Voices Beyond Text: Unravelling Perceptions and Experiences of Thai Students with Visual Impairment using Microsoft’s Reading Progress - A Narrative Inquiry Approach
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Students with disabilities have been facing issues in English proficiency improvement and limitations in material accessibility. This, too, happens to Students with Visual Impairment (SVIs). However, as announced in the United Nations' commitment to create equity in inclusive education, particularly in SDG Goal 4, it is vital for educators to draw attention to this issue. This qualitative study explores the perceptions and experiences of SVIs using Microsoft's Reading Progress program to develop English reading skills, particularly fluency and pronunciation, at a university in Thailand. Through a narrative inquiry approach, six Thai undergraduate students with visual impairments (SVIs) were purposively selected to narrate their perceptions and experiences through semi-structured interviews on the program assisting SVIs with English reading skill improvement. The collected data were analyzed and categorized into six themes regarding Pronunciation Improvement, bridging the Gap between Silent Reading and Pronunciation, Enhancing other English skills, and The Role of Microsoft’s Reading Progress Program in Enhancing Confidence in English Reading. However, challenges were revealed in the areas of accessibility facilitating SVIs users. Lastly, additional experiences also emerged under the themes of Balance Between Pronunciation and Comprehension. The study's implications are beneficial for educational institutions and policymakers to take accessible learning solutions into account under the unique needs of students with visual impairment and, importantly, to enhance equity in inclusive education.
Article Details
References
Al-Kharusi, K. (2014). The effect of repeated reading strategy on comprehension among grade four school students. Participatory Educational Research (PER), 10(3), 21-36. http://dx.doi.org/10.17275/per.23.42.10.3 Id: 1215283
Belova, T. (2017). Accessible language: Foreign language teaching strategies for blind and visually impaired students. 3rd International Conference on Arts, Design and Contemporary Education (ICADCE 2017) (pp.592-596). Atlantis Press. http://doi.org/10.2991/icadce-17.2017.143
Butina, M. (2015). A narrative approach to qualitative inquiry. American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science, 28(3), 190–196. https://doi.org/10.29074/ascls.28.3.190
Clandinin, D. J., & Connelly, F. M. (1994). Personal experience methods in N. Denzin, & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.). Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 423–427). Sage Publications.
Creswell, J.W. (2009). Research design: qualitative, quantitative and mixed approaches. Sage Publications.
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative Iiquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Sage Publications.
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Sage Publications.
DiSalle, K., & Rasinski, T. (2017). Impact of short-term intense fluency instructions on students’ reading achievement: A classroom-based, teacher-initiated research study. Journal of Teacher Action Research, 4(1), 1–13. Retrieved October 19, 2023, from http://www.practicalteacherresearch.com/uploads/5/6/2/4/56249715/impact_of_short-term_intense_fluency_instruction_on_students%E2%80%99_reading_achievement-_a_classroom-based_teacher-initiated_research_study.pdf
Education Provision for Persons with Disabilities Act, B.E. 2551 (2008). (2008). Retrieved December 10, 2023, from https://www.moe.go.th/backend/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/1.-%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%9A.-%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%94%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%A8%E0%B8%B6%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%A9%E0%B8%B2-%E0%B8%891.pdf
Fraenkel, J. R., Wallen, N. E., & Hyun, H. H. (2014). How to design and evaluate research in education. McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages.
Gargiulo, R. (2012). Special education in contemporary society 4: An introduction to exceptionally. Sage Publications, Inc.
Glesne, C. (2006). Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction (3rd ed.). Pearson Education.
Jannok, A., & Suppasetseree, S. (2020). An analysis of the teachers’ and the blind student’s needs toward an English instruction for the blind in Thai context. Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Studies, 20(2), 515-540. https://doi.org/10.14456/hasss.2020.19
Jesso, J. (2020, April 17). Microsoft teams for students with visual impairments. Provincial Resource Centre for the Visually Impaired (PRCVI). Retrieved October 23, 2023, from https://www.prcvi.org/outreach/outreaching-blog/posts/2020/april/microsoft-teams-for-students-with-visual-impairments/
Kim, Y.-S. G. (2020). Hierarchical and dynamic relations of language and cognitive skills to reading comprehension: Testing the direct and indirect effects model of reading (DIER). Journal of Educational Psychology, 112(4), 667–684. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000407
Kuhn, M. R., Schwanenflugel, P. J., Meisinger, E. B., Levy, B. A., & Rasinski, T. V. (2010). Aligning theory and assessment of reading fluency: Automaticity, prosody, and definitions of fluency. Reading Research Quarterly, 45(2), 230–251. https://doi.org/10.1598/RRQ.45.2.4
Lintangsari, A. P., & Emaliana, I. (2020). Inclusive education services for the blind: Values, roles, and challenges of university EFL teachers. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education, 9(2), 439. https://doi.org/10.11591/ijere.v9i2.20436
Marpaung, S. D. C., Rangkuti, R., & Tarigan, B. (2022). Assistive technology in English learning by a visually impaired student at inclusive school. Asian TESOL Journal, 2(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.35307/asiantj.v2i1.27
Microsoft Support. (n.d.) Getting started with Reading Progress in Teams. Retrieved 22 November 2024, from https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/getting-started-with-reading-progress-in-teams-7617c11c-d685-4cb7-8b75-3917b297c407
Salarvand, L., Guimaraes, N., & Balagholi, Z. (2022). Instructional strategies' impacts on EFL learners reading fluency: A review. THAITESOL Journal, 35(1), 77-90. Retrieved October 19, 2023, from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1340892.pdf
Saldaña, J. (2016). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Los Angeles, CA:
SAGE Publications.
Sapp, W., & Hatlen, P. (2010). The expanded core curriculum: Where we have been, where we are going, and how we can get there. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 104(6), 338–348. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145 482x1010400604
Setiawan, W. A. J., Adnyani, L. D. S., & Suprianti, G. A. P. (2020). Strategies in teaching reading to visually impaired students. Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Undiksha. 8(1), 65-73. https://ejournal.undiksha.ac.id/index.php/JPBI
Thailand Association of the Blind (2016). Retrieved September 23, 2023, from http://tabgroup.tab.or.th /node/124
Tholfsen, M. (2021, August 24). Reading Progress in Microsoft Teams to improve student reading fluency - now rolled out globally!. Techcommunity.microsoft.com. Retrieved October 7, 2023, from https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/education-blog/reading-progress-in-microsoft-teams-to-improve-student-reading/ba-p/2675732
Thongnab, T. (2020, April 1). Microsoft Thailand strengthens partnership with Ministry of Higher Education elevating online learning with Microsoft Teams for Education – covering 150 universities across country – Thailand News Center. Thailand News center. https://news.microsoft.com/th-th/2020/03/26/teamsforedu-en/)
Tracey, D. H., & Morrow, L. M. (2012). Lenses on reading: An introduction to theories and models. New York, Guilford Press
United Nations. (2006). Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Optional Protocol UNITED NATIONS. Retrieved September 23, 2023, from https://www.un.org/ disabilities/documents/convention/convoptprot-e.pdf
United Nation. (2015). Goal 4 | Department of economic and social affairs. Retrieved September 21, 2023, from https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal4
United Nations. (2017). Sustainable development goal 4: Quality education | The United Nations in Thailand. Retrieved September 21, 2023, from https://thailand.un.org/en/sdgs/4
V-amotoyama (n.d.). Introduction - Training. Learn.microsoft.com. Retrieved October 7, 2023, from https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/modules/support-reading-fluency-practice-with-reading-progress/introduction