[Trainer-Talk] Teaching adults who don't speak English

Fri Sep 13 15:20:02 UTC 2024

Hi All:

There are others who have already contributed to this discussion who are more qualified than I to speak to teaching Braille and AT to an adult who is also learning English as a second language. However, I do teach a middle school student who speaks both English and Spanish fluently (Spanish is her first language) and who is a fluent English Braille reader. So I do have some perspective on this from an AT standpoint.

Though I understand Brian's concern for ensuring that we don't overwhelm the student with information, I agree with Raul that Braille can and should be taught as part of the learning process, particularly if the student in question is learning the language for the first time and interested in becoming literate. If we believe that Braille is literacy, we should give our blind ESL students the same opportunity sighted ESL students are given to learn to read English print. That said, part of the purpose of individualized instruction is to meet the student where he/she is, whether that is done through the IEP goals we write for K-12 students or our own lesson plans for adults. So, if we have an English learner for whom learning Braille doesn't make sense, we can focus on screen readers first or even exclusively. But to make the general assertion that Braille for ESL students doesn't work would, in my opinion, deprive a student like mine of the kind of literacy she now takes for granted both at school and at home.

As a final note, I recall that when I was a student at the Louisiana Center for the Blind, the Braille teachers there used Braille as a tool to teach English as a second language; in other words, they taught both subjects together. Since English was and still is my only language, I honestly didn't pay much attention to how they did it. If memory serves, Emily Wharton, formerly of Blind Inc. and now of the Iowa Department for the Blind, developed a curriculum for doing this called Code Master. If you want more information on her strategies, she would be the person to contact. In the meantime, I did a quick Google search and found this article: https://nfb.org/sites/default/files/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm13/bm1302/bm130205.htm

Best,

Chris

-----Original Message-----
From: Trainer-Talk <trainer-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Raul Gallegos - RGA via Trainer-Talk
Sent: Friday, September 13, 2024 10:36 AM
To: List for teachers and trainers of adaptive technology <trainer-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Raul Gallegos - RGA <raul.gallegos at rgats.com>; training at rgats.com
Subject: Re: [Trainer-Talk] Teaching adults who don't speak English

Hello there. I will certainly not crucify you, but I do not fully agree with you either. Here in Texas, we have a program that we run once a year called silver bells. This program is aimed at older adults and we spend an entire weekend doing things like teaching them about travel, technology, Braille, and home skills. Regarding learning Braille, it is true that adults tend to have a more difficult time learning Braille whether they are new to blindness or whether they have been blind for many years. However, I have seen it where some adults learn Braille despite these challenges. Some only learn the basic letters a through j, which I feel is important so that they can at least use elevators independently and a few other things like identifying room numbers, but some learn even more. I agree that with most adults, the learning will take longer and it is significantly slower than when children learn it at a young age. However, based on my experience, it is certainly possible for adults who are blind to learn Braille at a later age.

--
Raul Gallegos / Access Technology Trainer RGA Tech Solutions
Voice/Text: 832.639.4477
Team Email: training at rgats.com
Direct Email: Raul.Gallegos at rgats.com

Sep 13, 2024 9:22:30 AM Brian Vogel via Trainer-Talk <trainer-talk at nfbnet.org>:

> What age range are we talking about here?
> 
> I'll probably be crucified for saying it, but focusing on Braille for 
> adults, particularly early on, is just a huge waste of time.  I've 
> said it before, and I'll say it again, but I know of very few 
> individuals who can pick up any significant proficiency in Braille as 
> adults, even if they've been blind for years.
> 
> I'm also a big believer, where possible, of doing any teaching for an 
> ELL individual in their first language initially.  The hurdles 
> involved in trying to learn anything, and technology in particular, in 
> a language you do not speak are virtually certain to be insurmountably high.
> 
> You ask, "What if you don't have a lot of time to work with them and 
> progress is slow because they have a ton of barriers?"  I don't take 
> that as a rhetorical, and the answer to that question requires a 
> careful analysis as to how much time you have and whether anything of 
> functional value can be achieved within it.  For students like this 
> the minimum time frame is months, many months, and if you're told you 
> have, say, six weeks to work with them, sadly, the best course of 
> action is not to do so.  You leave them, and yourself, with feelings 
> of disappointment and failure because you simply cannot achieve 
> anything functional in that short a timeframe if we're talking about someone who is a rank beginner.
> 
> In my years as a speech-language pathologist (now retired) and a tech 
> tutor
> (ongoing) I've learned the hard way that most adult students can only 
> take on so much information at one time, and it always requires more 
> repetition than initially expected before basic proficiency is 
> established.  Trying to make someone learn "too many things at once" 
> often means they learn none of them at all, at least in a way that 
> proves useful and helpful to them.  And this is when only a single language is involved.
> 
> If ever there were a case where "picking one's battles, stategically" 
> for learning would be best, this one is it.
> 
> Brian
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