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Vet4Vip Ellvis

One of the aims of the European Commission is that all citizens of Europe can understand and speak at least three languages. Therefore, language competence is not only a key issue for ensuring understanding among European people, but also for mobility and employability. Despite the goal set, the following problems are still faced: a) it is not possible for a VI person to attend a special training centre, as it is usually far from his living place; b) language schools do not have sufficient experience concerning visually impaired persons; c) lack of training material for inclusive learning; d) almost all blind adult s have a poor mastery of Braille. The target group of the initiative is the whole learning community, including teacher/s and students. This means that learning environments, human interaction, individual / group activities and requests, must be: a) effective; b) motivating; c) fully accessible for VI students. The following outcomes have been achieved within the initiative: a) 10 multimedia training modules for English learning employing the new interactive methodology based on joystick with force feedback as well as on acoustic input (human & synthetic voice, sounds and environmental noises); all contents are related to experiences fully accessible for VI students. Modules include role activities which allow cooperative interaction between VI students and their sighted peers (e.g. audio description, object recognition under blindfold, etc.). b) Handbook for teachers, to be used with support by experts, in presence or through distance communication. Methodology should enhance motivation for Braille literacy, as the most efficient way for accessing written information; moreover, our methodology can be transferred to different curricular / leisure activities.