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

CASE 1

CONTEXT

• Type of school and setting: Preferential educational attention school (challenging circumstances) under public ownership, located in the southern metropolitan ring of the Comunidad de Madrid (Parla). The socio-economic background of the families 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 academic year: Second term. Project-based work and oral expression through daily routines are being consolidated.
• Regulatory framework: In accordance with the inclusion regulations of the Comunidad de Madrid (Decreto 24/2018 on educational inclusion), 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 comprises 18 students (8 from the third year and 10 from the fourth year). They display very different learning paces and a low initial linguistic competence in L2, conditioned by limited exposure to English outside school.
• Specific profiles:
  • Aitor (third year of Primary Education): Student diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). He has difficulty sustaining attention during long verbal instructions in English, becomes frustrated with extended writing tasks, and shows a high need for movement.
  • Lucía (fourth year of Primary Education): Student in a situation of socio-educational disadvantage. She presents a curricular gap of one year in literacy competence (in both L1 and L2) due to intermittent school absenteeism during the previous academic 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 (IWB) and internet access (with limited access for students).
• Reading corner with illustrated albums and simple stories in English (picturebooks).
• Various 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

What didactic and organisational intervention proposal will you implement, as an English teacher, on a continuous basis during the second term in this mixed-year classroom, in order to provide a Level II response to the needs of Aitor and Lucía, guarantee inclusion and access to the Foreign Language curriculum through Universal Design for Learning (UDL)?

CASE 2

CONTEXT

• Type of school and setting: Preferential educational attention school (challenging circumstances) situated in a neighbourhood of the Comunidad de Madrid (Carabanchel district) with strong local roots but with needs for social transformation.
• Level/Year: Fourth year of Primary Education.
• Point in the academic year: Second term. The teaching team detects a drop in students' motivation towards learning foreign languages, which has a negative effect on the classroom climate.
• Methodological approach: Following Decreto 61/2022 of the Comunidad de Madrid, 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 lack of engagement and school absenteeism.

STUDENTS

• General characteristics: The group comprises 20 students. They are characterised as very active, creative and participative in practical activities, but they show resistance towards traditional methodologies based on English textbooks.
• Specific profiles:
  • Lucía (fourth year of Primary Education): 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. She does, however, stand 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 oral expression.
• Classroom space organised flexibly (tables grouped 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 develop a cooperative and gamified learning project in the English area for this fourth-year Primary group, which 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 preferential educational attention school (challenging circumstances) in the Comunidad de Madrid. The school is notable for its School Community Plan and its promotion of emotional education.
• Level/Year: Third year of Primary Education.
• Point in the academic year: Second term. An increase in tension and minor relational conflicts is observed during English sessions involving competitive games or fast-paced oral communication activities.
• Institutional approach: In line with the LOPIVI (Ley Orgánica de Protección Integral a la Infancia y la Adolescencia frente a la Violencia) and Decreto 32/2019 on school community in educational centres of the Comunidad de Madrid, 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 warm and affectionate, they find it difficult to tolerate frustration, respect speaking turns and accept the rules of the game when engaging in playful or communicative activities in English.
• Specific profiles:
  • Aitor (third year of Primary Education): 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 occasionally triggers disruptive behaviours (shouting, withdrawing from the activity or arguments with classmates). His family expresses concern about his social integration but collaborates actively with the school.

RESOURCES

• Calm corner (Cool-down corner) adapted to the English area, which includes 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 timetable of teaching coordination meetings.

MAIN QUESTION

What coordinated action plan with the class tutor, the specialist in Therapeutic Pedagogy (PT) and Aitor's family will you design, in your role as English specialist, to manage the student's emotional self-regulation difficulties during communicative activities and games in L2, whilst at the same time ensuring improved school community and classroom climate for the whole third-year Primary group?