What is Easy-to-Read? And, who can benefit? Carina Fronden, Swedish Centre for Easy-to-Read, Finland

1. PLAIN 2013
Carina Frondén
carina.fronden@fduv.fi
The Swedish Centre for Easy-to-Read,
Helsinki, Finland
What is Easy-to-Read
And who can benefit from it?
Easy-to-Read in practice from a
Swedish-speaking perspective in Finland.
LL-Center

2. LL-Center – the Swedish-speaking centre for
Easy-to-Read in Finland
• Translations into Easy-to-Read
• Easy-to-Read newspaper LL-Bladet and leaflets
• Easy-to-Read projects and courses
• Spreads information about Easy-to-Read
• Collaboration with the Finnish-speaking centre
for Easy-to-Read
• Funded by
- RAY (Finland’s Slot Machine Association)
- funds and foundations
LL-Center

3. What is Easy-to-Read
• Variations depending on country, target group and genre
• International Easy-to-Read Network
Web: wordpress.easytoread-network.org
• Content, layout, pictures, speech
LL-Center

4. What is Easy-to-Read: Main traits
• easier than standard language and plain language
– specific target group
• short sentences
– the content reduced to bare essentials
– as few subordinate clauses as possible
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direct order preferable
every-day words
previous knowledge not taken for granted
backgrounds, difficult words and context are explained
LL-Center

5. What is Easy-to-Read: Main traits
• chronological, concrete
• active rather than passive
• avoidance of many numerals
– Differences between countries
100 000 / 100 thousand
• correct language
• avoidance of metaphorical language and idioms
LL-Center

6. LL-Center

7. What is Easy-to-Read: Layout
• Clear and simple layout
• Simple and clear pictures
(and diagrams) that support the text
• Space between the lines
• Manual line breaks to make the reading easier
• If many columns – use visual boxes or vertical lines between
the columns
• Typography
LL-Center

8. Easy-to-Read is written using line breaks
An Easy-to-Read text has a narrow column
and an uneven right margin.
Always put the next sentence on a new line.
If there is a long sentence in the text,
you can cut off the sentence where it is suitable
and continue on the next line.
If it is possible you should follow the principle
one thought on one line.
Leave a blank line between the paragraphs.
It makes the text easier to read.
LL-Center

9. Easy-to-Read newspaper page
Standard language newspaper page
LL-Center

10. Easy-to-Read leaflet page
Standard language leaflet page
LL-Center

11. LL-Center

12. LL-Center

13. A perfect day for skiing!
LL-Center

14. A perfect day for skiing!
LL-Center

15. Easy-to-Read websites
LL-Center

16. Easy-to-Read in Finland
• About 10 Easy-to-Read books published per year
by different publishers (In Sweden over 50 books per year)
• The Ministry of Education and Culture in Finland grants
subsidies
– for publication of Easy-to-Read litterature in Finland
– aimed to support the publication of accessible information in Finland
LL-Center

17. Why is Easy-to-Read important
• A question about equality – all persons in society should have
right to information and culture.
(CRPD §21, UDHR §1, 19, Finnish Constitution § 6, 14, 16)
• Easy-to-Read is an accessibility tool
• enhances the possibilities for people with a reading disability
to participate in society and influence their own lives.
• offer weaker readers possibility to identification, a richer
life, learning and training.
• About 7% of the population in Finland needs Easy-to-Read;
10-20% of people over 65. In Sweden: 25% benefit.
LL-Center

18. Who can benefit from Easy-to-Read
• Persons with learning or reading difficulties, e.g. dyslexics, people
with a developmental disability, Aphasia, Asperger-syndrome, etc
• Persons with acquired neurological dysfunctioning, e.g. persons
with mental illness or memory illness such as Dementia
• Pupils and students
– Children in need of support in language and learning
– Pupils in language immersion schools
• Unaccustomed readers
• Seniors
• Persons with temporary lingiustic deficiences, e.g. language
learners
LL-Center

19. Easy-to-Read projects at LL-Center
LL-Center

20. Reading representatives 2010-2015
• Basis: everybody should have the right
to reading
• Education of reading representatives
• Target group major reading difficulties
– Persons never able to read
– Persons with memory illness
• Aim: stimulate interest in reading,
reading aloud among persons who are not able to read
• Representatives primarily recruited among staff in group housing
and at day care centres
LL-Center

