ERIC Number: EJ1187773
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 5
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0145-482X
EISSN: N/A
Using the JAWS Screen Reader and the Focus Braille Display to Read Foreign Language Books Downloaded from the Bookshare Accessible Online Library
Kapperman, Gaylen; Kelly, Stacy M.; Koster, Elizabeth
Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, v112 n4 p415-419 Jul-Aug 2018
Methods commonly used to enhance the language-learning experiences of students who are visually impaired (that is, those who are blind or have low vision), are not sufficient for foreign language learning. There are several challenges involved in the study of foreign languages by students who are visually impaired. One of the most pressing of these challenges is that teachers of students with visual impairments provide braille copies of all instructional materials in the foreign language. If the teacher is not familiar with the foreign language the student is studying, it becomes even more difficult to provide the required workbooks, textbooks, and other materials to be transcribed into the foreign language. Likewise, those teachers who are unfamiliar with the foreign language may not know how to pronounce the special accented letters when providing instruction to their students regarding the braille symbols used to represent these letters. The authors recommend a Windows-based computer equipped with one of the latest versions of Job Access with Speech (JAWS) and a Focus braille display. In the instructions provided, the authors assume that the computer user has sufficient knowledge to download books from Bookshare. If this is not the case, the authors recommend that detailed instructions be acquired from the Bookshare website (www.bookshare.org). JAWS comes "out of the box" from the manufacturer with preinstalled software that allows it to recognize eight different languages in addition to English when the cursor moves over content that has been "tagged" for the language in question. The steps that need to be taken to enable JAWS to recognize foreign languages in Bookshare books are also provided in detail. Using the steps outlined in this article, students who are visually impaired can have full access to published materials written in various foreign languages.
Descriptors: Visual Impairments, Blindness, Braille, Assistive Technology, Instructional Materials, Second Language Instruction, Educational Technology, Computer Uses in Education, Electronic Publishing, Audio Equipment
American Foundation for the Blind. 11 Penn Plaza Suite 300, New York, NY 10001. Tel: 800-232-5463; Tel: 212-502-7600; e-mail: afbinfo@afb.net; Web site: http://www.afb.org/store
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A