In many parts of the world, it is not a person's native language - but a foreign one - which is used for education, work or entertainment. This is true for many European countries whose inhabitants need to learn English as a foreign language if they want to participate in education or among diverse fields in the workforce. In other parts of the world, it might be Spanish, Hindi, Mandarin Chinese, Arabic or other languages which will be serving a similar role. This need for learning a second language is understood well in many educational programs, including those for students with special educational needs. However, to date, there is not much research of the experiences of persons with diverse additional needs as learners of foreign languages. The most robust literature covers the field of additional language acquisition among Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) people (cf Domagała-Zyśk, Podlewska, Moritz 2021 and others). Goals, methods and forms of teaching are fairly well described, and DHH students’ needs have been documented extensively.

The goal of this Research Topic is to explore experiences of persons with diverse learning needs in foreign language learning. The research questions might be as follows;

1. What are the learning experiences of students with diverse needs, including disabilities, as foreign language learners.

2. Does this experience depend on their age, geographical aspect, schooling characteristics?

3. What is the role of motivational and personal factors in foreign language teaching and learning?

4. Does foreign language enjoyment, hope, well-being, language anxiety play a significant - or marginal role in this process?

5. What methodological approaches could be recommended in learning a foreign language to read, write, listen, speak, discuss, negotiate?

6. Accessibility boundaries and horizons: What are the chances and challenges of using Artificial Intelligence in second language acquisition classes for students with diverse needs?

We are interested mainly in research-based papers from diverse geographies. We know learners with disabilities and special needs are hard-to-reach populations, so the papers might be based on case studies or biographical interviews. The aim of this Research Topic is to attract more research activities in the field of special (additional, diverse) educational needs and disability in the context of accessible foreign language learning.

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Frontiers in Education

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