Promoting Multilingual Skills in Children with Autism: Parent and Teacher Perspectives on Teaching ESL

Abstract

Research on autistic children who grow up in multilingual environments remains sparse, despite more than half of the global population being multilingual. Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by severe impairments in communication and language skills. Many ASD parents ask specialists for advice about whether their child should study both languages simultaneously in a bilingual environment. The study investigated the challenges faced by teachers and parents in educating children with ASD in learning English as a Second language (ESL). The study sample consisted of nine parents and five teachers of children with ASD who were interviewed using a qualitative approach. According to the findings of the study, teaching English as a Second Language to children with autism spectrum disorders with visual aids, modeling, and repetition has been shown to be an effective method to enhance the language and social abilities of children with autism. While it is difficult to develop teaching strategies that are effective for children with autism spectrum disorders, teachers have found that these children are extremely proficient in acquiring new languages. Additionally, to ensure successful language learning programs for children with ASD, it is essential that educators and parents collaborate in order to make the programs successful. Moreover, this study demonstrates various methods that educators and parents could use in order to assist children in achieving bilingualism. The study recommends that more research is needed to fully comprehend the difficulties that ESL teachers face when they are trying to teach children with ASD how to learn languages.