Teaching Limited English

Proficiency Learners with Special

Needs.

Alena Demidenko, MAT program,

ED 572 Leadership Project
 Goals of the project:

• Explore instructional approaches, methods and techniques

appropriate for teaching Limited English Proficiency students
with special needs (hearing impaired learners).
• Contribute to the literacy development goals outlined in the
School Improvement Plan by helping students improve their
reading skills.
• Help promote communication, collaboration and sharing of
expertise between ESL teachers and special education teachers
who are working with LEP students.
 Procedures:
• Conduct lessons in phonics using Fundations curriculum to
kindergarten LEP students in the Hearing Impaired classroom on
alternate week days for 30 minutes
• Lead a group read-aloud activity with kindergarten LEP students in
the Hearing Impaired classroom on alternate week days for 30
minutes.
• Meet with special education teachers to discuss their concerns
regarding language development of their LEP learners. Seek and
share advice from ESL teachers on the strategies to address the needs
of these learners.
Data Measurement:
• Schoolwide mCLASS assessment measuring the development of
reading skills in elementary school students
• Progress monitoring by the general classroom teacher
• Formative assessments by the special education teacher
 Results

• By the middle of November, the students achieved beginning- of-the year

kindergarden benchmark in reading comprehension.
• By the end of November, the students were able to identify all letters and
sounds studied during phonics instruction.
• Progress monitoring data shows growth by two levels on mCLASS literacy
assessment scale.

Text Reading 08/28/17 10/20/17 11/17/17

Comprehension

Student 1 Below print Reading behaviors B

concepts

Student 2 Print concepts Reading behaviors B

 Interpretation

The project may have contributed to the overall improvement in the

students’ reading skills for the following reasons:

• the project gave the students additional opportunities to practice the

skills they were being taught as part of their individual education plans
and general classroom instruction. It utilized their background
knowledge and previously learned strategies.
• read-aloud sessions and phonics instruction may be beneficial for
learners with diverse ages, backgrounds and special needs
• the teachers welcomed an opportunity to communicate their questions
and suggestions to their colleagues in a different field.
 Limitations of the project

• Small number of students

• Students had the same type of disability
• Time constraints
• Results of the projects (improvement of the students’ reading skills)
cannot be attributed to the project alone.
• It is hard to evaluate precisely the effectiveness of the project in separation
from other literacy activities.

Possible future modifications:

• Include LEP students with a variety of special needs

• Add vocabulary practice to the read-aloud sessions
• Diversify spelling activities on the basis of the Fundations program
 Implications for practice
• Reading aloud to children increases their interest in books and motivation to read
on their own.
• Regular instruction in phonics supports the development of decoding skills and
reading fluency.
• Collaboration between educators with various areas of expertise leads to new
ideas and instructional approaches.

Implications for research

• It is sometimes a challenge to determine whether an LEP student’s academic
difficulties are due to his or limited English proficiency or a learning disability.
• It is not always easy to evaluate the function and significance of the home
language in students who are learning two or more simultaneously. Research
could focus on the best way to utilize the students’ knowledge of home language,
if it is limited.