The “BAT kids” — a Besson programme in an Australian school
Filmed testimonial shot at Emerald Secondary College, in a semi-rural community on the outskirts of Melbourne (Australia). The school runs the BAT — Besson Auditory Training programme, a school application of the listening method, carried out with the Besson equipment and the protocols of Martha Mack (Listen and Learn Centre). A first-hand account: it is the teachers and the students who speak. Like any testimonial, it engages its authors and belongs to lived experience — not to a clinical demonstration (see the perspective at the end of the page).
“I used to find reading really hard… Now, since BAT, I can read a whole real text from start to finish.” — a student
One school, one programme, twenty-four students
The BAT programme is a joint initiative of the Listen and Learn Centre and Emerald Secondary College. The idea: to offer struggling students an intensive training built on listening. The centre assessed twenty-four students and split them into two groups — twelve in the experimental group, who began at the start of the year and have just completed their 80 hours of training, and twelve in the control group, who will do theirs after a second round of tests. All of them took hearing assessments and tests of reading, spelling, memory and attention, at the school as well as at the centre.
In practice, the students follow 90 minutes of training a day, taken out of their usual lessons in intensive blocks. A session combines a variety of activities: reading into a microphone and a red tube, repeating words heard through headphones, reading and arithmetic exercises, visual discrimination and eye tracking, coordination and cross-body movements — and, the great favourite, ball work. A good part of the time targets working memory, both auditory and visual, through a whole range of games.
What the teachers tell
It is the changes in behaviour that strike you first. “Children who used to get into trouble fairly often, for all sorts of reasons: that just doesn’t happen as much. They seem more settled in class, and we’ve noticed a real rise in self-esteem in several of the participants.” One teacher: “I have quite a few students people call ‘the BAT kids’, and the difference in their behaviour since the programme is remarkable — dramatic in one case in particular.”
Beyond behaviour, the schoolwork. “Their ability to work in a sustained way, for longer, has improved; the structure of their sentences in writing is much better; and their willingness to take part in group discussions, to hand work in on time, has come on a great deal.” And this moment, told by an English teacher about a student who had missed a lot of lessons: the assignment unmodified this time — “I heard a voice call out: I got a B!, which was absolutely wonderful… Today I don’t even notice a difference any more. I think it is, truly, a small miracle.”
What the students say
The first to notice the progress are often the students themselves. “Before, I couldn’t really read the words, it didn’t flow. Now I can read a whole real text. And it’s the same with writing: it just comes out onto the page.” Another: “My reflexes are better, day and night. And my brain is a bit more focused.” A third, simply: “Yes, I read better.”
The team sums up the spirit of the programme: as far as possible, letting the students choose their own activities, so that they stay motivated; stars, rewards and raffles to celebrate success; and, towards the middle of the journey, accepting that some are so tired they rest. The school, now seeking funding to keep the programme going, ends on a hope: “to make a real difference for students with learning difficulties.”
In perspective
This film is a field testimonial, sincere and moving: adults who see children regain confidence, and children who notice it themselves. That is its value, and it is real.
It also chimes with a sound intuition at the heart of Alfred Tomatis’s and Christophe Besson’s method: listening, the attention paid to sounds, matter in learning. The science of reading confirms this in its own way — the fine perception of speech sounds is one of the foundations of learning to read.
That said, one must stay measured about what such an account can establish. An intensive, new and caring programme often produces, all on its own, momentum and engagement — and a testimonial, however enthusiastic, does not carry the weight of proof. That is precisely the point of the control group the school set up: it is by comparing rigorously, tests in hand, that we will be able to tell apart what is down to the training itself. Research on these approaches continues; while we await its conclusions, this film is worth what it is — a fine human story, and an invitation to take listening seriously.
Full English transcript
Transcript of the documentary (originally in English), reviewed.
The BAT programme is a joint initiative of the Listen and Learn Centre and Emerald Secondary College, located on the outskirts of Melbourne, in a semi-rural community. The Listen and Learn Centre assessed 24 of our students and divided them into four training groups. Twelve of them, our experimental group, began their training at the start of the year and have just completed 80 hours. The other twelve, our control group, will do their 80 hours of training once all 24 students have been reassessed in July.
