Thirteenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of the implementation of a methodology based on cooperative learning in a mainstream secondary EFL classroom in which there is a student with a mild intellectual disability. The main purpose is to describe the methodology, classroom dynamics, and teaching material employed for EFL learning, as well as to elicit the appraisal and judgment of the students’ working conditions on the part of their English teachers. To this end, we have conducted a case study in a state school during two academic years. The research instruments have been documentary analysis, in-depth interviews, and participant observation. The data gathered gives evidence of the benefits of the cooperative methodology implemented. Furthermore, the study elicits the most important challenges that teachers must face in order to meet the educational needs of students with mild intellectual disability. In this sense, the discourse of the teachers involved in the study reveals the following needs: the urgency for smaller classes, an increase of human and infrastructural resources, improving the quality and the quantity of teaching materials, promoting a close collaboration among the school’s professionals, and strengthening relationships with the students’ families.