[BlindKid] French class

Thu Oct 21 14:22:52 UTC 2021

Jennifer and Steve -

I agree in general with Steve's analysis. However, clear communication with the Disability Access office about the language settings they use, if they are going to emboss or translate things like parts of the text or exams, is going to be essential. That is, if your daughter is going to ask that such texts be translated, she needs to specify these come in English (which would use English accent mark symbols), as Steve is suggesting. It is very easy for the Disability Access person, who may or may not even know French, to check the French language box in Duxbury, for example, and forget about it. 

On the other hand, very strong Braille readers, and especially one who is  a big code-nerd, may want to test themselves, and a test it will be. I am told that French, the original language in which Braille was developed, of course, has vastly more contractions than English. Is it more difficult than coding in Python? Rhetorical question only. (smile)

Here are some other thoughts, from my perspective of working in a disability access office and overseeing alternate formats:

* your daughter should put this question out on the NABS list, where other students who have already addressed this could share their resources and approaches. She could also search the list-serve archives at Nfbnet.org.
* The trend of the past decade or more in teaching languages has been to use a lot of visuals in the first year or two, de-emphasizing written language and thus forcing conversational competency. This will be the issue for accommodations in class and exams. The idea is that the instructor never says the word "banana," but points to it and asks in French what it is. The concept is to have a tiny immersion experience in class where no English is spoken. The only accommodation I know of is to speak English and say "banana." Consult in advance with the access office and the instructor. Probably lots of experience from NABS-listers on this, too. 

HTH

Dan

-----Original Message-----
From: BlindKid <blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Steve Jacobson via BlindKid
Sent: Thursday, October 21, 2021 5:53 AM
To: Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children) <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Steve Jacobson <steve.jacobson at outlook.com>
Subject: Re: [BlindKid] French class

Jennifer,

Usually it isn't necessary to learn French Braille for an introductory class.  If she will be getting a textbook here in the United States or in another English speaking country, there are standard ways to show other languages within Unified English Braille, and there were approaches with the older English Braille as well.  Generally, she should only need to learn how to read and write the various accented characters.  If she were going to major in French and wanted to read braille produced by French braille producers, then it would be necessary to learn French Braille.  It seems unlikely she would start out requiring that level of knowledge, though.

While others may have resources for learning another language, I would urge that she reach out to her college to learn what is available.  For one thing, instructors often have specific approaches to teaching a language, and using another resource may conflict with the order that various concepts are being taught.  This could lead to confusion, or even in her studying things from another source that might prevent her from concentrating on what the instructor is trying to teach.  This could actually cause her to do worse on tests since she could be spending time learning things that are not being tested yet.

If I am not understanding your question, please write again.

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson

-----Original Message-----
From: BlindKid <blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of JENNIFER CUSACK via BlindKid
Sent: Thursday, October 21, 2021 6:13 AM
To: Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children) <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Cc: JENNIFER CUSACK <jencusack at verizon.net>
Subject: [BlindKid] French class

Hello
 My daughter is taking an introduction to French class in college. We are looking for suggestions on resources to help her learn French braille as well as the language. Any ideas? Thank you Regards, Jen Cusack

Sent from my iPhone

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> Just as there is more than one way to carve a pumpkin, there is 
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