NSW Senator calls for captions for learning during National Literacy and Numeracy Week

Mon, 29/08/2011 - 11:54

MEDIA RELEASE

NSW Senator the Hon Ursula Stephens has today urged teachers to “turn captions on” in the classroom to boost literacy and inclusive learning with the cap that! initiative, as a start to National Literacy and Numeracy Week for 2011.

Speaking at Toowong State School in Brisbane, a school with a high number of Deaf and hearing impaired students and where one in five students receive English as a Second Language (ESL) support, former teacher Senator Stephens called for educators around Australia to set captions to ON as standard practice in the classroom.

Senator Stephens said, “Over two decades of classroom teaching, I’ve seen the power and potential of captions for learning, stretching across the inclusion of hearing impaired students to other students as well. I’ve successfully used captioning with early learners, with students from non-English speaking backgrounds, in adult literacy classes, with visual learners and students who had learning difficulties.”

During the launch involving staff and students, Senator Stephens demonstrated the ease with which teachers can find captioned resources, activate captions and integrate captions into lessons using the resources available at www.capthat.com.au

“Captions are a simple, cost-effective and readily available resource. So turning the captions on is an inclusive practice that can and should become part of every classroom,” said the Senator.

While captions are vital for people who are Deaf or hearing impaired, using them in educational settings can also boost general literacy and comprehension skills by linking written words to sounds and images. Teachers can apply this tool to help bridge the gap for the 600,000 ESL students in Australian schools and approximately 10,000 hearing impaired students studying in mainstream schools, while benefiting literacy and learning for all students.

Senator Stephens said, “I know that providing captions can increase people’s confidence and achieve significant results. Captions can help make learning fun... and they help everyone to feel included in the learning process.”

“Using captions in different subject areas – maths, science and the arts – can bring new insights to complex concepts and has been shown to benefit even the most able students,” said the former teacher.

Captions – English subtitles that also include descriptions of sound – are available on 58 per cent of new release DVDs and on many online videos, TV and ClickView programs used in schools.

The cap that! website provides downloadable teaching resources such as lesson plans and activity sheets that incorporate captions, and the resources for educators to be informed about what captions are, how to find captioned resources and how to turn on captions on TV, DVDs and online videos.

Educators can share their own ideas or experiences of using captions in the classroom, with the chance to win 1 of 8 ClickView 2 subscriptions for schools, and captioned entertainment DVDs and cinema passes for teachers.

cap that! is proudly sponsored by Australian Communication Exchange, with major prize sponsor ClickView and supporting prize sponsors, Hoyts, Event Cinemas, 20^th Century Fox Home Entertainment and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

-ENDS-

For media enquiries, interview and photo opportunities please contact:

Katie Couani

Marketing Communication Coordinator, Media Access Australia

E: Katie.Couani@mediaaccess.org.au

T: 02 9212 6242

Interview opportunities are available with:

• Senator Ursula Stephens
• Brendon Madden, Principal, Toowong State School
• Cameron Miller, Teacher, Toowong State School
• Alex Varley, CEO, Media Access Australia
• Sandy Gilliland, CEO, Australian Communication Exchange

cap that! facts and stats

• For Deaf or hearing impaired students, listening, even with hearing aids, implants or similar devices, can still be difficult, tiring and stressful, particularly over long periods. Background noise and conversations also reduce the effectiveness of these devices.
• Our research shows that hearing impaired students will generally not ask for captions when they need them to avoid embarrassment.
• 83 per cent of children with a significant hearing loss attend mainstream schools.
• Research shows captions can improve ESL students’ listening and reading comprehension, vocabulary acquisition and word recognition.
• There are over 600,000 non-English speaking background students in Australia.
• Captions can help all children, including those with learning disabilities, to read by linking written words to sounds and images, boosting literacy and general comprehension skills.
• Captions differ from subtitles because they also describe important sounds or music in text format.