whole group in the same space and at the same time, all while trying to accommodate students working with different textbooks, addressing typical classroom management problems, and addressing students’ personal needs and learning styles. For this reason, teachers at this school struggle when they try to apply two programs for one group. As a result of time constraints combined with the impracticality of the task they have been given, they are forced to exclude the special needs population. Finally, some children with special needs look physically different from others and, subsequently, are even more vulnerable to exclusion, since they are isolated and actually treated as dissimilar. Thus, the discrimination that students suffer in H. B. School stems from various factors that hinder their academic process.