Teaching strategies to students with severe disabilities who are Research Paper

Teaching strategies to students with severe disabilities who are second language learners - Research Paper Example This paper shall discuss the various strategies which can be applied by the teacher in order to effectively teach students with severe disabilities who are also second language learners. Body Learning impaired students refer to students who have been diagnosed with learning disabilities, disabilities which are ranging from processing deficits (input, integration, storage, or output) (Rathus, 2010). It also includes function impairment, developmental dyslexia, dysphagia, aphasia, as well as low IQ scores. These impairments often imply that the students are not performing well in school and may be even delayed in their studies (Rathus, 2010). Second language students are those students who are in the process of learning a second language. More often than not, they may be immigrant students trying who are not native English speakers. The challenge in this case is how the teacher can communicate with the second language students, especially those students who are learning impaired. The t eacher must develop strategies in order to manage the challenges in teaching these students. Schools are institutions which represent the richness and diversity of culture and languages, including customs and traditions. For most students, parents, and other educators, establishing ways by which to instruct all children effectively and meaningfully is considered a professional and pedagogical responsibility (Lopez-Reyna, 2002). Specifically, ways to manage the knowledge which many people have established from the bilingual and special education fields have also been established by various academicians. Crucial to the process of teaching children is to secure a thorough understanding of his or her learning based on his or her specific learning skills, weaknesses, and needs (Wagner, et.al., 2005). There is a need to secure a complete and informal evaluation in order to ensure that the teacher understands what the child knows, and what he already understands. The primary assumption on learning is that there is also a need to secure a strong sense of a student’s language, his home setting, his values, and his previous experiences in his current or previous school (Lopez-Reyna, Birnbaum, 2002). There are eight principles which are considered effective in teaching English language learners (Gersten and Jimenez, 1994). These principles include the need to secure higher order thinking opportunities as well as expectations, including the higher level of involvement in one’s own learning, experiences, and cultural diversity. Suggestions on the use of mediation via visual organizers and modelling the application of appropriate resources have also been made. Support for the application of collaborative and cooperative learning has also been advocated (Calderon, et.al., 2011). A determination on which language to use for learning impaired students has often been posed. Even as the benefits of ensuring instruction in a child’s primary language has been seen in terms of general education settings, it is not clear how the learning should unfold for learning impaired students (Lopez-Reyna, 2002). Using English can be a challenge because it would take years to master the language for second language learners. In effect, teaching academic skills to students in their native language seems to be the more effective method of teaching