Anna Tumbusua-Makashova

Anna Tumbusua-Makashova holds a Master's degree in Linguistics and is currently a PhD candidate In Education with the project “English language learning by deaf students in the first cycle of basic education: Analysis of resources and practices”.

Advisor: Maria Odete Emygdio da Silva

Co-advisor: Joaquim Melro and Ana Benavente

• Deaf education
• Foreign language teaching
• Translation
• Inclusion and exclusion
• Leadership
• Educational psychology
• Deaf languages and cultures

Abstract

Individual development presupposes social interaction. Language and languages play a central role in the formation and development of human consciousness, and human thinking, feeling and acting are inseparable from them. The majority of LGP speakers, the Portuguese deaf, experience barriers to legitimate participation in the various contexts in which they act, namely in the included education. The elimination of barriers to communication and learning is a duty of society which may be achieved by different means, among which education plays a fundamental role.

One of the great unsolved challenges in the current educational context is the possibility of inclusion for deaf students. Despite many attempts, despite some successes, there are still numerous obstacles, among them the need to promote the autonomy of the deaf student in the learning process (Barroso, 2020).

The English language is a compulsory subject in the Portuguese curriculum. Nowadays English is unavoidable, slyly it has conquered the world and its presence in all areas of our lives is considered natural. Mastery of the English language has become an important advantage if not the necessary factor for professional success.

However there is difficulty in translating the principles of inclusion in the English classroom to the benefit of all participants in the teaching learning process. And with these inclusive policies exclusion happens with every deaf student who attends a school that does not meet their needs and contributes little to the development of the student. As Freire states:

Nothing justifies the minimization of human beings […] I do not add my voice to those who, speaking in peace, ask the oppressed, the ragged of the world, for their resignation. My voice has another semantics, it has another music. I speak of resistance, of indignation, of the “righteous anger” of the betrayed and the deceived. Of their right and duty to rebel against the ethical transgressions of which they are increasingly the victims (Freire, 1996, p. 101).

A teaching practice is always accompanied and reflected in the resources and materials that teachers and students use during the lesson. The materials in the teaching manual should be adapted to the students for whom they are intended. However, at the moment the special needs in learning the non-native language (English) are not considered in the development of textbooks.

And in order to understand the how to implement the principles of inclusion and facilitate the learning process of deaf students, this study was proposed. Thus, we have as the general objective of this study:

• To analyse, understand and interpret which resources and practices are more facilitators of English language learning by deaf students attending the first cycle of basic education.

Given our objective, the study falls within the Qualitative paradigm. The following data collection instruments will be considered:

• literature review
• observation,
• documentary collection
• interviews,
• focus group

Keywords: Pedagogical practices, Learning of deaf students, Foreign language learning, Inclusion, Deaf languages and cultures