The Lived Experiences in English Language Learning of the Thai Visually Impaired Students in the Inclusive Classroom

Abstract

Under the light of educational equality, visually impaired students (VIS) have the right to improve their quality of life through educational achievement. Fortunately, policies and regulations encourage inclusive education to support all types of students including students with visual impairment. This means that the VIS are required to complete a compulsory educational system including studying English language in school and university levels. However, the mismatch between the objectives of the support policies and the practicality towards English Language Learning (ELL) among these students still exists in Thailand, and the difficulties in the ELL of the VIS remain uninvestigated. Hence, this study aims to explore the essence and meaning of ELL in an inclusive classroom derived from the perceptions of the VIS. To elicit the experiences from the participants, the phenomenological methodology was employed as the research design. The findings were drawn from nine students with visual impairment studying in an inclusive classroom setting. The data was collected from in-depth interviews and grouped into units of meaning or themes. The results showed that the essence of this study was shaped from both negative and positive aspects of ELL in an inclusive classroom, which can contribute to the VIS, practitioners, and administrative levels as guidance for future practices.