Blind graduate calls for more inclusive job opportunities

KUCHING: Swinburne Sarawak graduate Ruth Yong Wang Theen hopes to build a career in English language education while encouraging employers to provide more inclusive opportunities for people with disabilities.

Yong recently completed a Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) at Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, overcoming various accessibility challenges throughout her five-year postgraduate journey.

She hopes her experience will encourage others to pursue their aspirations despite the difficulties they may face.

“If I, as a fully blind student, can pursue and complete a master’s degree, I hope others will believe that they can overcome their own challenges too.

“The journey may not always be easy, but difficulties do not necessarily have to prevent us from reaching our goals,” she said.

Teaching has long been Yong’s passion, while English has always been her favourite subject.

Before joining Swinburne Sarawak, she completed a Bachelor of Communication and Psychology at Monash University Malaysia.

Her interest in language education grew in 2020 when she began volunteering to teach English to refugee students during the COVID-19 pandemic at Kuala Lumpur.

The experience eventually led her to pursue the TESOL programme, where she completed her studies part-time and largely remotely, typically taking one or two units per semester.

One of her proudest achievements was earning a High Distinction for her thesis, titled “Exploring the Motivational Factors and Barriers in English Language Acquisition among Refugee Students in Malaysia”.

“Completing a master’s degree while navigating accessibility challenges as a fully blind student has been a significant personal and academic achievement.

“My research was also closely connected to my experience as a volunteer English teacher for refugee students, which made the project particularly meaningful to me,” she said. 

When asked about the biggest challenge she faced during her studies as a fully blind student, Yong said accessing learning materials that were incompatible with her screen reader, NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA), was one of her main difficulties.

Scanned PDFs and documents containing images or visual elements were often difficult for the software to interpret.

The university also adapted its teaching, with lecturers working with librarians to redevelop teaching resources into accessible formats.

Assessment materials and marking rubrics were adjusted where needed, and audio resources were provided with accessibility considerations in mind.

Ruth also found alternative solutions, using software such as ABBYY FineReader to convert scanned PDFs into more accessible formats.

At times, her friends supported her by reading materials aloud and recording them as audio files, enabling her to study more efficiently and keep up with her coursework. 

She expressed appreciation for the support she received from her lecturers and coursemates, which made a meaningful difference to her learning experience.

Looking ahead, she hopes to secure a teaching position and explore remote work opportunities that would allow her to connect with students from different backgrounds and cultures.

She said finding employment had been challenging, as she had been looking for teaching opportunities for at least three years.

Her experience navigating the job market has also strengthened her hope for greater recognition of the contributions people with disabilities can make in the workplace.

“I really hope that employers will be more inclusive. I am also looking into remote teaching opportunities because I wish to have access to more global students with different cultures,” she said.

Yong also hopes employers will better understand how people with disabilities use assistive technology, including screen readers, and recognise their ability to contribute meaningfully when given appropriate opportunities and accessibility support.

“I hope my experience can help cultivate greater awareness that people with disabilities can contribute meaningfully in the workplace when they are given appropriate opportunities and reasonable accessibility support.

“I would like to continue pursuing my passion for teaching while also encouraging greater inclusion and understanding of people with disabilities,” she said.