Research is needed to better understand the academic instruction needs of students with significant cognitive disabilities who are English learners and the classroom practices of their teachers. In this qualitative study, we interviewed 10 teachers to learn how they identify and meet the unique needs of this student subpopulation. Our findings suggest that teachers generally do not view disability- and language-related needs as separate and that approaches to instruction tend to follow those perceptions. Some expressed a desire for more support from language professionals in the classroom, whereas others thought their special education classrooms adequately meet student language development needs. Finally, although the teachers we interviewed went to great lengths to engage families in supporting instruction, some reported dissatisfaction with and barriers to those relationships. We discuss our findings in light of the current literature, the study’s limitations, and implications for future research and practice.

需要进行研究以更好地了解作为英语学习者的有严重认知障碍的学生的学术指导需求及其教师的课堂实践。在这项定性研究中，我们采访了 10 位教师，以了解他们如何识别和满足这一学生群体的独特需求。我们的研究结果表明，教师通常不会将与残疾和语言相关的需求视为分开的，并且教学方法倾向于遵循这些看法。一些人表示希望在课堂上得到语言专业人士的更多支持，而另一些人则认为他们的特殊教育课堂足以满足学生语言发展的需要。最后，虽然我们采访的老师不遗余力地让家庭参与支持教学，一些人报告说对这些关系感到不满并面临障碍。我们根据当前文献、研究的局限性以及对未来研究和实践的影响来讨论我们的发现。