Here is another professional educator's response to the suggestion that
blind people don't need to learn how to read and write on paper... Although
it is specifically aimed at answering the question with respect to
elementary and high school students, it applies equally for adults.

from:  DOTS Fall 2008

 DOTS for Braille Literacy (Development of Teacher Support), Volume 14,
Number 1, Fall 2008

(from the American Foundation for the Blind)



http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=6&TopicID=19&DocumentID=4443



Dear Dot:



I have a colleague in the regular classroom who questions why I spend so
much time teaching braille. "Isn't that just going to be obsolete in the
near future?"

he asks. He seems to think technology will replace the need for braille and
that people who are blind won't need an obscure method of accessing print.

Now, I know that braille isn't ready for the garbage heap, but how can I
convey that to him? Please help me with an answer that even a techie can
understand.



Sincerely,

Roger Lewis



Dear Roger,



Don't you just love that question? It's one we hear now and then, and it
always makes me wonder, "What, you think that print is going to be obsolete,
too?"

As a print reader, I have a lot of technology available to me. I can access
information on the computer, use my word processor to create new documents,

surf the Internet, and oh so much more, but...



I want the freedom to jot down notes or write my private thoughts in a
journal. I want to spend a quiet afternoon reading a book at a leisurely
pace. I

want to have access to words on a page, and sometimes that means I do not
want the distraction of auditory input or I want to keep my personal
thoughts

quiet. I can only do that if I can read and write, and without learning
braille, an individual who is blind does not have that equal opportunity.



Yes, braille readers benefit from wonderful inventions that make universal
access to print possible. Long ago, I heard Fred Gissoni from the American
Printing

House for the Blind talk about technology's impact on his life as a braille
reader. When he mentioned that a favorite technology was the slate and
stylus,

I first thought, "What does he mean - technology? A slate and stylus is not
a computer!" Fred went on to describe the slate and stylus as a low-tech
option,

and through the years I've heard others confirm that, along with their
braille notetakers and other high-tech devices, they always carry a slate
and stylus.



Certainly, I embrace technology; it can do a lot to streamline how we access
information. But when it gets down to basics, most information comes to us

by way of the written word before it gets translated into bytes or bits or
electronic sounds. We need to be able to understand the letters and words
that

ultimately create the information we access through technology.



This January, we celebrate the 200th birthday of Louis Braille. When he was
a young man he developed the system we use today so he could communicate
with

others. The braille system evolved through the years, but like the print
alphabet I'm most familiar with, the basics of braille are the same now as
when

Braille first opened this door to literacy. The major difference today is
that we now have high- and low-tech ways to access those letters and words.



Even with access to words through technology, when I think of literacy and
the impact braille has on the lives of people who are blind, I always think
back

to a favorite quote from Helen Keller: "More than any other time, when I
hold a beloved book in my hand my limitations fall from me, my spirit is
free."



Perhaps you can suggest your techie friend try turning off his computer
monitor and use only speech for a week; ask him to remember a grocery list
without

jotting down notes or go to the bank to discuss an important financial
matter with only audio information available. Maybe, and this would be my
favorite

thing to do, invite your techie friend to watch a child read the latest
Harry Potter book in braille. Then he can see the power of braille literacy;
he'll

see a spirit set free.



-Dot



Sylvie Kashdan, M.A.
Instructor/Curriculum Coordinator
KAIZEN PROGRAM for New English Learners with Visual Limitations
810-A Hiawatha Place South
Seattle, WA  98144, U.S.A.
phone:  (206) 784-5619
email:  kaizen at literacyworks.org
web:  http://www.nwlincs.org/kaizen/




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve Kaufmann" <steve at thelinguist.com>
To: "The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List"
<englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
Sent: Wednesday, June 17, 2009 3:08 PM
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 4489] Re: Blindness and SLA


Many people learn languages without being able to read them. I presume that
blind people can do the same. I once knew a deaf mute Japanese student who
could communicate in 13 languages in writing. It is all a matter of
motivation.

Steve

On Wed, Jun 17, 2009 at 8:12 AM, Martin Senger <MSenger at gecac.org> wrote:


>  Pax et bonum all! (peace & goodness)

>

>

>

> Does anyone know of any research or information on blind people learning a

> secondary language?

>

>

>

>

>

> Martin E. Senger

>

>

>

>

>

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-- 
Steve Kaufmann
www.thelinguist.blogs.com
www.kpwood.com
604-922-8514



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