Visually Impaired learners of English with leaning difficulties:

Huri Özel teaches English at a school for the blind in Ankara and particularly enjoys her class of children with multiple impairments (more than one disability. 

1. Doing anything with these learners starts by loving them: they must feel that you believe they can learn.
2. Motivate them by 

      Asking how they are and making them feel that they are safe and in a familiar learning environment.

Speaking calmly.  Shouting or hard tones of voice are threatening; the learners     concentrate best when they feel calm.

3. Select materials carefully: choose realistic materials, if possible real objects.  Teach things that relate to the children’s daily life.  Use concrete ideas and examples
4. Cooperate with the family
5. Start with what the learner needs
6. Teaching aims should reflect the learners’ abilities.  Revise aims frequently.
7. Regular work is more important than working a lot: each child should develop a daily/weekly routine, a work according to their learning style (note: some blind people are ‘visual learners’ with good spacial awareness, others are not).
8. Adjust teaching time to the children's learning span: spread the learning over the 8 months of the academic year, and adjust it to the learners' individual learning plan, 
9. When teaching a subject, give information: the child needs to know and understand where to use what s/he has learnt. 
10. Sometimes use songs to relax the children between activities.
11. Children like working in pairs: organise this so they have fun
12. Each lesson, repeat what was done before.  All materials should repeated to reinforce learning.