The Language Teacher
04 - 2001
Beyond Communicative Competence: English for Special learners
Paul R. Hays
Susan Sydney Hays
Sugiyama Jogakuen University
Emi is not your typical junior high school student: She is severely handicapped, has problems with her motor skills, and her Japanese is so impeded that she can barely make herself understood in her native tongue. So what is she doing in an English conversation class? She is learning, and in doing so, she destroys the myth that a foreign language class should have only one goal -- communication. She is demonstrating that studying a new language is fulfilling and rewarding because it develops cognitive abilities. These cognitive abilities include physical, social, and verbal skills; furthermore, Emi's success in what is seen as a mainstream activity promotes higher self-esteem.
This paper, describing the experiences of one Assistant English
Teacher (AET) in a junior high school class for special education
students in the Tokyo area, reviews the activities and lessons
that were used, and how they can benefit similar students in many
ways. Fluency in English or the ability to hold a simple conversation
in English was not the goal; instead, the classroom lessons stressed
practice in motor skills, including those involved in sound production
while improving the students' self-esteem as they participated
more fully in the general mainstream curriculum. All of these
benefits can easily arise out of the playful nature of any communicative
second language classroom.
English for Special Learners
Down's syndrome students, students with a lower IQ, and students
with other mental and physical handicaps are not generally mainstreamed
in schools and certainly not in Japanese junior high schools.
Usually these students are sent to special schools, or sometimes
special areas of a school where they are provided with special
teachers, rooms and lessons, but at all times they are separated
from regular students. In the Mitaka Junior High Schools, there
was one such classroom with approximately 20 students. They were
a mixture of all levels. There were three teachers and two assistants.
Because of the emphasis on English for international communication
or as a subject for entrance examinations, a belief that these
special students cannot benefit from English lessons conducted
by a native speaker of English is widely held. For many administrators,
the idea of providing classes in a second language such as English
would be an exercise in futility. After all, these students often
have a limited ability in their mother tongue and will not enter
university anyway. If studying a foreign language is only for
communication -- or worse, the entrance exam -- then these students
can't learn in a foreign language classroom. In fact, the opposite
is true. In many ways, second language lessons promote higher
self-concept and a greater development of physical, social and
verbal skills.
Chalfant and Foster (1976) point out that "children with
specific learning disabilities present a variety of learning problems
which differ in kind and severity. The heterogeneity of the population
in question makes it difficult to provide a single set of criteria
for developing lessons for these children." (p. 87) This
research seems to indicate that special lessons are necessary
or should have been developed. However, teaching English to the
special students in Mitaka was something of an experiment for
the teachers, the students and the administrators, and due to
the untried nature of the classes, it was decided to use the lessons
from the mainstream English classes with as little modification
as possible and see how the students performed. In fact, the results
were far beyond the expectation of all the staff involved.
These mainstream lessons for English classes were described
in Hays, 1995. They cover a range of levels and tasks and were
designed with five underlying principles in mind. These principles
include the following: (a) actual communicative tasks, (b) the
use of real situations, (c) total physical response (TPR), (d)
the use of realia, and (e) a focus on specific language functions.
While the motivation for these lessons was the development of
a communicative curriculum rather than the development of lessons
for special education students, the nature of the communicative
classroom, using these five principles, provided lessons that
could be used with these learners, without significant modification.
One core concept of the communicative classroom is to involve
the students with activities which engage them, and for young
students, that involves play.
The Playful Classroom
Not surprisingly, Mann (1996, p. 446) calls play "an engine
of learning." But what is it about play that mirrors the
communicative language classroom? One researcher on children's
play (Fromberg 1987, p. 36) defined seven various aspects of play:
Symbolic, representing reality with "as if" or "what if" attitudes;
Meaningful, entertaining, even when engaging seriously in activities;
Voluntary and intrinsically motivated, motivated by curiosity, mastery, (or) affiliation;
Rule-governed, observing patterns implicitly or explicitly expressed; and
Episodic, shifting goals the children develop spontaneously.
