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

[Will Walsh]

Hi Brian,

So, I too had the same viewpoint until around a year ago when I saw first-hand a woman in her mid 60's successfully  learn braille. It absolutely can be done, it just boils down to the person's mind set and motivation.

Will Walsh
Accessibility Consultant
Miles Access Skills Training LLC
1400 SW 5th Ave, Suite 690
Portland Or, 97201
Phone: 971-257-9958
Email: 
willwalsh at blindmast.com
Web: 
www.blindmast.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Trainer-Talk <trainer-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Brian Vogel via Trainer-Talk
Sent: Friday, September 13, 2024 9:21 AM
To: List for teachers and trainers of adaptive technology <trainer-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Brian Vogel <britechguy at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Trainer-Talk] Teaching adults who don't speak English

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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