The University of Barcelona leads a project to teach writing and reading in Catalan for deaf people
The Research Group Desenvolupament, Ensenyament i Aprenentatge de Persones Sordes I Sordsegues i Llengües de Signes (Development, Teaching and Learning for the Deaf, Deaf-blind and Sign Language) -APRELS- of the University of Barcelona, leads the European project DEAFLI, which aims to teach literacy to deaf people in the language spoken in the participating countries (Catalan, German, Italian and English). Apart from the University of Barcelona, there is also the participation of the Alpen-Adria-Univeristät Klagenfurt (Austria), the Deafness Cognition and Language Research Centre (DCAL) of the London College (United Kingdom) and the Turin Institute for the Deaf (Italy). Literacy teaching is done through a series of courses that are structured into fifteen two-hour sessions, aimed at groups of five and eight students. The Catalan courses take place at the Llar de Sords in Badalona.
The Research Group Desenvolupament, Ensenyament i Aprenentatge de Persones Sordes I Sordsegues i Llengües de Signes (Development, Teaching and Learning for the Deaf, Deaf-blind and Sign Language) -APRELS- of the University of Barcelona, leads the European project DEAFLI, which aims to teach literacy to deaf people in the language spoken in the participating countries (Catalan, German, Italian and English). Apart from the University of Barcelona, there is also the participation of the Alpen-Adria-Univeristät Klagenfurt (Austria), the Deafness Cognition and Language Research Centre (DCAL) of the London College (United Kingdom) and the Turin Institute for the Deaf (Italy). Literacy teaching is done through a series of courses that are structured into fifteen two-hour sessions, aimed at groups of five and eight students. The Catalan courses take place at the Llar de Sords in Badalona.
On September 12 and 13, the European members of DEAFLI, led by Professor Maria Pilar Fernández Viader, from the Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology at the University of Barcelona will meet in Mundet campus to assess the project in the different countries, share the obtained results and shape the objectives due December 2016, when the project ends. Moreover, the attendants will receive training from the website administration of the project to learn to render and publish content on the website, since it is expected to continue with the initiative by offering online free courses.
Literacy teaching in Catalan helps entering the labor market
In Catalonia, the profile of students who attend these courses is mainly female, older than 18 years old, who didnʼt finish primary studies and didnʼt study in Catalan. They are mainly people born in Catalonia but there are also others from Spain and other countries that need to learn Catalan, but they attend mostly to find a better job and be able to communicate via writing, or entering the Catalan culture, among others.
The courses have lexicon and grammar with topics related to working fields, with the dual aim of teaching literacy and simultaneously helping the students with labor market insertion. The content of the courses is filmed in Catalan language sign by a deaf teacher so that all information is clear and understandable for the students. The teacher tutors and assesses face-to-face and all teaching material is also published on the website of the project so that students can check it online.
Maria Pilar Fernández Viader leads the project
It has been three decades that Fernández Viader dedicates her researching task to the deaf and deaf-blind, focused the importance of communication for the cognitive development and learning. This made her to be a reference researcher in Catalonia in this field.