Large Print
Low vision students may find that enlarging the print of certain foreign language lessons, such as grammar and spelling instruction, will be more helpful than audio versions alone of the same material.
Availability of Large Print Books in Foreign Languages
The International Federation of Library Associations, Section of Libraries for the Blind and the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped also provide large print versions of their materials (see their contact information and descriptions under Audio Materials). However, if ordering materials from the overseas libraries, the color paper, or size and type of font, may be different than what a student is use to reading.
The Library Reproduction Service has a database of educational materials in large print, which allows one to search by subject. It has both foreign language textbooks and foreign language literature listed. One can search through the title field using the word “Chinese” for example, and bring up both dictionaries and language textbooks. Aside from Chinese, both Japanese and Russian are available. The other critical need languages do not appear currently.
Library Reproduction Service
14214 South Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90061
800-255-5002
lrsprint@aol.com
If a book cannot be ordered from the library, then the Accessible Media Producers Database lists individuals who will produce Chinese and Russian large print.
Tools for Enlarging Foreign Language Text
Closed Circuit Television Systems (CCTVs), enlargement through photocopying, and magnifiers are the low technology solutions for producing large print in a foreign language.
Advances in technology, however, have opened new opportunities for people who are visually impaired to use optical scanners that read different scripts and characters (see previous discussion under Audio Materials), and an array of devices and software that work with standard personal computers to create large print. If a student is learning a script that is unfamiliar, then using a computer to change fonts or spacing may help. For example, a visually impaired student learning Russian found the Cyrillic alphabet difficult to read because of its squat and square shape to the letters, so she made adjustments on her computer before reading it or printing it out.
Some blind students learning Arabic, Chinese, and Japanese used Kurzweil 3000 to electronically enlarge text. ZoomText enlarges text size on the computer screen, and has a screen-reading function in multiple languages or is compatible with software, such as JAWS or RealSpeak, which may provide more accurate pronunciations than what ZoomText supplies on its own. With the release of ZoomText version 7.02, the international versions of ZoomText Level 1 and Level 2’s main program and setup can be translated into foreign languages. All menus, dialog boxes and messages can be translated using the ZoomText Translation Kit, available upon request from Ai Squared.
If the documents include graphics of single Chinese characters, for example, that need to be learned by the student, and enlarging the character is not helpful, then tactile versions could be made using such technologies as Duxbury System’s TGD-Pro or University of Washington’s Tactile Graphics Assistant. In class, Sewell’s Raised Line Drawing Kit can be used. It is a Mylar-like film that is deformed when a notetaker writes on it with a pen, which creates raised drawings.
