Country Studied: Italy
Types of learning difficulties the Best Practice is supporting:
- Reading and writing difficulties
- General or specific learning difficulties
Aims and objectives of Best Practice
This best practice explores managing classrooms with diverse learners. The learners taken into consideration are both Italian non-native-speakers students and learners with Specific Learning Disorders (SLD), that present individual characteristics and definite linguistic needs, potentially different from the rest of the class. It aims to provide three things: 1) an outline of Italian regulations for non-native speakers and students with learning difficulties, 2) research supporting “Mixed Abilities Classes,” and 3) a clear and practical model for creating inclusive learning units within such classes. The main aim is to foster collaboration across language teaching research fields. This collaboration has a twofold purpose: to shed light on the complex and diverse classroom realities that language teachers face every day and to equip them with practical, well-grounded guidelines for their daily teaching practices. The underlying core ethical dimension is to dismantle any obstacles hindering students’ full participation in classroom life and the learning process.
Short description of Best Practice
The best practice offers some concise but complete guidelines on how to manage a diverse and mixed-abilities classroom, with the main regulations dedicated to Italian non-native-speakers students and students with learning difficulties as a starting point, together with a brief description of the characteristics of the learners that can be recognized as such. The scientific approach that supports the whole paper, identifies the role of the teacher in a humanistic-emotional framework, in which significant learning is facilitated by promoting interaction between the cognitive and emotional dimension, since they collaborate at neural level to the activity of working memory. This can be done through different techniques, that are organized in a Learning Unit model divided into the typical foreign language teaching phases (motivation, text comprehension, analysis, synthesis). The main possible activities are, among others: brainstorming, matching, jigsaw-like exercises, transcodification, cloze, T/F, research of information, pattern drill, role-play, authentic tasks.
3 Key learning Principles that were used in this Best Practice to support learners with LD
1. The student as a person is the centre of the learning activity – The concept of “student-as-person” encompasses all the facets that contribute to the learning process: cognitive, emotional, relational, motivational, and, where applicable, physical dimensions. A foreign language teaching practice that wants to be truly effective and inclusive is tailored to the student and aims to engage and valorize all these aspects. From a didactic point of view, being the emotional and cognitive dimensions closely intertwined, a productive approach is to stimulate diverse cognitive processes to support memorization and increase the chances to enhance the students’ individual characteristics, and foster the development of metacognitive and metaemotional skills.
2. A strong methodological framework is based on “social mediation” – Social mediation methodologies move away from traditional instruction, perceived as passive information reception, and focus on students actively building knowledge. The student group itself becomes the heart of learning, seen as a resource and source of shared understanding. To promote active participation, teachers can utilize various strategies: playful teaching, flipped classroom, dialogical lessons that encourage two-way communication, problem-solving activities that require collaboration, differentiated worksheets that cater to individual needs, cooperative learning that fosters teamwork, and even peer tutoring programs where students support and learn from each other. The students will be able to develop at the same time a diverse set of skills, not only linguistic and communicative, but also social, metacognitive, metaemotional, cultural, and intercultural.
3. Diversification strategies – When it is not possible to meet every students’ needs, some diversification interventions can offer support in management, through different actions: small adaptations in learning materials; changes in methodology (e.g. segmentation) or course planning (e.g. specific objectives for LD). Such devices may vary in extent according to the students’ characteristics and needs.
Strategies used as part of Best Practice
- Adapting instruction to various learning styles.
- Individualized Learning Plans.
- Guidance on creating and implementing individualized learning plans.
- Collaboration with support services and professionals.
- Strategies for modifying or creating teaching materials to suit different abilities.
- Creating a positive and supportive classroom environment.
Results and impact
Within the diversification strategies, one of the possible intervention by the teacher concerning assessment is the inclusion of specific goals for students with learning difficulties, such as, for example, selecting and using correctly the appropriate compensatory tool(s).
Evidence as to why this was considered Good Practice
This best practice benefits from the contributions of a highly qualified research group, making it thus a valuable and well-founded resource. The authors are namely Carlos Melero, Fabio Caon and Annalisa Brichena, all connected with the University of Venice Ca’ Foscari with different roles. This is a prominent institution in Italy and beyond, well-known for the quality of its research in language acquisition and instruction, through degree and post-graduate programmes and specialized research groups.
Carlos Melero is language lecturer and director of the DEAL research group, focused on investigating the processes involved in language education for students with LDs, aiming to eliminate barriers and promote a truly inclusive learning environment. Fabio Caon is professor and director of the LabCom group, part of the Centre for Language Teaching Research and investigating the role of communication in both language teaching and learning, paying special attention to the intercultural dimension. Annalisa Brichese is part of the LabCom team.
Transferability
The guidelines and the model of learning unit proposed in the paper can be transferred into other contexts, settings and countries for the following reasons:
- The best practice does not provide limitations in terms of age, school grade, setting and duration, so transferability is implicitly encouraged;
- The model of learning unit proposes many different techniques for each phase, adopting a modular structure that fosters the reuse and re-organisation of the suggested strategies.
Resources used as part of Best Practice
The paper can be found at the following link:
Critical issues
This document provides a consistent amount of practical techniques for foreign language instruction with students who have learning difficulties. The well-organized, thematic structure categorizes these strategies by skill and teaching phase, additionally providing comprehensive references to current legislation. To further enrich this overview, including information on assistive technologies and specific examples of their application would have been an added value.
Any Additional Information or Resources
