A adaptação de material didático para pessoas com deficiência visual como prática formativa de professores de língua inglesa

Abstract

Learning materials are worldwide used as facilitators in the teaching-learning process. In foreign language teaching, this is not different, and it is important to emphasize that the number of scientific studies focusing on such materials is increasing in Brazil (DAMIANOVIC, 2007; DIAS E CRISTOVÃO, 2009; among others). When we consider learning materials for visually impaired students, however, we still find some gaps in the literature. In the light of this, and in order to ensure the right to education, which is something inherent to all citizens, the adaptation of materials is necessary. Such process, however, offers some difficulties if we take into consideration some heterogeneous groups of students, since adaptation means modifying preexisting materials in such a way that some improvement, related to a particular group, can be made (TOMLINSON, 2011). This paper, thus, aimed at investigating the different steps concerning the learning materials adaptation process for a group of visually impaired students in a specialized school (Instituto dos Cegos da Paraíba Adalgisa Cunha - ICPAC) to identify challenging and/or deterrent aspects of this process. For doing so, we took into consideration both the researcher´s and the trainee teachers’ experience. As to our corpus it consisted of notes, which were taken by the researcher, as well as interviews with some IPAC trainee teachers. The analysis of the interviews, as well as the researcher´s experience, revealed the need for the Teaching Degree in English – Universidade Federal da Paraíba – UFPB to have greater focus on the learning materials adaptation process for visually impaired students.