NATE 2013, Surgut Anastasia Khodakova

NATE 2013, Surgut ©Anastasia Khodakova What is accessible?

1a.Divide the words into two groups: positive and negative. Consult the dictionary if necessary. Think if there are words that can be included into both groups. Explain why. accessible, dependence, liberation, social inclusion, inaccessible, pass, gain, barrier, favouring, support, accessibility, exclusion, resistance, inaccessibility, restriction, bullying, obstacle, equality, internal limitations, freedom, reduction, external circumstances, assistance, dependence, discrimination. 1b. Find pairs of opposites. (Answers: accessible – inaccessible accessibility - inaccessibility social inclusion – exclusion resistance - support barrier - pass restriction - liberation internal limitations - external circumstances freedom - dependence equality - discrimination reduction- gain obstacle – assistance bullying –favouring) 1c. Choose pictures to illustrate one pair of the notions. Describe it and say how it represents the pair of opposites you’ve chosen. NATE 2013, Surgut ©Anastasia Khodakova NATE 2013, Surgut ©Anastasia Khodakova NATE 2013, Surgut ©Anastasia Khodakova NATE 2013, Surgut ©Anastasia Khodakova 2a. Listen to three people talking about their life with disability and match the speakers with the pictures. 1.“I haven’t had to stay in bed. With my home assistant I run the household just like everybody else. I act in different kinds of organizations as an activist... I play basketball in a group of wheelchair-players. ...My future is open. I study journalism and mass communication at the Open University. A journalist? I don’t accept the role of a pensioner for myself or the position of remaining apart.”

2.“I turned my wheelchair into a scuba chair to prove the point that you don't have to be restricted by a disability and that anything is possible. The chair represented liberation for me, but everyone saw it as a limitation. Wheelchairs give disabled people more freedom and more access to the world, but people see them as a sign of the disability, and any disability as a reduction on what's possible. I scuba dive with a "limiting" on-land disability but scuba offers an equality of ability, activity, sport and space.”

3. “People ask what my vision is like and I find it hard to describe because I don’t really know what theirs is like. I can see people’s faces when they stand four feet away, but without very much detail. I can read without glasses, but the text needs to be very close. When objects are near, I can see more detail. I take part in extracurricular activities just like anyone, including dance and working with farm animals. I blend in and feel just like everyone else.” NATE 2013, Surgut ©Anastasia Khodakova

2b. Listen again and say if the statements are true or false. 1) All speakers are involved with some sports activities. (T) 2) All speakers have hobbies that help them to fit in. (T) 3) None of the speakers encountered negative attitudes from others. (F)

3a. You are going to read the text called “Legally blind”. Which abstract in ex. 2 is taken from the text? Judging by the abstract, try to guess what the text is about.

3b. Read the text and answer the questions. 1) What does it mean “to be legally blind”? 2) Why does Nicole like to work with farm animals? 3) How does the disability influence Nicole’s everyday life? Legally Blind By Nicole A., Upton, MA

Walking down the hallway at school, I hear a deep voice say, “Hi, Nicole.” As I turn to determine the speaker, all I see is a blur of graying hair and a dark shirt walking in the opposite direction. Although I could reach out and touch his arm, I can’t see his face.

“Hi,” I respond politely, hoping he won’t realize I don’t know who he is.

As a legally blind teenager, I routinely face obstacles that may seem like major challenges. I may need larger print or extended time on tests, but I am just like everyone else. When others see my enlarged worksheets or tests, they stare, and to the few who ask about them, I explain that I am legally blind. This doesn’t mean that I can’t see at all, but that my vision is worse than 20/200 and can’t be improved with corrective lenses. For example, a legally blind person with 20/200 vision has to be as close as 20 feet to identify objects that people with normal vision can spot from 200 feet away.

I was born with albinism, which means I have little pigment in my eyes, skin or hair. I am sensitive to light and squint a lot when I am outside, even with a hat. (I don’t wear NATE 2013, Surgut ©Anastasia Khodakova sunglasses because they affect the little I can see.) I wear glasses for up-close work, but not for distance because they don’t help. In school I use a monocular, a small telescope.

People ask what my vision is like and I find it hard to describe because I don’t really know what theirs is like. I can see people’s faces when they stand four feet away, but without very much detail. I can read without glasses, but the text needs to be very close. When objects are near, I can see more detail.

I take part in extracurricular activities just like anyone, including dance and working with farm animals. I blend in and feel just like everyone else. Working with the animals makes me feel like an equal because I can do anything with them. Sometimes in class I prefer it if a teacher forgets to enlarge a paper because I feel normal. But then again, normal is overrated.

I don’t often get asked about my handicap because it’s not immediately obvious. I might not be able to drive a car, but I have had seven years of orientation and mobility training in how to read a map and travel by train, bus, or foot. I feel ready to take on the world even if I don’t get my permit.

