FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ PREPARATION TO WORK WITH SEN CHILDREN IN NEW JERSEY

The article analyzes two university training programs for future teachers in New Jersey in accordance with the conditions of obtaining a diploma from the State Department of Education. As a result of the study, it was founded that the respondents’ understanding of the essence of working with students with special needs changed during the experiment. The university teacher’s training program General Program 101 (Gen Ed 101) does not provide adequate training, in contrast to the double degree program, which provides in-depth training, culminating in the defense of the diploma and teaching practice at school. Students in the double degree program had the opportunity to gain knowledge from two programs, compare them, and modify them to the specific cases they encounter during the internship under the guidance of teacher mentors. According to New Jersey Professional Standards for Teachers and School Leaders (2004), they felt ready to work with children with special educational needs only after employment and in the process of working together with teachers-mentors. And those students who did not have SEN students in their classes did not receive practical skills for such work at all. Thus, mentoring is a powerful tool to help future teachers develop skills in inclusive classrooms, only a double degree program can prepare future foreign language teachers to work adequately with children with special needs, only personal experience and understanding between a foreign language teacher and a special teacher can become a guarantee of the most comfortable and fruitful atmosphere for children with special educational needs in the classroom. Keywords: special educational needs; inclusive environment; inclusion; SEN student; inclusive education; foreign language teachers; state standards; general training program.