Effectiveness of Teaching English Introductory Phrases with Digital Dialogue Cards to Students with Intellectual Disabilities

Abstract

In this study, the effectiveness of the use of direct instruction together with the visualized dialogue cards in teaching English introductory phrases and mutual dialogue to students with intellectual disabilities was studied. The study started with four students with mild intellectual disability, however, one student dropped out due to absenteeism and the study was concluded with three students. In this research, one of the single-subject research models, multiple probe model with probe phase was used in teaching English introductory phrases and the ability to establish mutual dialogue. The research findings showed that the use of the direct instruction method together with the visualized dialogue cards was effective in teaching the target behaviors to the three participants. It is seen that the participants provide generalization between people, environments and tools regarding the target behaviors after the end of the instruction and they maintain the target behaviors at a high rate after 2, 4 and 6 weeks. The social validity findings of the study show that the parents of the participants were satisfied with the study and expressed positive opinions about the research. At the end of the research, suggestions were made for the future.