Challenges and Implications of English Teaching and Learning Processes with Deaf Students, Considering the Analysis of Existing Literature and Education Stakeholders' Perceptions

Abstract

In Colombia, bilingual education for deaf students integrates Sign Language and Spanish. Consequently, English is not mandatory for these students, resulting in a lack of pedagogical guidelines, practices, and teacher training. Thus, this research project aims to establish the challenges and implications inherent in English teaching and learning processes with deaf students by employing a qualitative exploratory approach based on a case study, analyzing existing literature, and identifying education stakeholders’ perceptions in a public school in Duitama, Boyacá. Three data collection instruments were used: an online questionnaire, semistructured interviews, and a documentary matrix. Subsequently, the collected information was analyzed inductively using the thematic analysis method. This resulted in three main categories of analysis: challenges for English language teaching with deaf students, stakeholders' participation: proposals and actions, and language Learning: From a Sign Language to a foreign language. Based on these, educational, pedagogical, and linguistic challenges were identified, along with pedagogical considerations such as the importance of utilizing their linguistic repertoire, as it was determined to be part of their identity. Finally, these results aim to contribute valuable insights for fostering inclusive and bilingual education practices with these students.