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ESL Students
Teachers of students for whom English is their second language will need to be sensitive to the varying rates at which students develop communication skills. ESL teachers are encouraged to make appropriate adaptations to instruction and assessment according to individual student need, and to use a range of communications media. ESL students are likely to benefit from teacher modelling of expectations, real-life applications, direct instruction, incremental introduction of language skills, frequent review, and use of graphic organizers and key visuals.
Teachers of ESL students are referred to Appendix C of this IRP for more information.
Students with Special Needs
Teachers of students with some types of special needs are encouraged to use the IRP flexibly to validate that communication may be expressed or received by students in a variety of ways.
Not all students can read, write, speak, and listen in the traditional sense or at the level expected for their grade. Teachers will need to be sensitive to this reality and accommodate individual needs by adapting instruction and assessment or using alternative communications media (e.g., voice-activated computer, sign language and interpreters, braille, communication boards, audiotapes). When words such as speak or read are used in this IRP, they should be broadly interpreted to include such adaptations. Teachers should assist students to become increasingly aware of strategies to address their own language difficulties.
Students who require readers or scribes to communicate their understanding should be taught to use technology such as audiotapes, word processors, and spell checkers. An increasing emphasis on using compensatory strategies independently is essential so that students will have the skills needed to function independently and learn to be advocates for themselves as adults.
Teachers of students with special needs are referred to Appendix C of this IRP for more information. See also the ministry handbook Teaching Students with Learning and Behavioural Differences: A Resource Guide for Teachers (1996).
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Revised: January 25, 1999
