PRACTICAL CASE: Inclusion, innovation and school community in the Foreign Language (English) area in a CAES school

CASE 1

CONTEXT

• Type of school and setting: Centro de Acción Educativa Singular (CAES), a state-funded school located on the outskirts of a large city in the Comunitat Valenciana. The families' socioeconomic background is vulnerable, with a high rate of unemployment and cultural diversity.
• Level/Year: Mixed (multilevel) classroom grouping students from the third and fourth years of Primary Education in the Foreign Language: English area.
• Point in the school year: Second term. Project-based work and speaking are being consolidated through daily routines.
• Regulatory framework: In accordance with the inclusion regulations of the Comunitat Valenciana (Decreto 104/2018 and Orden 20/2019), the school prioritises Level II educational response measures (additional response for the group or classroom) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to prevent exclusion.

STUDENTS

• General characteristics: The class group is made up of 18 students (8 from the third year and 10 from the fourth year). They display very different learning paces and an initially low linguistic competence in L2, shaped by the lack of exposure to English outside school.
• Specific profiles:
  • Aitor (third year of Primary Education): A student diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). He has difficulties sustaining attention during lengthy verbal instructions in English, becomes frustrated with prolonged writing tasks and shows a strong need for movement.
  • Lucía (fourth year of Primary Education): A student in a situation of socio-educational disadvantage. She has a one-year curricular gap in literacy competence (in both L1 and L2) owing to intermittent school absenteeism during the previous school year. She lacks technological resources and academic support at home, but shows great interest in practical and artistic tasks.

RESOURCES

• Classroom equipped with an interactive digital whiteboard (PDI) and internet connection (with limited access for students).
• Reading corner with illustrated picture books and simple stories in English (picturebooks).
• Varied manipulative materials (magnetic letters, flashcards, story dice or story cubes).
• Support from a specialist teacher in Therapeutic Pedagogy (PT) within the English classroom for 1 session per week (co-teaching).

MAIN QUESTION

As the English teacher, what didactic and organisational intervention proposal will you implement on an ongoing basis throughout the second term in this mixed classroom in order to provide a Level II response to Aitor's and Lucía's needs, whilst guaranteeing inclusion and access to the Foreign Language curriculum through Universal Design for Learning (UDL)?

CASE 2

CONTEXT

• Type of school and setting: Centro de Acción Educativa Singular (CAES) situated in a maritime neighbourhood of the Comunitat Valenciana with strong local roots but with needs for social transformation.
• Level/Year: Fourth year of Primary Education.
• Point in the school year: Second term. The teaching team detects a drop in students' motivation towards learning foreign languages, which has an impact on the classroom climate.
• Methodological framework: Following the Decreto 106/2022 of the Comunitat Valenciana, the aim is to strengthen plurilingual and intercultural competence through meaningful learning situations, active methodologies (such as cooperative learning) and gamification as tools to combat disengagement and school absenteeism.

STUDENTS

• General characteristics: The group comprises 20 students. They are characterised as being very active, creative and participatory in practical activities, yet they show resistance towards traditional methodologies based on English textbooks.
• Specific profiles:
  • Lucía (fourth year of Primary Education): A student in a situation of socio-educational disadvantage (shared with Case 1). She displays low self-esteem and reluctance to speak English in front of the group for fear of making mistakes. However, she stands out for her ability in drawing and visual design.
  • Peer group: There is a small subgroup of students who tend to monopolise oral tasks in L2, which inhibits the participation of more vulnerable students such as Lucía.

RESOURCES

• The teacher's mobile device and a digital voice recorder.
• Visual scaffolding cards (sentence starters and visual prompts) for speaking.
• Classroom space organised flexibly (tables grouped together to facilitate teamwork).
• Free digital gamification platforms (ClassDojo or similar) projected on the classroom's interactive digital whiteboard.

MAIN QUESTION

How would you design and deliver a cooperative and gamified learning project in the English area for this fourth-year group that actively integrates Lucía by drawing on her strengths, fosters the oral communicative competence of all students and reduces the participation gap?

CASE 3

CONTEXT

• Type of school and setting: Urban Centro de Acción Educativa Singular (CAES) in the Comunitat Valenciana. The school stands out for its School Community Plan and the promotion of emotional education.
• Level/Year: Third year of Primary Education.
• Point in the school year: Second term. An increase in tension and minor relational conflicts is observed during English sessions involving competitive games or fast oral communication dynamics.
• Institutional framework: In line with the LOPIVI (Ley Orgánica de Protección Integral a la Infancia y la Adolescencia frente a la Violencia) and the school community decrees of the Comunitat Valenciana, the Foreign Language area must contribute to the peaceful resolution of conflicts, co-education and the development of social skills.

STUDENTS

• General characteristics: The classroom has 19 students. Although the group is affectionate, it displays difficulties in tolerating frustration, respecting turn-taking and accepting the rules of the game when carrying out ludic or communicative activities in English.
• Specific profiles:
  • Aitor (third year of Primary Education): A student diagnosed with ADHD (shared with Case 1). In situations of high stimulation or competitive games during the English session, he experiences difficulties in regulating his emotions, which on occasion triggers disruptive behaviour (shouting, abandoning the activity or getting angry with classmates). His family shows concern about his social integration but collaborates actively with the school.

RESOURCES

• Cool-down corner adapted to the English area, including emotional regulation cards in L2 ("How do I feel?", "I need a break"), stress balls and short emotional education reading materials.
• Digital visual timers (visual timers) for managing game time.
• Daily school–family communication diary and a schedule of teaching coordination meetings.

MAIN QUESTION

As an English specialist, what coordinated action plan will you design together with the class tutor, the Therapeutic Pedagogy (PT) specialist and Aitor's family in order to manage the student's emotional self-regulation difficulties during communicative and play-based dynamics in L2, whilst simultaneously improving the school community and classroom climate for the entire third-year group?