These aspects of play likewise define the qualities or attributes
of a language classroom. Language is, of course, symbolic
and meaningful, whereas functional lessons based on real
situations are active and episodic. The lessons
are rule governed, whether at the phonological, syntactic,
or pragmatic level. Furthermore, activities which current second
language pedagogy suggest to keep students on task are pleasurable
and help the students stay motivated. The modern communicative
second language classroom is not merely a place to acquire the
ability to use a second language; it offers many additional benefits.
To paraphrase Mann, (1996, p. 466) communicative language learning
"is a serious activity with wonderful developmental benefits."
The centrality of playful activities in the language classroom
parallels in many ways the acquisition of a first language. Motherese
is often characterized by playful word games: fundamental naming
activities, practicing turn-taking, and other pragmatic skills.
These activities are at the core of language functions in any
language learning. Studies have shown that play -- word play and
other forms -- is a critical element of the acquisition of a first
language (Liebergott and Swope, 1976). As second language learning
has parallels with first language acquisition, there are also
parallels of this playfulness in the second language classroom.
The classroom observations
In order to see the "developmental and cognitive benefits"
for Japanese special education students, reading philosophy supported
with research is inadequate. One must look at examples of lessons
-- what really happens in the classroom of a communicative English
language class to enhance the overall learning of such students.
What follows are several examples of how play was used to engage
students in learning English. These simple descriptions of the
experiences of one teacher in one classroom are given to suggest
that many classroom activities, which might otherwise be excluded
out of hand, should be carefully considered in the light of possible
benefits.
A good example of the playful nature of these activities can
be seem in a lesson for telling time. The lesson, as described
in Hays (1995), is What time is it? This lesson is based
on a lesson in the textbook (volume 1 of the Sunshine English
Course) on telling time in English. This lesson builds on
listening to numbers. After some preliminary practice in numbers,
listening and the pragmatics of asking and answering, the students
each had the opportunity to ask the others for a specific time.
On a large clock on the white board, one student was asked to
mark a time by drawing the hands on the face of the clock. Then
that student would ask the others, "What time is it?"
One of the boys, who we will call Kenji, (1)
was a student with limited IQ. He was fairly verbal in Japanese
and did not have any obvious physical handicaps. When it was Kenji's
turn to set the time, he set the time to the actual time at the
moment. This correlation was unnoticed by everyone in the class,
including the teacher. He then asked everyone, "What time
is it?"
Someone gave the time that was showing on the white board,
but Kenji said, "No." The students tried other possible
answers, but Kenji always said, "No." He was adamant
that the answers were not correct.
Finally, the teacher asked Kenji, "OK, what time is it,
Kenji?"
Kenji quickly replied, "Now!" pointing to the clock
on the back wall of the classroom.
The entire class erupted in laughter.
Here was a student who understood the activity and was able
to take it to a new level, one that surprised and pleased everyone.
Kenji was able to manipulate the context of the language activity
to create a new episode. He shifted the goals from merely asking
and giving numbers to recognizing the relationship of the task
to the reality of the classroom. He took control of the classroom
situation and rewrote the rules of the activity. This is a significant
cognitive task, one that requires an awareness of the language,
the context, and the immediate situation, as well as the pragmatic
skills to take command and rewrite the rules. This cognitive activity
arises out of the playful classroom situation.
The playful nature of the lessons encouraging the students
to participate is also an important factor. An example of this
greater involvement occurred during a lesson called McSusan's,
a favorite among the students. McDonald's is the largest chain
of restaurants in Japan and so they are all familiar with the
situation of buying a hamburger. The lesson focused on listening
to the clerk and checking that the order was repeated properly.
If it was not, the students had to correct the clerk. This lesson
practiced the skill of correcting information, an important language
function. Additionally, the realism of the situation helped to
engage and maintain the students' attention. The materials included
realia in the form of pictures of the food items, placed on the
board as part of the menu just as in the real restaurant, from
which the students could order. The beginning of the lesson involved
looking at the pictures and practicing the target vocabulary and
phrases. Then in a role play with the teacher taking the role
of the counter clerk in the fast food restaurant, the students
came up to the front of the room. They had to open the imaginary
door to the restaurant and walk up to the counter. The clerk would
say, "Welcome to McSusan's. May I help you?"
