Designing Materials to Raise Pre-Service TESOL Teacher Awareness of Learning Difficulties and Inclusive Language Teaching

Although learning difficulties such as dyslexia can be commonly seen among language learners, teachers in many contexts do not seem to have sufficient awareness of such difficulties. The Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) degree programme referred to in this chapter contains a core module entitled Inclusive Practices in Language Teaching, designed to make pre-service teachers aware of learning difficulties and inclusive language teaching methods. The materials used on this module are research-informed and cover both theoretical concepts and practical applications under several topics, including the features of learning difficulties, identification methods, and inclusive classroom techniques. They also show how to teach language skills and systems, using inclusive teaching methods such as multisensory structured language teaching and how to design inclusive language assessments. A range of materials suited to flipped, online, and face-to-face classes have been designed as all three types of delivery modes are used on this module. The chapter discusses the theoretical basis for designing these materials. It provides some practical tips that can be used in producing materials to suit pre-service teachers to increase their theoretical understanding of the topics they learn and practical application of the concepts. Within the module, pre-service teachers also produce inclusive language teaching materials using various digital tools and visual aids that suit online and face-to-face classes. This chapter also discusses how the module prepares pre-service teachers to design innovative and creative inclusive classroom materials.