Chapter 4. Issues in Inclusive Education and Some Answers From Autonomous Language Learning
Lienhard Legenhausen
Lienhard Legenhausen
Abstract
This chapter examines key challenges in implementing inclusive education, particularly in response to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and explores how principles and practices from Autonomous Language Learning (ALL) can offer practical and pedagogically sound responses. Focusing on the German educational context, the chapter critically discusses tensions between inclusion and ability-based schooling, the “dilemma of difference,” and persistent concerns about learner diversity, classroom interaction, and teacher control. Drawing on decades of research and classroom practice, it argues that inclusive education is best served not through categorisation or special treatment, but through learning environments designed to work for all learners. The chapter shows how core features of ALL—learner voice, authentic communication, peer support, free choice, structured routines, and continuous evaluation—create conditions that support participation, self-esteem, and belonging, including for learners with special needs. While acknowledging limitations, the chapter positions autonomous language learning as a realistic and ethically grounded pathway toward more inclusive foreign language classrooms.
About the Author
Lienhard Legenhausen is Professor Emeritus of Language Pedagogy and Applied Linguistics at the University of Münster, Germany. His research interests include the study of learner language, technology-enhanced language learning, as well as learner-centred approaches to classroom learning/teaching. In the late 80s and early 90s, he conducted various research projects on The Computer in Foreign Language Learning with Dieter Wolff, which were funded by the German Research Foundation. He also started the LAALE project (Language Acquisition in an Autonomous Learning Environment) together with Leni Dam, in which they systematically observed the linguistic development of a class of Danish mixed-ability learners who were taught according to the principles of autonomous language learning over a period of four years.
Citation
Legenhausen, L. (2025). Issues in inclusive education and some answers from autonomous language learning. In K. Heim, L. Dam, A. Albrecht, & C. Becker (Eds.), Reforming the foreign language classroom: Empowering learners to take ownership (pp. 87-102). Candlin & Mynard. https://doi.org/10.47908/40/4
This chapter examines key challenges in implementing inclusive education, particularly in response to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and explores how principles and practices from Autonomous Language Learning (ALL) can offer practical and pedagogically sound responses. Focusing on the German educational context, the chapter critically discusses tensions between inclusion and ability-based schooling, the “dilemma of difference,” and persistent concerns about learner diversity, classroom interaction, and teacher control. Drawing on decades of research and classroom practice, it argues that inclusive education is best served not through categorisation or special treatment, but through learning environments designed to work for all learners. The chapter shows how core features of ALL—learner voice, authentic communication, peer support, free choice, structured routines, and continuous evaluation—create conditions that support participation, self-esteem, and belonging, including for learners with special needs. While acknowledging limitations, the chapter positions autonomous language learning as a realistic and ethically grounded pathway toward more inclusive foreign language classrooms.
About the Author
Lienhard Legenhausen is Professor Emeritus of Language Pedagogy and Applied Linguistics at the University of Münster, Germany. His research interests include the study of learner language, technology-enhanced language learning, as well as learner-centred approaches to classroom learning/teaching. In the late 80s and early 90s, he conducted various research projects on The Computer in Foreign Language Learning with Dieter Wolff, which were funded by the German Research Foundation. He also started the LAALE project (Language Acquisition in an Autonomous Learning Environment) together with Leni Dam, in which they systematically observed the linguistic development of a class of Danish mixed-ability learners who were taught according to the principles of autonomous language learning over a period of four years.
Citation
Legenhausen, L. (2025). Issues in inclusive education and some answers from autonomous language learning. In K. Heim, L. Dam, A. Albrecht, & C. Becker (Eds.), Reforming the foreign language classroom: Empowering learners to take ownership (pp. 87-102). Candlin & Mynard. https://doi.org/10.47908/40/4
|
Information About the Book
Title: Reforming the Foreign Language Classroom: Empowering Learners to Take Ownership Editors: Katja Heim, Leni Dam, Annika Albrecht, and Carmen Becker Read more... |