The Efficacy of Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Iranian Students with Autism Spectrum Disorderon Their Social Skills and Willingness to Communicate
Author(s):
Article Type:
Research/Original Article (دارای رتبه معتبر)
Abstract:
Objectives
This applied research is the first practical study of teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) to students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Iran. We examined the effect of a well-designed foreign language learning setting in facilitation of social skills and willingness to communicate in children with ASD.
Materials & Methods
A mixed-method research design was used. Using stratified sampling, a limited sample of 18 students were chosen from Kerman Province, southeastern Iran in 2014 categorized in three levels of ASD for each group of experimental and control; matched pairs were used to ensure homogeneity of participants in two groups. Each participant received 15 sessions with totaling 67 h of language learning. First 10 sessions were in the form of tutorials and the last 5 sessions were held in the form of paired classes with a peer. Before and after the sessions, caregivers and parents completed a questionnaire on students' social skills; the English instructor also rated participants' willingness to communicate.
Results
Teaching a foreign language had a positive main effect on social skills from caregivers’ and parents’ view compared to those of controls, significantly (P<0.05). From the instructor's view, there was additionally a significant improvement in the students with ASD’s willingness to communicate in classroom settings compared to the control group (P<0.05).
Conclusion
Optimum foreign language pedagogy for students with ASD is applied as an effective context enhancing children’s capabilities in social skills and willingness to communicate, provoked through a motivational foreign setting modulation in a novel environment. Suggestions on enhancing joint attention during the curriculum are provided.Keywords:
Language:
English
Published:
Iranian Journal of Child Neurology (IJCN), Volume:13 Issue: 3, Summer 2019
Pages:
61 to 73
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