Functional diversity in higher education: curriculum accommodation for people with vision disability or hearing impairment in the English as a Foreign Language classroom

Abstract

This doctoral dissertation sets out to find useful and applicable inclusive practices that aim at UDL that could be implemented in the EFL context to make it accessible to learners with visual or aural diversity, with three main aims. Firstly, it intends to assess the accessibility to English modules for people with visual or hearing disabilities. Secondly, it analyses the need for teacher training in this field. Thirdly, it offers UDL measures to find ways to attain inclusion. Both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods were employed to carry out this research, namely anonymous questionnaires and interviews. The results show that (1) inclusion in the higher education classroom, and specifically in the EFL context, is not a reality yet; (2) teacher training in disabilities is needed, coupled with other measures that promote inclusion; and (3) technology is key to overcoming certain barriers and aiming at UDL.