INCLUSION IN THE CONTEXT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLASSROOM: TEACHERS’ CURRENT BELIEFS AND PRACTICES

Abstract

As the perspectives of English language teaching pedagogy change globally, new trends and issues emerge, and achieving effective inclusive language education is one of them. But what are teachers’ current beliefs and practices of inclusion? This paper explores the beliefs that English language teachers in the Sultanate of Oman have confidence in and feel about inclusion giving most of the attention to integration of visually impaired students into the mainstream classroom. Based on the findings of a year-long research project conducted at the Centre for Preparatory Studies of Sultan Qaboos University, these cover such mostly cited and supported by research components, or factors and conditions of inclusive education (Bricker, 2000), as classroom practices, including teaching strategies, classroom environment, classroom management, collaboration and teaming, including special needs students’ interaction with regular students in the mainstream English language classroom, participation in group activities, and teacher attitude, including teachers assumptions regarding inclusion, in general, and in the context tertiary education English language teaching and learning, and teacher professional development. Shared experiences and beliefs, as well as the components of inclusion, may lead to stronger culture of inclusion within the researched institution and a broader context of Oman’s tertiary education.