Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students at One School in Kazakhstan

Abstract

In 2007, Kazakhstan launched its trilingual education policy which implemented the significant role of English language learning at all levels of education. Similarly to their hearing counterparts, deaf and hard-of-hearing (D/HH) students in schools are required to learn English as a foreign language. However, English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers who lack specialized training in teaching students with hearing impairments are unprepared to adjust their methodology to meet the unique learning requirements of these special-needs students. The current study illuminates EFL teachers’ practices in teaching English to D/HH learners in the context of Kazakhstan. Therefore, the study is geared to answering the following two research questions: 1) How do EFL teachers teach English to D/HH students? The first question includes three sub-questions: What are the teaching techniques used in English lessons? What are the strengths that help EFL teachers to teach English to D/HH students? What are the challenges faced by EFL teachers in teaching English to D/HH students? 2) How does the school community support EFL teachers? This qualitative case study is built around Engeström’s (1987) The Activity System Theory Model. Two EFL teachers and a speech therapist from one school participated in semi-structured interviews. To enhance the data, five forty-minute English lessons in primary and secondary schools were observed. The findings revealed the challenges emerged in EFL teachers’ practices; these were related to professional development, English curriculum development, teaching techniques, classroom arrangement, and technical equipment. There were also positive aspects of EFL teachers’ responses: vitality and the motivation of D/HH students towards English learning and colleagues and D/HH students’ support. The implications of the current paper are to attract the attention of the Ministry of Education and Science of Kazakhstan to support EFL teachers by developing and implementing in-service training on teaching hearing-impaired students.