Sultanbekova, Akbota2019-12-062019-12-062019-06Sultanbekova, A. (2019). Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Education, Nur-Sultanhttp://nur.nu.edu.kz/handle/123456789/4309In 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.enAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United StatesResearch Subject Categories::SOCIAL SCIENCES::Social sciences::EducationDeafHard-of-HearingD/HHEnglish as a Foreign LanguageEFLMaster's thesis