The company says it has successfully tested the
course in a pilot program in Israeli Arab schools
and hopes to market it soon to the rest of the
Arab world. "Learning to touch type in Arabic is
more complicated than in English or Hebrew - the
touch typing machines and the computer keyboards
are totally different and it can cause a lot of
confusion. Our Touch Typing Technology (TTT) has
adapted the touch typing machines to the computer
keyboards so what the students are learning is
applicable right away," a company spokesman said.
According to the company, the TTT system works in
a specific way. "In the first few lessons, like
in any touch typing course, you learn how to
place your hands and where to place your fingers
on the letters. But that's not enough - any
computer software can do this. The problem is
after you place your fingers, you may start
touch-typing, but pretty quickly you'll go back
to your old way of using two fingers. In the
Sight and Sound technique, you also acquire speed
and have to practice so that you type more than
18 words per minute in order to pass the course -
Of course some people can go up to as high as 60
or 80 words a minute. Our course is also quick -
approximately 24 hours - and the recommendations
are to do it between one and two weeks," the
spokesman said.
The TTT program is based on a combination of
sight, sound and rhythm. The keyboard is
graphically displayed on the student's computer
screen. The different keys are shown in various
colours. The student receives instructions via
his earphones. After a brief explanation the
narrator commences with the first lesson. The
narrator calls out the required letter to be
typed, the called letter lights up on the
coloured keyboard shown on the screen, and the
narrator then gives the instruction to strike the
key.
The student first sees, then hears and finally
acts. All the natural reactions of the student
are utilized, making the learning process
effortless and ensuring that this process is not
built on a system of boring practice and
remembrance used by other methods.
An Israeli company Sight and Sound, has come up
with the first successful Arabic touch-typing
programme.