Abstract:
The teaching and the learning of English as a foreign language by Italian deaf students have not been largely discussed in the academic field. This is a reflection of the scarce examples of the actual teaching and learning programs available in Italy for those deaf students who want to learn English as a foreign language.
After a broader description of the evolution of the educational strategies for deaf students in history and a brief overview of the current situation in this field in France, Poland, Hungary and Italy, the attention is then drawn to the B2 level English test for entering Ca’ Foscari University. Following an existing analysis model, the test has been analyzed in order to verify to what extent the guidelines for accessibility make the test suitable for disabled students and students with special educational needs.
Further data were collected from two informal exploratory interviews to a university deaf student and a tutor for disabled students,an online questionnaire addressing deaf students and teachers who had experiences in teaching English to deaf and from a structured interview to a deaf university student who took the test.
Finally, the responses posed the basis for the development of a support program for deaf students who want to train and improve their English skills before taking the B2 level English test. This work wishes to contribute to the improvement of the teaching of English to deaf students in Italy.
