Yellow card is a tool meant to allow for feedback concerning language comprehension. The listeners are asked to raise a yellow card anytime the language used by the speaker is too complex, hard, or fast for them to comprehend. It is a signal to the speaker to slow down, rephrase in a more accessible way, find synonyms or even use translation. This also lowers the barrier required for the listeners to intervene: there is no need to stop the speaker, or verbally intervene, as the raising of the card is in itself a signal, delegating the responsibility to the speaker. This method is especially useful in the context of speeches, presentations, lectures etc, where there is less emphasis on conversation and more on one way communication.
You will need:
A stack of yellow cards – one for each audience participant. Yellow is a good colour insofar that it is clearly visible even from the back of the hall. If you cannot provide yellow cards, you can use any oher signal – as long as the remplacement “yellow card” is clearly distinctive from other possible signals, and that it is accessible to everyone. For example if everyone was given a meeting agenda, it can double as the “yellow card”. A hand gesture can be used as a “yellow card”, but in this case we should pay close attention that it does not get confused with other signals, such as voting, asking for a turn to speak, approving etc.
Time:
You should allocate some time in the beginning of the event in order to clearly explain how the yellow card method works if this is the first time the group is using the method. If the group is already familiar with the method, it will only take an instant to remind everyone that it is at their disposal.
On the other hand, if the speakers are not familiar with the method, you should allocate approximately half hour for a meeting in days leading up to the event do check if they understand how they can make their talk more accessible (using shorter sentences, more common vocabulary, avoiding expert terms, slang and idioms, speaking more slowly etc), and to remind them to look for the yellow card signal in the audience.
Other than the time needed for preparation, it does not take additional time from the event.
Step-by-step
1 – Check for accessibility needs of your audience and the speaker. This include checking for the general level of language proficiency in order to provide better instructions to the speaker, checking if there is a common expert language), but also verifying general accessibility: if someone, for instance, has limited hand mobility and cannot raise the card, try to find a different option – using sound, or a digital yellow card that can be activated over phone, etc. If the speaker has visual impairments, a sound signal will be more accessible.
2 – Prepare the yellow cards or decide on the appropriate signal.
3 – Have a preparatory meeting with the speaker(s).
4 – At the event, give out the cards, and take a few minutes to explain the tool.
5 – If appropriate, you can also have a short demonstration, asking the audience to raise the card when they do not understand (use clearly incomprehensible jargon for demonstration)
Tips
The yellow card is most appropriate for large-scale events. We have found out that when used in smaller meetings, where people are expected to have a conversation in a more informal setting, if something was not clear enough it will be easier to intervene just by speaking up. This does not mean that in smaller and more intimate settings people are confident enough to speak up if they do not understand: it happened more than a few times that a person would just nod, but if asked directly if they understood what was said they would answer negatively. Our hypothesis was that the yellow card would lower the threshold for signalling non-understanding, but it did not happen – the group was too small, so they didn’t see any difference between speaking up and raising the card, and those who raised the card used words at the same time.
In a bigger group, however, the yellow card makes a lot more sense. It could be used for conferences, educational events, presentations etc; even if there are no other languages used, or even if the interpretation is provided, the emphasis is on the accessibility of the language and the use of jargon.
