It is the story of four adults and a teenager who could neither read nor write. They were ashamed. They made do with the means at hand to avoid humiliation: “I can’t read the menu, I don’t have my glasses. » Each on their own, the five illiterates took steps to overcome this handicap which was ruining their lives.
A television crew followed the five characters for 16 weeks to document their involvement in literacy groups. Directed by Paul-Maxime Corbin, the series The test of words, which premieres on February 13 on Télé-Québec, shows the obstacle-filled journey of these two women and three men aged 16 to 66.
The four half-hour episodes debunk myths. No, illiterates are not lazy. The film shows lit people. Perseverant. Some have graduated from high school (despite immense difficulty deciphering a simple label on a package at the grocery store). We see an entrepreneur, an early childhood educator, a student…
“When I was little, I really liked school, but I wasn’t good at French. Most of the words, I don’t know how to write them,” says Alexe, a 29-year-old childcare educator and mother of two young children.
Her parents valued school and went out of their way to help her learn, but she always hit a wall in reading and writing. She understood why by participating in the documentary: at 29, she was diagnosed with dysorthographic dyslexia. His brain identifies letters and can decipher sounds, but Alexe has difficulty recording the meaning of these symbols placed end to end.
This did not prevent her from registering for the certificate in educational support at the university. But to read a text that her classmates cover in a day, she would need a month: she manages to read a page a day. Her diagnosis entitled her to a tool that changed her life as a student — software that converts her readings into audio format.
A series of tests
The life of the participants in the series is a series of trials. The documentary includes “challenges” whose full complexity can be seen. A simple trip by public transport becomes a tour de force.
Imagine having to buy tickets to go from downtown Montreal to a café in Sainte-Julie, on the South Shore, while having all the trouble in the world deciphering the instructions on the vending machines. Zones A, B, C and D of the public transportation network in the greater Montreal region are already a headache even for a passenger with a doctorate in linguistics.
“I’m exhausted seeing so many words! » says Alexe, speechless in front of the ticket machine.
The host of the series, Patricia Paquin, launches another “challenge” to the five heroes: go buy a series of foods at the grocery store in order to follow recipes (which will also have to be deciphered). Let’s say that Espelette pepper, lard, Worcestershire sauce and even Nantes carrots have not always been easy to find.
Regardless, with a little help, a good dose of humility and unwavering will, the participants managed to concoct their little dish. And they all made progress in reading and writing.
Trials of life
This is a bit like the mission of the series: to show the public the harsh reality of so-called functional illiterates (or not), who make up 53% of the Quebec population; 34% have significant gaps in reading and writing, and 19% have major difficulties which prevent them from deciphering a text accessible to primary school pupils.
“Often, these people grew up in a difficult context,” says Caroline Plaat, coordinator and trainer at the literacy organization Le sac à mots, in Cowansville. She accompanies the participants in the Télé-Québec documentary.
Sylvie, 63, was raised in a large family whose parents were rarely present. Primary school teachers always sat her at the back of the class “because I wasn’t good,” she says. Series The test of words allowed her to see that she “is good” with help.
“If I go looking for someone who will take a literacy course thanks to my testimony, I will be happy. You have to go to school,” she said.
Nicolas, 66, missed school for a good part of his primary school due to a serious injury he inflicted with a saw. As for Marc-Alexandre, at the age of 35 he wanted to really learn to read and write. He coached his 16-year-old son, Mathys, who hates school because of his learning difficulties.
The series breaks a taboo, that of people having difficulty reading or writing despite free and compulsory education up to 16 years old. We understand what led these people to illiteracy. We sympathize with them. After her participation in the series, Patricia Paquin, in any case, recognizes that she is more lenient towards people who make mistakes on social networks.