SNELT: Special Needs English Language Teaching

Abstract

Special Educational needs is a subject that has not been exploited nor researched widely, nevertheless, Mexican policies have been changed to introduce students with these characteristics into “normal” educational contexts. The training to teachers has been done in steps in a much slower pace, and students with educational needs reaching to higher educational levels is increasing. The course given by Jaime Herrera (2012) create a base stone on what could be important to consider when approaching students who are Deaf or Hard of hearing. This course was the one replicated in Guadalajara giving good results such as the comprehension of small texts in English, sign production of the students expressing personal information and other tasks considered by the Common European Framework of References for Languages. As English language teachers it is a keystone to have a knowledge about the laws that backup the right to education of students with a Special Educational Need, no matter which type it can be. It is a duty that teachers of any subject should not refuse to accomplish. Even when these laws are still not sufficient and sometimes the facilities of an institution are not the most complete, the responsibility of a teacher is to be able to give to the student a meaningful learning on the subject the teacher is in charge of. At the same way the professor has the obligation by law to teach these students, this will function as a way to demand to the education authorities to train the teachers on these matters.