It may seem strange, but I love to read. As a child, I was very shy and rarely talked to others, so I read books. My visual impairment doesn’t disrupt my daily routine much because I have learned to adapt. I have been very successful in school and when I am particularly challenged, I get in a I’m-never-going-to-give-up-even-if-it-kills-me mood and triumph over the challenge. Just because someone can’t see well doesn’t mean they are less determined to succeed.

3c. Find synonyms for highlighted words. notice, disability, destroy, intent, overvalued, look in surprise, additional, lengthy, to look with eyes partly closed 3d. Match the phrasal verbs in bold with the definitions and use them in the sentences. a) to become similar to other people or objects b) to stretch out your arm to try to touch c) to fight or compete against something

1) He will ______his chief political opponent in the next debate. 2) The girl tried to ______to grab a chocolate but the shelf was too high. 3) Many animals ______the surroundings to protect themselves.

4a. Look at the picture. What needs of people with disabilities are emphasized? Do you think the doctors understand them? NATE 2013, Surgut ©Anastasia Khodakova

4b. Read the quotes by Robert M. Hensel, an international poet-writer and public activist born with a birth defect, and choose those that are connected with the picture. Ability: #1. I choose not to place "DIS", in my ability. #2. We, the ones who are challenged, need to be heard. To be seen not as a disability, but as a person who has and will continue to bloom. #3. As a disabled man, let my life be a reflection of the endless amount of ability that exists in each and everyone of us. #4. Know me for my abilities, not my disability. #5. Limitations only go so far. #6. Placing one foot in front of the other, I've climbed to higher lengths. Reaching beyond my own limitations, to show my inner strength. No obstacle too hard, for this warrior to overcome. I'm just a man on a mission, to prove my disability hasn't won. #7. My disability has opened my eyes to see my true abilities. #8. When everyone else says you can't, determination says,"YES YOU CAN." #9. I have a Disability yes that’s true, but all that really means is I may have to take a slightly different path than you. #10. I don't have a dis-ability, I have a different-ability. http://roberthensel.webs.com/ 4c. Think of your own examples of communication with differently-abled people. Tell the class about any situations you witnessed involving physically or mentally challenged people? How did you feel? What did you see?

5a. Here are the stages in the development of the international symbol of accessibility. Match the pictures with the descriptions. NATE 2013, Surgut ©Anastasia Khodakova

1. In the late '60s Rehabilitation International partnered with the United Nations and the International Standards Organisation to sponsor an international competition for an icon. The winner, a Danish design student named Susanne Koefoed, had submitted the icon. 2. In committee, they noted that Koefoed's design erased the person in the wheelchair. They added a head, creating what people around the world recognize as a symbol of accessibility. 3. Recent revisions have been aimed at emphasizing that people in wheelchairs are active users, not passive ones. Accordingly, some organizations have shifted to using a symbol that captures the fact that people in wheelchairs get themselves around. By Lisa Wade “Disability Rights and the Interational Symbol of Accessibility”

5b. What is the next stage? Discuss in groups how you would modify the sign and what changes you’d make to its usage. Present to the class.

(For the teacher: Ultimately, Powell and Ben-Moshe hope that access will be so universally designed into public buildings that it will eliminate the need for an icon at all: architecture would no longer be designed around a specific type of person considered "normal," but instead would be designed for the range of people who will use the spaces. This full integration would mean that differently- abled people would be considered just "people" and we wouldn't need an icon at all.) NATE 2013, Surgut ©Anastasia Khodakova Possible Extension Watch the film “Radio” and discuss the message of the film and how the attitude the main character has changed throughout the film. What two opinions and school systems were opposed in the film?

About the film Radio is directed by Mike Tollin in 2003 and set in 1970s. It is based on the true story of T. L. Hanna High School football coach Harold Jones and a mentally challenged young man James Robert "Radio" Kennedy. The film's lead character, Radio, grew up fascinated by radios. His nickname, Radio, was given to him by townspeople because of the radio he carried everywhere he went. He still attends T. L. Hanna High School and helps coach the football team and the basketball team.

Fill in the form prior to discussion.

1. What is the name of the movie and in which year it was produced? ______2. Write a small review about the movie, including the theme of diversity. ______

3. Which areas of diversity are addressed?

o Cultural difference Age discrimination o Issues of race Religious issues o Gender issues Physical or mental ability o other differences

4. List the main characters and give a briefly outline about their issues with diversity. ______NATE 2013, Surgut ©Anastasia Khodakova

5. How the movie made you feel. Were you angry, sad, sympathetic or amused? ______

6. Do you think the movie meant to make you feel these feelings? ______

7. Write the message you believe the movie was supposed to make. ______

8. Was a problem solved in a way that satisfied all parties? What was the resolution? ______

9. Could you imagine yourself in a situation like the one depicted in the film? How would you have reacted? ______