Then the student would give the clerk an order using a number
and an item, such as "two hamburgers" or "one cola."
The clerk then repeated the order as given by the student, and
the student took the imaginary food and left.
Taro, a Down's syndrome boy, was extremely shy. He would seldom
look directly at the teacher or other students, preferring to
keep his head lowered. However, while he did watch the activities,
he was too shy to participate. All during the activity he kept
watching, but he showed no inclination to participate. Finally,
he was the only student who had not performed in front of the
others. The teacher called his name. (He was always called upon,
but always refused to participate in any verbal activity.) To
everyone's surprise, he came up to the front of the class. He
opened the imaginary door and approached to counter.
When asked for his order, Taro touched the pictures and said,
"Hamburger, orange juice, fried potato."
Then the teacher repeated back to him, "One hamburger,
one orange juice, one order of French fries."
Taro said "Yes."
And the teacher said "Here you are. Thank you, come again."
As he left, everyone applauded enthusiastically.
What was so surprising for the Japanese staff was that Taro
had never participated verbally in the activities before. He was
very good with drawing and colors, but lacked verbal skills. His
Japanese teachers commented that he never participated in their
activities. Yet, the nature of the language acquisition classroom
activity, with its role playing of familiar situations, and the
playful nature of the lesson, encouraged him to participate. His
use of Japanese loan words, rather than the target "correct"
English vocabulary is completely irrelevant to the success of
simply getting up and participating.
A third example involved the most severely handicapped of the
students, Emi, who had many problems with motor skills and such
a severe speech impediment that understanding her in Japanese
was nearly impossible. Emi was a perfect example of the student
for whom it might be thought that foreign language instruction
was a waste of time. However, even she excelled at times. As part
of the regular lesson plan, songs were used as a warm up activity.
Simple songs such as "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," "Bingo,"
and others were first taught and then sung to get the students
active and ready for the main part of the lesson. Emi was able
to join in the singing, even with her speech impediment. She would
sound out the English vocabulary and sing along with everyone,
producing understandable English. Ironically, her English pronunciation
was better than her Japanese pronunciation. Her interest in the
new language activity motivated her to excel.
Cognitive and developmental benefits
These examples demonstrate that many benefits of second language
instruction go far beyond simply learning a new language. Emi
worked on and achieved success with the basic motor skills of
pronunciation. Taro worked on and successfully mastered social
interaction skills involved in participating in class activities.
Kenji worked on and successfully accomplished cognitive skills
involved with context and relationships. These successes are not
marginal. These results are those that all parents and educators
would want for all children to achieve. Yet, other benefits occurred
as well.
Another important benefit of second language lessons is helping
to increase the self-concept of handicapped students. That disabled
students have a lower self-concept than regular students is well
documented. (2) They consistently measure lower
on instruments that gauge feelings of ability and self worth (Jones,
1985). The goal of increasing the self-concept of students is
elusive. There are many conflicting teaching strategies. As a
result, some administrators mainstream disabled students in regular
classrooms. However, mainstreaming can create additional problems.
Experience in the junior high schools reveals that bullying, which
is prevalent, is severe for students with obvious handicaps. Providing
disabled students with general curriculum courses, such as English
classes, is a simpler alternative. Because of the high profile
of English as a necessary part of the regular curriculum, providing
English lessons for students in a special education classroom
helps give students a feeling of inclusion. These special education
students are getting the same instruction as the regular students,
as well as many additional benefits.
An important aspect of secondary English programs is the inclusion
of native speakers of English in the faculty. Part of the lure
of English study is the opportunity to work with a foreign teacher.
This highly effective opportunity should also be provided to the
special education students. The playful aspects of English language
instruction definitely contribute to an improvement in the self-concept
of these students.
Beyond the general benefits of play, some affective features
of the Japanese classroom are important to consider. An American
way of looking at achievement in the second language classroom
might emphasize the measurable performance of students on specific
tasks such as the ability to closely approximate a practiced sound
or the ability to engage in conversation to ask for specific information.
