Universal Design for Learning as a pathway to accessibility in the linguistics classroom

Abstract

This paper offers suggestions on enhancing accessibility in our introductory linguistics courses, with a particular focus on teaching phonetics and phonology to students with hearing and visual disabilities. After reviewing some existing resources designed to make linguistics content more accessible, we address some of the practical constraints we experienced in trying to adopt these resources for our own courses. In light of such challenges, we offer practical strategies for improving accessibility both in the physical classroom as well as for online or hybrid courses. We suggest that implementing such strategies, which are in line with the principles of Universal Design for Learning, can prove beneficial for all students, with or without the need for accommodation. Finally, we encourage instructors to take proactive steps to make their course content more accessible, both in their current and future classes.