The challenges of teaching English to students with disabilities : a qualitative study of teachers in a Bangladeshi school

Abstract

Teaching English to the students with disabilities has become a concerning issue all over the world. This research explores the challenges of teaching English to students with disabilities in Bangladeshi classrooms. Despite introducing policies like the National Education Policy (2010), the implementation of this policy in classrooms is still inconsistent. For in-depth understanding of this issue, this study used a qualitative, phenomenological approach by taking interviews of five English teachers from a Bangladeshi school. The teachers were interviewed by following a semi structured interview to understand each of their experiences. The findings highlighted six interrelated themes. From the findings of the interviews, it becomes clear that the teachers showed willingness and empathy to help students with disability, they reported insufficient pre-service and in-service training on strategies of inclusive teaching. The absence of assistive tools or support staff, for instance shadow teachers, prevented them from providing effective instruction. The limitations resulted in adjusting lessons, simplifying activities, and relying on informal peer collaboration. Some teachers applied Universal Design for Learning (UDL), but most of them lacked the knowledge of the UDL framework. Moreover, this study found that inclusion policies are not monitored properly or supported which made teachers bridge the gaps in the system on their own. This research finds that teaching English to the students with disability by applying inclusive strategies in Bangladesh remains aspirational rather than practical. This study suggests strengthening teacher training and professional development, improving allocating resources and infrastructure, promoting peer support, reinforcing policy implementation and monitoring, teacher well-being, and incorporating UDL across curriculum. Overall, this study contributes to understand how inclusive education policy connects with the real-world classroom practice in developing countries like Bangladesh.