Addressing the wellbeing of ESL students with special needs in academia - approaches and resources

This investigation focuses on second language acquisition/learning by students with special needs from the perspective of enhancing their wellbeing through effective inclusion policies which are based on both the consideration of the neuropsychological mechanism of the mentioned students (requiring/resulting in different cognitive styles), and specific teaching techniques. To this end, we aim at promoting a re-consideration of (some of) the various strategies which are currently available for promoting these students’ well-being, such as the ongoing studies in the domain of artificial intelligence (Miglino 2018;) and assistive technology (Schneider and Crombe 2003; Cornoldi et al.2010; Ventriglia et al. 2017; Evmenova 2020), which include, among many, software for facilitating L2 learning processes in dyslexic students (Peroni et al.) and mind mapping (Buzan 2018; Vlachos and Kanalia, 2017). Of contemporary interest are also the various programmes and interventions increasingly promoted by experts within Italian schools and academia, which consist of a variety of initiatives, ranging from multidisciplinary conferences (e.g. La Seconda Lingua nelle Diverse Condizioni Di Apprendimento. Aggiornamenti e Riflessioni sullo stato dell’arte in prospettiva socio-pedagogica, 2019), documentaries (e.g. ‘Nei miei panni’, 2021, by the Associazione Italiana Dislessia ), or, more recently, the Settimana Nazionale della Dislessia held in October 2022, where many awareness-raising initiatives were implemented at various levels. The availability of resources such as auxiliary aids centre, as well as special courses, where researchers and computer programmers can interact, are of paramount importance not only for students with special needs, but also for enabling teachers to cope with different learning styles. Overall, such and similar initiatives aim to promote both a better training of teachers in this domain and a metacognitive reflection on the existing approaches and techniques and can result in a more effective and stress-free teaching/learning interaction.