This seems to be a clear goal, but as Chalfant and Foster make
clear, "Learning can occur with or without the learner making
overt observable responses" (1976, p. 88). Quantitative methods
may not be the only measure of achievement. This sort of measurable
standard is less important in a Japanese classroom. The Japanese
feel that "Pushing on, persisting, not giving up, are in
themselves important, and show once again the significance of
the way something is done as more important than the end accomplishment"
(White, quoted in Holloway, 1988, p. 331). Thus the effort the
students make is important. Unlike in regular classrooms, the
special students were especially supportive of the efforts that
the others made. When a student participated, the rest of the
class applauded. They would encourage others who were shy to take
the stage and do the activity. This participation and effort is
a real, although possibly immeasurable achievement in the special
language classroom. It must also contribute to an improvement
in self-concept.
Conclusion
It can be seen that English as a foreign language has a place
in the special education classroom. It promotes a variety of benefits
in diverse areas. Through the use of play in the communicative
second language classroom, many social interaction skills, cognitive
skills and basic motor skills are exercised. Improvements in self-concept
are realized through participation on a personal level, and also
through similarity of the special curriculum to the mainstream
curriculum. For many reasons, schools should consider making English
a regular part of the special education curriculum.
Our observations in the classroom, described in this paper,
clearly show that the benefits of English language learning are
enormous. They go far beyond mere fluency or communicative ability
in L2. They engage the entire person in growth in areas such as
social interaction and self-esteem. As teachers, our professional
responsibility is to encourage administrators to have all students
involved and not to prejudge some as poor language learners.
What we teach -- and what they learn -- is much more than an academic
subject. What we must teach -- and what they must learn -- is
about life! We, as teachers, need to provide opportunities for
learning for all of our students in a broad range of cognitive
skills that serve them long after the school day ends.
We cannot wait. In Kenji's words, the time is "Now!"
References
References
Chalfant, J. & Foster, G. (1976). "Learner's Needs
-- Specific Learning Disabilities." In F.B. Withrow &
C. J. Nygren (Eds.), Language materials, and curriculum management
for the handicapped learner. (pp. 86 -- 109) Columbus, Ohio:
Charles E. Merrill.
Fromberg, D. P. (1992) "A Review of Research on Play."
In C. Seefelt (Ed.), The early childhood curriculum: A review
of current research. (pp. 35-74) New York: Teachers College
Press
Hays, S. S. (1995). Integrating communicative lessons into
the Japanese Ministry of Education curriculum: Some practical
examples. Unpublished senior project, Mandeville, LA: La Salle
University
Holloway, S. D. (1988). Concepts of ability and effort in Japan
and the United States. Review of Educational Research. 58(3),
327-345.
Jones, C. J. (1985). Analysis of the self-concepts of handicapped
students. Remedial and Special Education, 6(5), 32-36.
Liebergott, J & Swope, S. (1976). "Play as a base
for language acquisition." In F. B. Withrow & C. J. Nygren
(Eds.). Language materials, and curriculum management for the
handicapped learner. (pp. 52-64) Columbus, Ohio: Charles E.
Merrill.
Mann, D. (1996) Serious play. Teachers College Record, 97(3),
446-469.
Ministry of Education, Science and Culture (1989). Sunshine
English course 1. Tokyo: Kairyudo.
1.All names in this paper have been changed
to protect the privacy of the students.
2.All the research reported on self-concept
was carried out on American students, but it is assumed that similar
results would be found anywhere, including Japan.
Paul and Susan Hays have lived and worked for
14 of the past 18 years as educators in Japan. They have taught
at all levels of teaching from private conversation schools to
secondary schools and universities. Most recently, they spent
four years as teachers at Sugiyama Women's University in Nagoya.
They have returned to California where they are pursuing new projects.
Paul is currently teaching composition and linguistics at San
Diego State University and several community colleges. They are
both upgrading their computer skills and Paul is continuing research
into the cognitive processing of texts, especially science fiction.
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