Abstract:
This paper aims to highlight the contributions of the visually challenged
educators in transforming the field of teaching English as a Second Language
(ESL) by drawing from the unique experiences of a visually impaired teacher
in South Asia. The study has its provenance in my own experiences as a
completely visually impaired educator in a Government Teachers’ Training
College in Bangladesh, and hence the study is an empirical exploration into
the challenges and also the opportunities faced by a visually challenged
teacher instructing sighted students. Although several studies have been
conducted on classes taught by visually impaired teachers, those are chiefly
focused on the issues faced by the sighted learners in terms of inclusive
educational practices; the challenges and insights of the visually impaired
tutors are rarely addressed. As such, this paper aims to bridge that gap by
showcasing how visually impaired tutors bring in unprecedented pedagogical
perspectives that are not only essential but also effective in fostering an
empathetic learning environment and encouraging creative problem
solving. In light of the personal narrative on how these challenges shaped
the author’s own teaching practices, this paper intends to extrapolate on
how visually challenged educators globally can redefine the traditional roles
of a teacher through the integration of assistive technology and adaptive
teaching strategies, thereby adding newer dimensions to what it means to
be a teacher. Being an empirical narrative, the implications of this study
with regards to inclusive education through the incorporation of Assistive
Technologies are rendered greater credibility. The results showed that visually
impaired teachers not only improve the learning landscape for a diverse set
of students, they also partake in dehegemonizing teaching methods from
Western and colonial frameworks by formulating unique solutions that are
better suited to address issues in South Asian schools. This paper, therefore,
invites a rethinking of institutional frameworks that support visually impaired
educators and recognize their distinctive contribution in shaping a more
inclusive and accessible educational system in South Asia.
