Abstract
This research provides an in-depth analysis of inclusive education in England, focusing on a bilingual inclusive classroom in an independent school. The study explores the teaching techniques of a Spanish teacher and investigates the impact of teaching modern foreign languages (MFL) in an inclusive setting. To address the hypothesis that inclusive education burdens teachers, qualitative methods have been employed, supplemented by quantitative data from student surveys and personal teaching reflections. The findings suggest that embracing diversity can benefit both the bilingual classroom and the educators, challenging the notion that it poses a hindrance.
TopIntroduction
After 45 years in the European Union (EU), Brexit has introduced uncertainties and changes in various aspects of the education system in the United Kingdom (UK), ranging from funding and research collaboration to student mobility and curriculum standards (Association of Colleges [AoC], n.d., para.1). The full extent of these effects will become more apparent as new policies and agreements are established in the post-Brexit era. These changes, along with the pressure and debt imposed by the pandemic (see House of Commons, 2022, p. 3), have created much tension in education. A recent research by Sibieta (2023), for the Institute of Fiscal Studies reveals that “school funding is only increasing by just about enough to keep pace with school costs” (para. 2). He explains that due to additional funding allocated for covering increased teacher pay from September 2023, they anticipate an 8% growth in school funding in the 2023-24 fiscal year. While this appears as a substantial increase in raw figures, it barely surpasses the overall rise in expenses. Consequently, the financial outlook for schools in 2023-24 remains constrained (para. 11). Amid this new climate, schools and colleges continue to soldier on to prepare students for access to university.
Language learning in England has inequitably suffered many of the abovementioned changes and turbulence. Lanvers (2018) refers to it as a “politicisation” of foreign language learning caused by Brexit. Following an adaptation to a new scoring system (see Department for Education [DfE], 2022, for more detail), language learning is not among the students’ favourites as an Advanced Level (A-Level) subject, as obtaining a good result is now more challenging and gaining access to a good university is a priority. In other words, learning a foreign language in England has become a political and bureaucratic debate rather than an educational journey, thus constraining both the demand and the need to learn.
The implementation of inclusivity has intensified the educational debate among foreign language educators in England, with some detractors declaring that the original attention historically devoted to grammar, pronunciation and exam technique has deviated from the need to engage and include all students in the same activity. The neglecters explained that:
Children with [Special Educational Needs and Disability] SEND risk being perceived as an onerous adjunct to an already stressful ‘regular’ teaching role. Few respondents mentioned national performance monitoring and accountability regimes in this context and, instead, viewed additional paraprofessional and external support as self-evident solutions to excessive workloads, neglecting the implications for equity in education. (Warnes et al., 2021, para.1)
The purpose of this research is to analyse the controversial status of inclusion in the teaching of a foreign language in a bilingual classroom in England. The method chosen for the study is a qualitative approach focusing on two different year-group classrooms at an independent British school. The first classroom is a group of fourteen students from year 10 (Y10) Spanish, for whom First Language (L1) and the Target Language (TL) are used as the languages of instruction, and the second classroom is a group of eight students in year 13 (Y13) who were studying to obtain their A-Level and whose lessons are taught in the TL. The teaching context of both groups is monolingual, with 95% of the students speaking English as their L1 and a minority being already bilingual themselves, with their mother tongue being Yoruba but having grown up in the UK and using English as the language to communicate outside their home. Both classrooms contain a student population ranging from 40% to 60% who require educational support.
This paper embarks on a comprehensive exploration of inclusivity within the bilingual classroom, delving into the intricate challenges faced by foreign language instructors in nurturing their students’ linguistic proficiency. The journey begins by tracing the historical trajectory of bilingualism in secondary schools in England, providing essential context. It then navigates through the landscape of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in Modern Foreign Languages in England, shedding light on the contemporary framework. A meticulous examination of the pragmatic approach to teaching Spanish in an inclusive classroom ensues, addressing the core methodologies.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Educational Policies: Rules, guidelines, and decisions made by governments or institutions about how education should be organised and conducted. These policies affect schools, teachers, and students.
Teaching Objectives: Clear goals or aims teachers set for what they want students to learn in a lesson or a course. Objectives help guide teaching and assessment.
Teaching Practices: Methods and strategies that teachers use to help students learn. It includes how teachers plan lessons, interact with students, and assess their progress.
Content Language Integrated Learning (CLIL): Teaching a subject, like science or math, using a second language (not the student's native language). This approach helps students learn both the subject and the language simultaneously.
Learning Styles: There are different ways people prefer to learn, like visual (seeing), auditory (hearing), or kinaesthetic (doing). Understanding learning styles helps teachers adapt lessons for better understanding.
Pedagogical Challenges: Difficulties or problems faced by teachers in the process of teaching and educating students. These challenges can involve various aspects of teaching and learning.
Adaptive Teaching: Changing the way teachers teach based on the needs and abilities of their students. It means adjusting lessons and methods to help every student learn effectively.
Attention to Diversity: Being aware and considerate of differences among people, such as their backgrounds, abilities, and needs, and adjusting teaching or activities to include everyone.
Integration: Bringing different things or people together to work as a whole. In education, it often refers to including students with diverse abilities and backgrounds in regular classrooms, ensuring they learn together.
Bilingual Education: Learning and using two languages in the classroom. Students are taught both their native language and a second language, helping them become fluent in both.
Planning: The process of deciding in advance what to do and how to do it. In education, planning refers to preparing lessons, activities, and teaching materials.
Competencies: Skills, knowledge, and abilities that someone has and can use effectively. In education, it refers to what students are expected to learn and be able to do.