to Learners with Special Educational Needs

Pokrivčáková, S. et al. (2015). Teaching Foreign Languages to Learners with Special Educational Needs:
e-textbook for foreign language teachers. Nitra: Constantine the Philosopher University. 128 p.
ISBN 978-80-558-0941-0
Simplicity
The fourth step of the FIRST methodology is closely connected to the previous steps. It is
relevant not only for rules in the EFL classroom, but also for teacher language and task
instructions. All instructions should be as simple and concrete as possible. According to the U.S.
Department of Education (2008), “the simpler the expectations communicated to an ADHD
student, the more likely it is that he or she will comprehend and complete them in a timely and
productive manner.” If a task comprises several sub-tasks, instructions should be provided one
by one. This procedure helps the ADHD learners to maintain the focus on a concrete issue. One
technique is called the “Adapt worksheet,” which teaches the learner to fold over all the
questions and tasks in a worksheet except the one relevant at the time (U.S. Department of
Education, 2008).
Time management
One difference between ADHD children and their classmates is their difficulty in changing
between activities. If these children are happy with an activity in which they have been involved,
it can take some time to focus their attention on something else. For example, after a dynamic
role-play, reading or listening activities can struggle to engage their attention. Therefore, it is
necessary to plan activities beforehand and to inform children about the course of the lesson.
The teacher can give a brief outline of classroom activities at the beginning of each lesson. An
example is portrayed in Picture 3.
The schedule should be clear and brief; it should not reveal too much about particular
activities so as not to destroy the moment
of surprise.
Carter (2011) suggests using
representative objects to help in changing
between activities. For younger learners,
toys like dolls or teddy bears are
appropriate; for older ones, visual or aural
symbols can be used.
An indispensable aid in classroom time
management is the clock. According to Rief
(2005), looking at the clock helps ADHD
learners realize how quickly time passes
and how long it takes to complete tasks or
Picture 3: Outline of Classroom Activities exercises.
Practical examples and tips for teachers
Not all the skills that need to be taught in the EFL classroom can engage through movement
and activity. Reading, decoding and comprehension of texts are receptive skills requiring
immersion in the context and concentration, which may cause difficulties for ADHD learners.
Seeing reading as a boring activity can lead to restlessness, distractibility and disturbance of the
ADHD child’s classmates. In this section we provide some examples of teaching reading to
primary learners with ADHD.
In order to overcome reading problems with very young and young primary learners, Parker
(2006) advises using individualized tutoring and a phonic-based approach to reading. This
approach is based on matching graphical forms of letters with their sounds, first in some simple
words, and later in more complex words and sentences (Scott, Ytreberg, 1990). The ADHD
learner needs to spell out a word or a sentence properly and comprehend it. The meanings of the
words can be introduced by using visual imagery. Teachers can create index cards, where words
are explained through picture mnemonics, as portrayed in Picture 4 (Parker, 2006).
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