Challenges Faced by Female Students with Visual Impairments in Learning English as a Foreign Language: A Narrative Inquiry Study

Abstract

The English language is an international language used to enhance communication in all parts of the world. Countries that do not use English as their first language experience challenges while on international forums as their ability to communicate is curtailed. Females, especially those with visual impairment problems, are mostly affected. This study aimed to investigate the challenges faced by visually impaired female students when studying English at Taif University. The study adopted a narrative inquiry approach. The researcher randomly selected the study participants from visually impaired female students who had an average understanding of English. Data were collected by administering structured interviews. Online questionnaires were used to collect data from foreign language instructors. The study finding indicated that learners found learning English easy, though faced with challenges in the classroom, curriculum design that is not wholly inclusive of the visually impaired, and lack of learning materials such as PDFs, audios, and visuals. Simultaneously, foreign language instructors had not attended any course to teach English to the visually impaired. Based on the study findings, teachers and students required training to understand and handle the VI (visually impaired) students with more attention since there is no direct provision in the department.