VI


	MFL & INCLUSION


	VISUAL IMPAIRMENT & foreign language learning

Learning and teaching

I have been unable, so far, to find a great deal of information on the web about teaching foreign languages to young people with impaired vision. In the main, this seems to be because many of the resources and strategies that that can help young people in the foreign language classes are the same as ones that can help them in other areas of the curriculum.

Technology
Perhaps the greatest step forward in recent times has been in using technology to make the mainstream curriculum accessible for learners with visual impairment (VI). Some of the items below, therefore, are to links information about generic resources that can help. Software used to support learners with VI in English is often available in foreign language versions as well. ICT co-ordinators can be a mine of information, but you may need to ask explicitly for the information you are looking for.

Understanding the problems
Mainstream teachers are not always aware of what 'being blind' actually signifies in specific cases. It is very rare for a blind person to be able to see nothing at all, so it is important to make the most of whatever residual sight a pupil may have. One type of blindness can be very different from another, and strategies that suit one person may not suit another. Find out as much as you can from SEN co-ordinators, classroom assistants and, of course, from the pupils themselves.

Using existing resources
In one school that I visited, the foreign language teacher was unable to tell me whether the blind pupil in her class had any residual vision; she hadn't been told, and she hadn't thought of asking. Nor did she know what strategies were in use to help him in other areas of the school. When she set about finding out, she also discovered that the boy routinely carried a pocket dictaphone for taking notes, so this was pressed into service to help him learn vocabulary. She discovered that the VI base had a CCTV the boy could use to enlarge the textbook the class was using, and this meant that he could work more independently, not having to wait until the teacher arranged to have passages enlarged. Other improvements followed. Once you have the information you can use it; if you don't find out - you can't.


	ASSESSMENT ARRANGMENTS IN SCOTLAND

A catalogue of adapted National Assessment Bank items (NABs) and arrangements for ordering other Braille versions of assessment materials can be found on the Scottish Qualifications Authority's website:
http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/1129.html

Guidance on alternative assessment arrangements can be accessed here: http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/4585.html


	LINKS


	Socrates Lingua project: Listen & Touch - a basic English course for the visually impaired A very thorough examinatination of the methodology required to teach foreign languages to students who are visually impaired. It is concerned mainly with teaching English as a foreign language, but most of what it has to say is relevant to other languages as well. Fifty-two pages downloadable in several languages from http://www.isoc.siu.no/isocii.nsf/projectlist/99969


	The British Council (Scotland) website carries an article about Steven, an eleven-year-old Scottish boy who is blind and has learning difficulties. See: http://www.britishcouncil.org/scotland-about-us-who-benefits-steven.htm


	Teaching modern languages to visually impaired children http://www.ittmfl.org.uk/modules/inclusion/3c/


	Accessible Language Learning for Visually Impaired People (ALLVIP) This EU Socrates project offers new ways of language learning (German and English) for visually impaired people. http://www.allvip.org/

Making independent language learning accessible to disabled university students
This Guide to Good Practice provides details of design and provision of resources as well as technological aids, lists of contact organisations and useful websites.

It includes the following downloadable appendices:
Appendix 2: The current state of electronic mobility devices and electronic orientation aids for blind and partially sighted people
Appendix 3: Case study 1 - Gita Ganger, partially sighted university language student
Appendix 4: Case study 2 - Clare Mar-Molinero, partially sighted member of university language staff
http://www.llas.ac.uk/resources/goodpractice.aspx?resourceid=1411

From the same website: Differentiation strategies for the inclusion of students with severe visual impairment in MFL modules in Higher Education. Authors: Jenny Lewin-Jones and Joe Hodgson: http://www.lang.ltsn.soton.ac.uk/resources/paper.aspx?resourceid=2724


	This VI case study from David Wilson's website will also provide links to relevant resources in his extensive SEN/MLFL bibliography: http://www.specialeducationalneeds.com/Case/VI.html


	For a general European perspective, see here: http://www.eric.ed.gov:80/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ350748&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=eric_accno&accno=EJ350748


	This tipsheet from Mobility International USA includes advice on teaching foreign languages to visually impaired learners: http://www.miusa.org/ncde/tipsheets/foreignlang


	A bibliography on teaching English as a Foreign Language to learners who are visually impaired: http://www.ecml.at/mtp2/LangSEN/pdf/biblio_langsen2.pdf

RNIB
Here are some helpful ideas suggested by a focus group of Modern Foreign Languages teachers working with pupils who are blind or partially sighted. The article looks at ways in which class teachers can make their teaching methods more accessible to all children, but particularly those with sight problems.

http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/publicwebsite/public_cclanguages.hcsp

University of Strathclyde
General advice on working with students who are blind or partially sighted

http://www.strath.ac.uk/disabilityservice/information/workingwithstudentswhoareblindorpartiallysighted/


	The Scottish Sensory Centre offers an extensive programme of Seminars and Workshops for professionals working with pupils who have visual impairments. Consult the SSC website for current courses: http://www.ssc.education.ed.ac.uk/courses/list.html

27.6.08 The Royal National Institute of Blind People Scotland has launching a campaign to highlight the dearth of educational material available in braille, large print, CD or audio. For more information:

http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/publicwebsite/public_scotnews08_ia485fe654-8.hcsp


	9.2.09 Accessing Foreign Language Materials a a Blind or Low-Vision Student An information guide on arranging for assistive technology, accessible formats and services in the foreign language course, by Michele Schribe. Downloadable here: http://www.miusa.org/ncde/tipsheets/foreignlanguageandblind/infoguide


	10.2.09 Measures for inclusion: coping with the challenge of visual impairment and blindness in university undergraduate level language learning A report on the experience of three students, two visually impaired and one blind, reading languages at Coventry University, and on the adjustments made to meet their needs and on the challenges encountered. This article in the 'Support for Learning' Journal volume 24 issue 1 can be purchased online. To see the abstract, go here: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122190116/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0


	4.5.09 This blog from the University of Cordoba, Spain, provides information about teaching English and foreign languages to blind and deaf students. The materials available and referred to on the blog have been suggested by students enrolled in the module Teaching English to Special Needs Students withing the master programme English for Professional Qualification. http://blindanddeafenglishstudents.blogspot.com/


	24.9.09 Project ELPBVI: European Language Portfolio for the Blind and Visually Impaired The project main beneficiary will be blind and visually impaired learners of foreign languages who will be provided with a tool based on common European standards. http://www.elpforblind.eu/pd.php?pd=1


	24.11.09 Teaching modern foreign languages to pupils with sight problems This page on the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) website looks at ways in which MFL class teachers can make their teaching methods more accessible to all children, but particularly those with sight problems. The ideas come from a focus group of MFL teachers who work with pupils who are blind or partially sighted. http://www.rnib.org.uk/professionals/education/schoolbasedlearning/mainstream/teachingcurriculumsubjects/foreignlanguages/Pages/teaching_foreign_languages.aspx For general advice about adapting materials for pupils with sight problems: http://www.rnib.org.uk/professionals/education/schoolbasedlearning/mainstream/teachingcurriculumsubjects/foreignlanguages/Pages/adapting_resources.aspx


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