The Impact of Inclusive Education on EFL Learning in Blind Male High School Students in Tehran

This research is aimed at investigating the impact of "inclusion" on English language learning in senior high school male blind students. The research was carried out using the whole population (26 students) of blind male students in Tehran senior high schools in academic year of 2001-2002. Six sighted students whose mean scores were within the range of ±1 standard deviation from the mean score of the blind students, were selected out of 30 students. All the subjects (32students) were divided into two experimental (including 6 sighted and 10 blind students) and control (including 16 blind students) groups. The placement of the blind students was done randomly. Two multiple choice tests provided by Ministry of Education were used as data gathering instruments. The instruments contained items of linguistics and writing which were used to assess linguistic skills such as vocabulary, understanding of concepts, sentence structure and writing abilities, respectively. The experimental group received language instructions through team work in an inclusive setting. The data were analyzed using inferential statistics. The results indicated that the current methods of language instruction to the blind are not effective due to the lack of interaction between blind and sighted students. However, the blind students are able to carry on their education in inclusive senior high schools taking advantage of modifying methods and supplementary devices and materials.