LatinaLista — It pays to speak another language. Well, it pays better if that other language is English.
According to research published in 2003, immigrants (in the United States) who have mastered English compared to those who speak it poorly earn 67 percent more in wages.
New system to teach English incorporates both braille and audio.
All the more incentive to learn English — and to make one thing clear — English classes are in such demand in the United States by the immigrant population that demand routinely exceeds supply.
Yet, English classes, like most classes, have historically been geared to those who can see. Visually impaired or blind people have had to rely on their hearing without any additional support in braille — until now!
123 Ingles Course, an ESL e-learning institution born on YouTube, has created a method to teach English to the blind in a format they dub “Audio-Braille.”
There are class templates supplied in standard Unicode format, all of which are supplemented with 25 digital audio tracks. However, the best part of this program is that the lesson materials are free.
According to the press release for the company, any public or private institution in the world that helps blind people is eligible to receive the materials at no cost, as well as, any individual. All that the person needs to do to prove eligibility is provide certification of visual disability.
Maximiliano Lobos, CEO of www.123-ingles.com, said that “it is our moral obligation to contribute to the dissemination of knowledge of English among our brothers who are blind. English is very difficult to learn to Hispanics, and it is much harder for blind people.”
“Many blind people in Latin America and Spain are living in poverty due to lack of opportunities, and we will work unselfishly to decrease this” – he said. He also stated that the most dramatic case is that of blind Latinos living in the U.S., Britain or Australia, and that he is determined to “end this situation.”