View Content #3441
| Contentid | 3441 |
|---|---|
| Content Type | 1 |
| Title | Advice to First-Time Teachers of Blind Students |
| Body | A recent discussion on the FLTEACH listserv regarding how to accommodate sight-impaired language learners generated the following suggestions: ---- In my department we have been using jump drives (USB, Flash, etc) to exchange homework with the students, along with any notes that we have typed up ahead of time. They're pretty affordable lately, and since most blind students use laptops they're pretty handy. The buddy system works well too -- sit them next to someone who doesn't mind spelling for them, checking their notes, giving them copies to get brailled, etc. You could also see if your textbook is online. Realidades has their book online, with all the audio and video clips available. Lugo, C. Re: blind student. Foreign Language Teaching Forum listserv. FLTEACH@LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (27 Aug. 2005). ---- My student had a laptop and a classmate agreed to take notes in class on it for her while she listened. The payoff was a clean set of notes for the typist and something to turn into Braille for my student. Plus they became friends! I gave her quizzes orally in my office which turned out to be very manageable. She liked it when I used video in class, but it was obviously important to use clips that had a lot of dialogue and sound. The one thing that was a challenge was getting the book put into Braille for her. That seemed to take forever. Since then we have JAWS in our lab, which helps visually-impaired individuals use the computer. My experience has been that the students bonded particularly well and the experience of thinking outside the box to make the classroom a comfortable and inclusive place for all helped us grow personally and professionally. The one thing that I'll never forget is the student's comment: "I was so glad you didn't sigh when I walked in your classroom. You just welcomed me like anybody else." Visually-impaired students are very sensitive to our voices, pauses, intonation and other non-visual cues. Franklin, L. Re: blind student. Foreign Language Teaching Forum listserv. FLTEACH@LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (27 Aug. 2005). |
| Source | FLTEACH |
| Inputdate | 2005-08-28 18:47:00 |
| Lastmodifieddate | 2005-08-28 18:47:00 |
| Expdate | Not set |
| Publishdate | 2005-08-29 00:00:00 |
| Displaydate | Not set |
| Active | 1 |
| Emailed | 1 |
| Isarchived | 1 |
