UoH to hold seminar on English Language Classroom and Disabilities

Hyderabad, Jan 8 : The Centre for English Language Studies at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) is organizing a National Seminar cum workshop on 23 and 24 January titled “Inclusive Education: English Language Classroom and Disabilities”. This is one of the first of its kind of seminars and workshops being conducted in this field.

The University of Hyderabad supports and subscribes to the idea and strives towards making Inclusive Education a reality. The Centre for English Language Studies teaches English language courses in the university and the persons with disabilities are a part of these courses. The language teachers teaching in an inclusive setup need more skills to understand and contribute effectively for building solidarity between persons with disabilities, students and their peers.

Language learning in general implies learning the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. It also involves meaningful, intelligible participation, contribution in different contexts. But these discussions are slightly different for the persons with disabilities. For example: How do we ensure that there is inclusive education practiced in the English language classroom so that persons with different disabilities are included? To include persons with disabilities in a dialogue that leads to empowerment in learning-teaching processes? How to use participatory approaches within the education set-up? How can different assistive devices be used in the classroom to create an accessible environment both in terms of physical space and social attitudes? How do we make English language learning accessible to persons with different disabilities?

Many of the teachers that teach in an inclusive classroom are not equipped to handle the challenges that are faced on an everyday basis. What kind of training and pedagogical practices will equip teachers to take into consideration needs of disabled participants in the classroom? How do we remove attitudinal barriers that stand in the way of disabled person’s participation in the learning process?

This unique seminar cum workshop aims at answering some of the questions above, training, and improving the skill-sets and specific techniques required in this context of the English language teachers. Invited lectures, demonstrations, presentations, student panel discussions, training session in assistive technology would be done at the seminar. This seminar is supported by Rajiv Vidya Mission, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, SBI, SBH, NGOs and Centre for Integrated Studies (University of Hyderabad).

More details can be had from Dr Shree Deepa, Assistant Professor, CELS, University of Hyderabad. [email protected] or mbl: 9885130176. INN