All the students took a hearing test and a tympanogram. The Listen and Learn Centre administered the Scan 3A, the Gray Oral Reading Test, the child and behaviour questionnaires, and the teacher form. The school carried out the South Australian Spelling Test, subtests of the TAPS, and its own internal reading and arithmetic assessments.
Using the Besson equipment and the protocols written by Martha Mack, Emerald Secondary College implemented the BAT programme, which combines auditory training, movement exercises, reading, arithmetic and a whole series of memory activities. The students follow 90 minutes of training a day and are taken out of regular lessons for intensive blocks of 30, 30 and 20 hours. The school’s leadership and staff fully support this programme, and we are very excited about the changes we are beginning to see.
Among the things we have noticed: children who previously got into trouble fairly often, for various reasons — that doesn’t happen as much any more. The children seem more settled in class, and we’ve noted a strong rise in self-esteem in several of the BAT programme participants. I have several students in my class people call “the BAT kids”, and the difference in their behaviour since they joined the programme is remarkable — particularly in one case, and clearly improved in several others.
Most of the time, I’d say the children seem more ready to talk to me about their difficulties and to ask for help. They seem less inclined to waste their time. Some of the boys really put their heads down and get on with it, without digging their heels in over work they may find hard. Behaviour has improved, so has concentration, and overall respect for the framework of the class has been wonderful.
I have noticed, particularly among the students I’ve been in direct contact with, that their ability to work in a sustained way, for longer, has improved; their written expression, in terms of sentence structure, is much better; and their willingness to take part in group discussions and to hand work in on time has come on a great deal.
Emerald Secondary College is really pleased to have set up the BAT programme this year. We fully support it. We’ve already seen several benefits across a wide range of students. We’re looking forward to the test results, to see whether the progress observed is formalised progress. The school really supports the programme, and we hope to be able to keep it going.
During their session, the students do a variety of activities. They read into a microphone and a red tube. They repeat words heard in their ears. They do reading and arithmetic exercises, visual discrimination and eye tracking, coordination and cross-body movements. Ball work, in particular, is a real favourite with the students. Some have invented their own little activities and challenges. Some couldn’t throw or catch a ball at the start of the year: look at them now.
They do jigsaws, drawing, clock faces and strategy games. Sometimes they complete sequencing exercises with pictures, or have to find pictures from information they must memorise: “the two triangles are under the square and the circle”. And sometimes, especially towards the middle of the programme, the students are so tired they rest.
A large part of our complementary-activity work is about memory. We constantly call on their auditory and visual working memory through a whole range of exercises. As far as possible, we let the students choose their activities, so they stay positive and motivated. That day, a few students were obsessed with stacking and unstacking plastic cups: we simply used it as a background exercise during memory work on spelling, forwards and backwards. We use stars to reward success, with prizes and raffles for each block.
Overall, we observe progress in concentration, attention, organisation, communication, reading, writing, mathematics, and in confidence and self-esteem. The progress is visible to staff and parents — but the most exciting thing is that most of the students notice for themselves that they are progressing.
“I used to find reading really hard. I couldn’t really read the words, it didn’t flow, I didn’t understand the words. But now, since BAT, I can read a whole real text. And it’s much the same with writing: it just comes out onto the page now.” — “My reflexes are better. Day and night. And my brain is a bit more focused.” — “Yes, I read better.”
One of my students went through the BAT programme, and I’ve noticed a lot of difference in him over two terms. First, an increase in confidence in class: he came and took his place among the others with an assurance he didn’t have before. On the first shared assignment, I had adapted the task because he’d missed some English lessons. I gave it to him, walked away, and then I heard a voice call out: “I got a B!” — which was absolutely wonderful. And I thought he had earned that B. Yes, the task had been adapted. But on the shared assignment at the end of the following term, I didn’t adapt it at all. And he did very well. Today I don’t really notice a difference any more; I don’t see that he needs any special help. I know he asks the classmates around him for help. And I think it is, truly, a small miracle.
We are currently seeking grants and funding so that we can buy equipment and keep the BAT programme going. With more research and the possible future involvement of our local primary schools, we hope to be able to make a real difference for students with learning difficulties and disabilities.