Dr. Astrid Ebenberger, Med KPH Wien/Krems, Austria

English Language Teaching in Inclusive Settings and the Use of Stories/Story Books

(Theory and practice of a research and development project) University of Warsaw, May 2018

Theory:

Definitions: Integration – inclusion

European and national strategies

Theories for teaching inclusively

Theories for English language teaching (ELT)

The current research and development project

Practice:

Work with stories and story books

Story: The Little Red Hen

Contents

What do you know about

“inclusion/integration?”

“Inclusion … is a vision for a new

society which wholeheartedly embraces

diversity. All human beings are part of

the community. The community takes

care of the needs of each single

member without labelling or segregating

them in any way” (Bintinger, Eichelberger, Wilhelm 2005: 21).

Theory

Theoretical background - defenitions

English language: integration = inclusion

In German language:

“Inclusion” (fig. right): different material for all the

individual pupils with all their different abilities and

needs, they all have access to everything, the

teachers care for all of them.

“Integration” (fig. left) : teaching disabled children in

regular classes towards a special curriculum by

grouping them separately and supporting them by

specially trained and educated teachers using special

material (Boban, Hinz 2005) 146).

Theoretical background – European strategies

UNESCO world conference in Salamanca “on Principles, Policy and

Practice in Special Needs Education and a Framework for Action”

(UNESCO 1994) Salamanca declaration

In 2010 renewed by the European Commission

The UN convention of Human Rights (1948) and the European

Charter of Fundamental Rights the EC provided a framework to

implement national strategies. The goal is to guarantee full

participation to everybody in every part of life, society and

economy.

National strategies have to cover eight paradigms and areas:

Accessibility, participation, equality, employment, education and

training, social protection, health, and external action (EC, 2010:3).

In the area of education it postulates lifelong inclusive teaching and

learning. Disabled people should have the chance to attend the

same schools and educational organisations as all the others.

Theoretical background – Austrian strategy

National plan (BAMSK 2012) – for education:

Creation of model-regions for inclusive education

In-service training for stakeholders and school

supervisors as well as monitoring people and teachers.

Abolishment of the separate education of teachers for

children with special needs (BMBF 2015a)

General paradigm in schools: Dealing with

heterogeneous classes as well as differentiation and

individualization in teaching and learning.

Creating material that supports individual development of

children e.g. for English language teaching (ELT)

Theoretical background – ELT-curricula

E.g.: different competences for ELT in primary schools (OESZ 2013)

skill level regular cognitively handicapped

Listening/

Understan

-ding

2c Can understand age-

appropriate, simplified

longer texts (stories, fairy

tales)

Can understand age-appropriate,

simplified texts (stories, fairy

tales)

Speaking

coherently

2b Can retell very simple,

short stories

Can retell very simple, short

stories with linguistic support

Joining

communi-

cation

2c Can perform simple

dialogues, dramas and

stories

Can perform linguistically

simplified dialogues and stories

after intensive preparation

Reading/

Understan

-ding

3c Can read along, read and

understand simple texts

(e.g. out of popular

storybooks)

Can read along and understand

very simple texts (e.g. out of

popular storybooks) after

intensive preparation

Writing 2b Can modify simple written

dialogues by the use of

given lexis

Can copy and modify very simple

written dialogues by the use of

given words

Social,

personal

skills

2b Can join cooperative work

actively

Can join cooperative work by

getting support and instructions

Theoretical background – inclusive teaching

Theories for inclusive teaching

Feuser (1989): model that follows the development and the

progression of the child

Internal differentiation does not mean a different topic, but it

provides different goals, different methods

Cooperation means collaborative, communicative and integrative

work on the same topics in an appreciative and motivating way.

A common subject is regarded as a common process, a common

idea.

Seitz (2005)

An explicitly subject-based didactical approach: The core is to

communicate between the technical perspectives of the subject

taught and the personal perspective of a child.

Theoretical background – inclusive teaching

Framework of inclusion (Kiel, Weiß 2016)

Successful inclusive teaching depends on the participants.

Teaching inclusively should require consistent and constant teams

of teachers.

Theoretical background – ELT

Differentiated Instruction

“Differentiation is a proactive response to learner needs” (Tomlinson

2016).

Multi-sensual-learning

Children learn by visual, auditive and kinaesthetic support. Multi-

sensory-learning is related to the method of Total Physical Response

(TPR) by James Asher (Zaade 2014)

Multiple intelligences in language learning

Especially disabled children are often gifted in one specific area and

not interested in any others. Tasks may activate interpersonal,

intrapersonal, logical-mathematical, linguistic, musical, kinaesthetic or

spatial intelligences. They will stimulate motivation and thus lead to a

successful learning process and progress (Puchta, Rinvoluccri 2010)

Theoretical background – ELT

Approaches to English language teaching (ELT)

following Feuser´s (1989) and Seitz´s (2005) suggestions about the

requirements for successful inclusive teaching

Content and language integrated learning (CLIL)

“CLIL is a dual-focused educational approach in which an additional

language is used for the learning and teaching of both content AND

language.” (Coyle et.al. 2010)

Task Based Learning and Teaching (TBL)

TBL can be considered as “a classroom undertaking … where the

target language is used by the learner for a communicative purpose

in order to achieve an outcome.” (Willis, Wills 2001).

Action Based Learning

Learning and teaching in primary school has to provide creativity,

play, action and experiment and exploration. It focusses more on

language acquisition than on accuracy. The use of a handpuppet can

be an appropriate means (Böttger 2010)

Story Based Approach

Approach and goal of the project:

Creating settings and material for high-quality

inclusive English language teaching (IELT) in

primary and secondary schools (8-12ys)

Main questions:

In how far can findings about successful inclusive

teaching be transferred into the context of inclusive

language teaching?

