Specifically tailored resources to support these communities are necessary to provide them with the same opportunities that non-disabled individuals have.
“Lood elust enesest” and “Pille ja Lauri lood” are two online resources designed to help A2-level visually and hearing impaired speakers to consolidate their Estonian language skills. Both were developed “within the framework of the project ‘Creating teaching materials for language learning for the visually impaired and hearing impaired and training educators’ of the measure ‘Development of language learning’ of the priority direction ‘Lifelong learning’ of the ‘Human Resources Development Operational Programme’ funded by the European Social Fund,” according to the sites.
“Lood elust enesest” was designed for visually impaired students. It features a number of worksheets and audio clips containing topics that reflect different aspects of everyday life, which have been made accessible through the use of large print and audio recordings. Additionally, the editable .pdf and .doc worksheets give teachers the option for modifying the lessons according to their students’ needs. The audio clips are also available for download to listen to separately.
Conversely, “Pille ja Lauri lood” was designed for hearing impaired students. It contains “20 topics with worksheets, videos and electronic exercises to practice communicating in different situations.” The site also provides speech therapy to learn about, practice, and control pronunciation using different senses. The site’s material has been “tested with third-grade students at the school for children with hearing impairments (Tartu Hiie School) and in classes of children studying in Russian at the Narva Paju School. The authors of the material are teachers with long-term work experience with children with hearing impairments,” according to the site’s Õpetajaraamat (teacher handbook).
… since then, there has been a limited amount of similar resources that are publicly available and accessible. It's important to consider how these can be updated and improved so that everyone can have the necessary language skills to participate in society to the fullest extent.
Both of these sites are meant to be used with the support of a teacher or mentor, alongside the recommended equipment that meets the needs for visually and hearing impaired learners.
Access to learning and education should be equal for everyone, with particular attention paid to those who require additional support to overcome disabilities and other barriers. The introduction of “Lood elust enesest” and “Pille ja Lauri lood” mark an important step in the direction towards educational equality. However,
How do you think this can be achieved? Let us know today! Eesti Elu / Estonian Life is always open to article submissions from the community, which can be sent to digitaleditor@eestielu.ca .
This article was written by Natalie Jenkins as part of the Local Journalism Initiative.
