I've met several teachers in my private school who are struggling to manage the challenges and adversities associated with SEN Learners (students with Special Educational Needs). An article from the British Council addresses these common experiences, and I found it extremely helpful for those of us who encounter special cases in our classrooms: 

Myth 1 – You have to be a specialist psychologist or specially trained teacher to know how to teach these learners

No, you don’t. It will of course help you to learn more about SENs and to get advice from specialists in the area, but learners with SENs benefit from good teaching practice, particularly in the area of classroom management, planning and setting of tasks. For example, learners with SENs needs clear, consistent rules and instructions, they need short do-able tasks which give a sense of achievement, they need to feel the teacher cares about them and understands them as a person and they need multi-sensory presentation and practice of material. Good teachers do all of these things without specialist knowledge of SENs.

Myth 2 – other learners in the class make less progress when they are taught with learners with SENs

No, this is not necessarily the case. Children with SENs can teach other children to have empathy, understanding of difference and other important social and learning skills. Children naturally understand that some learners need more help. Adults need to understand this and work with it. Having an inclusive classroom experience can benefit learners and enrich their learning experience.

Myth 3 – it takes a lot of extra time and planning

No. All teachers are short of time but including learners with SENs in your class should not involve a lot of extra planning. It will involve planning for different learning styles, thinking about the interests and strengths of your learners, including some variations of task type and careful presentation of the work. However, this type of planning will improve the learning of all the learners in your class. I can actually save you time if more learners engage in the work at an earlier stage and with better results.

After reviewing the reading, I also discovered some interesting tips for dealing with these cases.

1. See the learner and not the label. Learners with SENs are people with personality. Every person with dyslexia, for example, is not the same. The learner might be introvert, extrovert, creative, not creative, humorous, not humorous, musical, not musical etc. Get to know the learner.

2. Encourage and use activities which develop empathy and understanding in your classroom at all times. For example, many activities in ELT involve guessing or remembering something about your partner, finding things you have in common or which are different. Exploit this type of language activity.

3. Create a learning contract where the inclusive ethos is clear. For example, set rules which clearly state the underlying values of your classroom such as:

we help each other
we listen to each other
we understand everyone is unique.

4. Give opportunities for learners to present and practice language in different ways and in different senses.

5. Develop a peer mentoring or buddy system, where learners help each other and share skills.

6. Think carefully about how you give instructions. Make them clear, concise, give them on a step-by-step basis. Give them in the order you want them done and very simply. Avoid sequencers. For example, say ‘look at the board, open your books’ and not ‘before you open your books, look at the board.’ Check by giving an example and getting an example from the learners.

7. Use positive classroom language. Say what you want learners to do, not what you don’t want them to do. For example say 'Look at the board’ rather than 'Don’t keep turning round’

8. Use visuals to reinforce rules and routines. Have a set of pictures showing different parts of your lesson – listening (ear), speaking (mouth), writing (pen) reading (book) and put these on the board at the start of the lesson to show the order for the day.

9. Think about your learners needs and have a seating plan. For example, hearing impaired learners will need to sit near the teacher, learners with ADHD need to sit away from distractions such as windows and radiators.

10. And don’t be afraid to ask other people, the parents/carers, other professionals and above all, the learner. They will know what works.

In conclusion, while working with SEN Learners presents a unique and sometimes unusual challenge, our fundamental role as educators remains constant: to ensure a brighter future for all our students. This imperative compels us to look beyond socioeconomic status, skin tone, or religious distinction. By actively engaging with resources like the British Council article, we affirm our commitment to professional growth and cultivate the inclusive, equitable learning environment every child deserves.

References:

https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/professional-development/teachers/inclusive-practices/articles/teaching-english-learners-special