This page includes resources for teachers, administrators, or other education based adults looking for tangible ways to be more purposeful about inclusion in their world language classes, programs, and schools. 

The Principles of Universal Design

These principles were created to be a guide for educators looking critically at their teaching practices, choices, and curriculum.  Each principle has broad application across many subject areas, but I chose to look at them through the lens of foreign language specifically.  My ideas on how the principle could be helpful in a foreign language classroom is underlined underneath the principle. 

Principle 1: Equitable Use
Instruction is designed to be useful to and accessible by people with diverse abilities. Provide the same means of use for all students: identical whenever possible, equivalent when not.
When considering which types of activities to use in class, consider if the activity might be hard for certain populations of students to complete and consider modification.  For example, a child with responsibilities outside of school might have a difficult time completing daily homework.

Principle 2: Flexibility in Use
Instruction is designed to accommodate a wide range of individual abilities. Provide choice in methods of use.
As humans, we all navigate the world in different ways!  Language learning is similar.  Children are presented with a variety of inputs when learning their native language.  There are many benefits to different types of input in the language classroom - audio, visual, tactile, kinesthetic. 

Principle 3: Simple and intuitive
Instruction is designed in a straightforward and predictable manner, regardless of the student's experience, knowledge, language skills, or current concentration level. Eliminate unnecessary complexity.
It doesn't need to be hard just for hard's sake.  If you teach a lower level language class, there's nothing wrong with students receiving directions in their native language.  There is a progression to student's abilities and many will benefit from clear structure and communication as they are learning new language pathways for the first time.

Principle 4: Perceptible information
Instruction is designed so that necessary information is communicated effectively to the student, regardless of ambient conditions or the student's sensory abilities.
I love teaching outside!  I think there's something so invigorating to switch it up and get fresh air and sunshine. (I also taught in California where this was reasonable.) But for many students, something I thought was fun was actually a barrier to learning because there are so many other distractions outside!  From the glare of the light to not having a stable writing surface, lessons outside were novel, but unhelpful.  I needed to think through a different way to incorporate movement and outdoor time.

Principle 5: Tolerance for error
Instruction anticipates variation in individual student learning pace and prerequisite skills.
When I would reflect on my teaching skills there was often a close correlation in my mind between how my students were performing and how I was delivering the material.  Starting out, I had a very low tolerance for error because I assumed I was teaching well enough they wouldn't be making errors.  I now see how misguided that was and that errors are an incredible tool and stepping stone in the pathway to proficiency!

Principle 6: Low physical effort
Instruction is designed to minimize nonessential physical effort in order to allow maximum attention to learning.
Similar to my example of class outside, sometimes doing activities that had a large amount of movement or moving parts simply because "why not" is not a very good litmus test for what makes a quality language activity.

Principle 7: Size and space for approach and use
Instruction is designed with consideration for appropriate size and space for appropriate size and space for approach, reach, manipulations, and use regardless of a student's body size, posture, mobility, and communication needs.
As teachers, we often do not have control over what our physical space is.  We are assigned a classroom, we're sharing a classroom, we're teaching out of a cart.  No matter what the uncontrollables are, we need to make sure our controlled choices are ones that are equitable and suit the need for all students to access.

Principle 8: A community of learners
The instructional environment promotes interaction and communication among students and between students and faculty.
This principle might be the most important when considering the language classroom.  Language is communication and the instructional environment must be one that encourages students to flourish in trying and growing their communication skills.  If this isn't achieved, language will not be learned.  Additionally, it is important to create a healthy conversation between you the teacher and the student.  The teacher is often seen as the gatekeeper of the language but we are only there to help facilitate the skills the students are learning.

Principle 9: Instructional climate
Instruction is designed to be welcoming and inclusive. High expectations are espoused for all students.
Teaching can be stressful.  Our students are humans too and feeling their own stressors. Teachers have to work hard to complete all the tasks the job requires but being mindful of how we conduct class and respond to student stress can be formative in their language learning experience.