How can Universal Design for Learning help with Language Teaching?

elsa o’brien lópez

Universal Design sets the guidelines to give all students an equal opportunity to succeed. English learning has become more and more flexible which has led to more inclusive teaching practices.

Universal Design is the composition of an environment so that it can be accessed, understood and used to the greatest extent possible by all people regardless of their particularities. In the past, this concept was referred to when speaking about architecture and building accessibility. Today, it is also applied to learning: Universal Design sets the guidelines to give all students an equal opportunity to succeed. 

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) asks us to think about the ‘why’ (Why am I learning this?), the ‘what’ (What am I learning? Can I understand it? Is it accessible?) and the ‘how’ (How can I show proof or learning? How can I interact with the teacher and other learners?) of learning. 

The ‘why’ has to do with motivation, the ‘what’ with the different means in which learners can access content and information and the ‘how’ is related with action and participation.

It is probably safe to say that English as a foreign language is one of the most developed areas of teaching and learning worldwide. Resources and expertise are widely available and a lot of them are free. Thanks to all the research and effort that has been put into developing effective materials and methodologies, the learning of the English language has become more and more flexible and communicative in recent years. This evolution makes it easier to fine tune classroom practices and adapt materials according to the Guidelines of Universal Design for Learning.

This trend has led to more inclusive teaching practices and approaches that are more respectful of diversity. How could we apply some of the principles of UDL to the context of English language teaching or to Bilingual Content subjects? There are three main ways to do it:

By providing multiple ways of Engagement

Whenever possible, let your students choose what project, topic or worksheet they’d prefer to work on. Providing choice can be as easy as:

• letting them choose what text to read out of three; 
• giving a bank of comprehension or speaking questions out of which they can choose five;
• letting them choose what science experiment they’d like to carry out and write a report about.

As this area is linked to ‘why’ we’re learning, we need to be on the lookout for what triggers our students’ motivation. Linking learning to real-life experiences is often an effective way of doing so. Explicitly sharing and the learning outcomes will also help direct learners’ attention towards an ultimate goal. These must also be displayed somewhere visible for our learners to help them keep in mind the big picture.

By providing multiple means of Representation

Visually or auditory impaired students might only be able to access information using certain senses. Most of our students will have preferred ways of accessing information. 

Even if the teacher is willing to give short and staged instructions orally, these should also be available in writing on the board or somewhere where students can take a glance back at them if needed. It’s always important to think of what our students in particular might benefit from: 

• Can students work in groups with a member being the ‘instruction reader’? 
• Can we scribble the instructions on a little piece of scrap paper and stick them on their desk? 
• Could we put them into a plastic pouch and have our students tick them off as they complete them? – this will help them become autonomous learners.
• Would simple pictograms work better for some students? According to graphic facilitator Emily Bryson, teachers can easily improve student comprehension, access to information and engagement through simple drawing. You can check some of her free resources here.

By providing multiple ways of Action and Expression

A teacher can consistently ask for a wide range of responses from their learners. For instance a mere True/False comprehension activity can be carried out in many different ways:

• Students can stand for true and sit for false.
• They must touch the right wall in the classroom for True and the left one for false (or the same option with pointing).
• They can show a green (true) or red (false) marker.
• They can answer orally in front of the whole class or in pairs while the teacher monitors.
• They can write their answers on a mini-board as quickly as they can, and hold them up. This can add a competitive element to the activity.
• They can also respond using a device if the questions are part of an online quiz (Kahoot, Quizziz, Wordwall, Quizlet, etc).

Sometimes, one activity will allow for more than one way of expression. If students have to do research and present a topic the final outcome could be presented either as a poster, a video or a quiz. This gives students who are more comfortable using a device the chance to do so, while others approach the project from a more art & craft angle.

By allowing our learners to engage, access content and take action in different ways, we will be building flexibility into our teaching structure. Through these easy habits we will ensure we are catering for diverse ways of learning and taking into consideration different needs. 

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