21. The ”Easy-to-Read ICT” project 2011-2013
• Basis: the essential role of ICT in supporting daily life in
today’s society
• Persons with great learning difficulties
in need of specific teaching models
and materials to be able to use ICT
• Aim: promote eInclusion and enhance
possibilities for persons with learning
difficulties to use ICT
LL-Center

22. Easy-to-Read ICT
• Easy-to-Read ICT guidebooks
and teaching materials
• Teacher’s manual
• Courses for teachers
• Easy-to-Read ICT courses
• Internet club for adult persons
with learning difficulties
LL-Center

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26. References
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Frondén & Ilmonen, Lättläst it Lärarhandbok [Easy-to-Read ICT for teachers], Helsinki 2013.
Frondén & Ilmonen, Lättläst om internet [Internet in Easy-to-Read], Helsinki 2013.
Frondén & Ilmonen, 10 goda råd om internet. Netikett på lättläst svenska [10 good advices about the
internet. An Easy-to-Read handbook], Helsinki 2012.
Kartio (ed.), Selkokieli ja vuorovaikutus [Easy-to-Read and interaction], Helsinki 2009.
Leskelä & Virtanen, Toisin sanoin. Selkokielen teoriaa ja käytäntöä [With other words. Easy-to-Read in
theory and practice], Helsinki 2006.
Leskelä & Lindholm, Näkökulmia kielelliseen epäsymmetriaan [Aspects of linguistic
asymmetry], Haavoittuva keskustelu [The voulnerable conversation]. The Finnish Association on
Intellectual and
Developmental Disabilities, Helsinki 2012.
Leskelä, Yhteisymmärrystä rakentamassa. Tapaustutkimus. [Building up understanding. A case study]. In
Teittinen (ed.) Vammaisuuden tutkimus [Research on disabilities], Helsinki 2006.
Leskelä, Ymmärrysvaikeuksien käsittelyä kehitysvammaisten henkilöiden ja heidän ohjaajiensa
keskusteluissa [Dealing with understanding troubles in conversations between persons with intellectual
disability and their tutors]. In
Leskelä & Lindholm (eds.) Haavoittuva keskustelu , The Finnish Association on Intellectual and
Developmental Disabilities, Helsinki 2012.
Sommardahl, Klarspråk i kommunen [Plain language in the municipalities], Fikt 8/2012, Helsinki 2012.
Sundin, Lättläst – så funkar det [Easy-to-Read – this is how it works], Stockholm 2007.
Virtanen, Selkokielen käsikirja [The Easy-to-Read handbook], Helsinki 2009.
Österlund, Så här skriver du lättläst, [How to write Easy-to-Read], Helsinki 2011.
LL-Center

27. FDUV
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FDUV advocates for the rights of
Swedish-speaking persons with
intellectual disabilities (PWID) and
their families living in Finland.
We also work for persons with other
learning disabilities.
We work mainly in Swedish-speaking
areas of Finland (along the Baltic Sea
coast of Finland)
Our working language is
Swedish, which is a national language
in Finland. The main population in
Finland speak Finnish.
LL-Center

28. Information and
human rights
advocacy for PWIDs
Projects and
development of new
concepts
Services and
products
Regional
associations and
leisure activities
Courses, seminars, w
orkshops, conferenc
es etc.
Summer
camps, weekend
holidays and other
leisure activities
Lärum
LL-Center
learning materials for
persons with learning
disabilities
Easy-to-read in Swedish:
news, broschures, website
s, it etc.
Professional library
and multi-sensory
rooms
LL-Center

29. Spoken Easy-to-Read
• Audio
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Easy-to-Read language principles; easier
Different story structure
The prosody of the speech
Other sounds
News in Easy-to-Read in Finnish radio since 2007
• Video
– Easy-to-Read language principles
– Easy-to-Read audio principles
– Visual principles
• Interaction
LL-Center

30. Easy-to-Read in Interaction
• The power of language in interaction often underestimated
• Different from written Easy-to-Read:
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Fast choises required – challenging
Orientation and environment; proper encountering and reciprocity
The prosody of the speech
Also non-verbal interaction into account: facial expressions, gestures
Repair initiators – understanding checks possible
• Easy-to-Read language principles
LL-Center

31. LL-Center