The Proprioceptive Paradigm: Mapping English Prepositions and Spatial Syntax through Motor-Sensory Feedback Loops in Moroccan EFL Beginners who are Completely Visually Challenged

Abstract

This study investigates the "Proprioceptive Paradigm" as a multimodal pedagogical framework for teaching English spatial prepositions and syntax to completely visually challenged students during their first year of English instruction in the Moroccan secondary school cycle. Focusing on a beginner cohort aged 14 to 15, the research explores how the student's own body can serve as a primary "grammatical image" through the activation of motor-sensory feedback loops. Employing a qualitative case study design, the research utilizes longitudinal classroom observations of seven completely visually challenged students and a semi-structured interview with their English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher. Data were analyzed using the six-phase reflexive thematic analysis method. Findings reveal that physicalizing spatial relations—such as "between," "across," and "through"—effectively anchors abstract grammatical concepts into long-term memory via motoric encoding, bypassing the didactic barriers presented by image-heavy curricula. The study concludes that for completely visually challenged students, the transition from an ocularcentric curriculum to an embodied, kinesthetic approach significantly enhances spatial syntactic acquisition and optimizes learning outcomes for novice learners.