Which didactics and methods are appropriate for

inclusive language teaching?

The project –findings

The gap of the personal and mental development

between the children in one class will increase through

the years of education

Discussion about

same or different curricula?

different models due to different stages or one general model

that may contain all aspects?

Importance of music, interpersonal and multi-sensory

strategies in classrooms.

The first evidence- based results will be published in spring 2018.

First examples for inclusive English language teaching ELT will be

published in autumn 2018.

The project – criteria for inclusive language teaching

Inclusive language teaching

Instructions:

open learning (stationplan, freework,

weekly plans), collaborative learning

(projectwork)

Didactical diversity:

action-based, story-based, task-based,

content-and-language integrated learning,

role-play

Variety of methods:

multi-sensual, ICT-assisted, creative,

musical...

Ressources: multi-professional teams,

constant teams, space, material ....

General criteria for successful teaching:

supportive environment, clarifying

goals, structures; cooperation,

repetition, training

Content :

general subject, authentic topics, current occasions

Story based approach

Discussion: Reading out or telling a story? Principles

Children like stories, escpecially if they are told!

Stories may motivate, stimulate creativity and imagination

Children can identify with characters

Stories may transport cultural specifics

Stories provide new vocabulary and new structures in an authentic context

Stories may lead to interdisciplinary learning and teaching

Stories can be combined with multi-sensory learning

Storytelling

Responding non-verbally, responding through repetition, responding with single

words

Give written support (words, phrases, sentences)

Language: As often as possible English, when necessary mother tongue; Not

the whole text has to be understood; in some cases simplifying is useful”

Story based approach

Which stories/ story books do you know? … have you

already worked with? David McKee, Elmer´s weather/ Elmer´s colours

Jonathan London, Froggy learns to swim/gets dressed/ goes to school/ goes to the doctor

Julia Donaldson, What the ladybird heard

Bill Martin Jr/ Eric Carle, Brown Bear, brown bear

Julia Donaldson, The Gruffalo

Julia Donaldson, The Gruffalo activity book

Julia Donaldson, The Gruffalo´s Child

Werner Holzwarth, Wolf Erlbruch, The story of the little mole

Julia Donaldson, The smartest giant in town

Julia Donaldson, Superworm

Eric Carle, The very hungry caterpillar

Maria Cleary, Freddy, the frog prince

James Dean, Pete the cat

Helen Nikoll / Jan Pienkowski, Meg and Mog

Story based approach Advantage of using stories/ storybooks

•Part of English-speaking culture (authentic material)

•Motivation

•Identification with main characters

•Introducing new vocabulary, repeating language structures

•Basis for learning projects and cross-curricular teaching (networking with other

subjects)

•Connection with creative and artistic activities

•Providing learning strategies (guessing, predicting, ...)

Criteria for choosing stories/ storybooks

•Appropriate vocabulary

•Complexity of structure

•Support (visual, audiovisual), attractive pictures (according to the age of children)

•Identification with the idea of the story

•According to the children´s environment

•Possibility of involving the children, activating them

•Basis for networking (other subjects) and creative work

•Intercultural approach

•Based on values

Story based approach Telling or reading aloud?

• Reading aloud:

+ you don´t have to learn the story, you don´t worry about making mistakes in English;

the children always hear exactly the same text;

- you must be careful not to read too quickly,

• Telling:

+ children feel you give them something personal; nowadays children have little

experience in telling stories, so they will like it; it´s often easier for them to understand;

you can use language children know; you can see the children´s faces and bodies and

their response; you can move your body effectively; your role is richer;

- you have to learn the story well enough to tell it without the book.

The little red hen (a story)

Procedure.

Beforepre tasks

Whilecore task

Afterpost tasks

Analysing/ evaluating

Story based approach - examples

The little red hen (a story)

procedures Tasks// methods differentiation

Unit 1:

introduction

Anchor

“Big Ben” announcing English lesson

Pre task

time 9 min.

Checking pre-knowledge: Animals

Activity: what is it? Making a sound/ miming an animal

Work with flashcards:

What do you see?==>animals of the story (mixed!)

More new words: work with flashcards

Mill, sack, wheat (chop wheat), corn

Pronunciation: wheat…. ”say it after me”

Children tick the FC they will

learn

core task

Story: Little Red Hen

prediction: What do you think the story is about?

Presentation by the teacher:

Reading out ….

Telling with flashcards

Telling with the presentation

Call and response: chorus work

Cut the story into pieces and act out without any words

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VRi8HVSwes (start 1.31)

Who has heard new words? Which?==>

lazy/ sleepy/ noisy/ tired/seeds/harvest// grind/ flour

Each child = special object

post task Retell the story according to the pictures -

Unit 2 -

Introduction Song: I’M A LITTLE CHICK (Tune: “I’m A Little Teapot”)

1) I’m a little chicken.

Yellow and soft.

I was born

In a hay loft.

2) I play all day

And cheep, cheep, cheep.

Then back to the barn

I go to sleep!

-

Core task

= post tasks

Creating a lap book

1. Mini book: Prepare a mini book

2. Bandolino: Words

3. Domino: draw the pictures and cut it out

4. …….

Modification of the story with other animals/ other plot

(CLIL: preparing puppets on a stick in

Act out the story: Find a group of 4 children, prepare it and act it out the paragraph given

-

Story based approach – examples https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=megg%c2%b4s+eggs&qpvt=megg%c2%b4s+eggs&view=detail&mid=8558E5E11CFDA68E4

2F88558E5E11CFDA68E42F8&&FORM=VRDGAR

Your questions, please!

astrid.ebenberger@kphvie.ac.at