Aspects of Teaching a Second Language to Learners with Mild Intellectual Disability

Abstract

The present paper deals with the issues of teaching a second language to school-aged children with SEN in Hungary. In our research we made semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions featuring nine language teachers living all over the country working in specific institutions and asked for their experience in teaching a second language to children with SEN. The research took place in spring 2022 and, besides interviews in person, we also carried them out online. The segregated schools in Hungary can teach German or English from grade 7 to their students and the decision is usually based on the staff qualifications. Based on the answers of the language teachers, we came to the conclusion that they pay attention to individual development and playful, communicative language teaching, even though it is challenging to teach English to children with SEN, as they often have difficulties in their mother tongue. Also, teachers’ creativity using ICT tools, IWB, Mimicry Memorization Method and (traditional) games such as Pac-Man, memory games, card games and board games plays an even more important role, since they rely heavily on their own teaching experience. Our research involves a focus group discussion with 7 children with mild intellectual disability in Grade 7. It became clear to us that they do not deal with English at home and only a few of them listen to music in English. However, they all think learning English is important for their future, especially in the areas of work and travel.