An Analysis of the Teacher’s and the Blind Student’s Needs toward an English Instruction for the Blind in Thai Context

Abstract

Normally sighted individuals who have studied English may encounter difficulties and problems in multiple linguistic skills e.g. listening, speaking, reading, writing, and vocabulary. They are also main tribulations for people with visual loss. This study set out to conduct a needs analysis to examine the teacher’s and the blind’s needs toward an English instruction for the blind. A qualitative methodological approach was utilized to collect data from the teachers and the blind students at the Nakhon Ratchasima School for the Blind and the Khon Kaen School for the Blind. The two research instruments used in the current study were a semi-structured interview and class observation. Concerning the participants, five blind students and five teachers teaching the blind were selected for this study. The six-question items were utilized to elicit information about the problems, the desire, or the needs for English language teaching and learning. Additionally, a class observation was implemented to explore the learning environment. The findings indicated that the teachers had desires in enhancing the blind’s listening ability while the blind would like to practice more on speaking. However, the analysis of the qualitative data revealed that they encountered two main problems which were: instructional materials and learning time constraints.