CHALLENGES OF SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETERS OF STUDENTS WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENT IN INCLUSIVE SETTIN

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Education in every society is meant to eradicate inequality among its citizens; because to educate the mind is to remove it from shackle of fear. Education is no doubt, a process of human enlightens and empowerment for the achievement of better and higher quality of life. Education of children with hearing impairment is therefore aimed at developing and harnessing the potential that abound in them. Persons with hearing impairment formed an important segment of Nigeria human resource base. If their potential is harnessed and appropriately channeled, they can become employees and employers, contribute to the tax base of the economy and became veritable social and economic assets. It is anticipated that education will provide them leverage to become productive members of Nigeria policy and society. The Universal Basic Education (UBE) which was launched in 1999 is a relevant tool for equipping children with disability the requisite education to help them realize their aspiration and fulfils social role. Education has long time identified as a major vehicle for political, economic and social advancement.
Education is essential for children with learning impairment because a person who cannot read or write is prone to developing a sense of inadequacy and or inferiority, which is psychologically damaging. The philosophy of equal education for all children for the restructuring of our educational system in a way that avails every child of school going age a opportunity to success irrespective of any disabilities conditions. And this is more relevant now that the National Policy on Education (2009) prescribed “inclusion education as the most realistic form of education for children with special needs” especially that Nigerian embark on Universal Basic Education (UBE) scheme. It is therefore imperative that persons with hearing impairment should not be denied their right to education, given ample time with special materials and systematically plan programme these children can learn as much as their normal counterparts. This may seem a herculean task to undertake; but with supportive services and commitment by resourceful teachers most especially those that understand the psychology of children with disabilities and their educational needs, success can be assured. The education of children with hearing impairmen6t goes for beyond the ability of the teacher to teach them with merely chalk and duster. This informs why teacher of this category of children must be resourceful and dynamic (Owobi, 2016).
Hearing loss is the amount of hearing disables which individual has lost, there are many types of hearing loss and degrees, ranging from mild to profound, individual with mild or moderate hearing loss can benefit from hearing aids instrument but it generally belief that severe and profound hearing loss cannot benefit from hearing loss because the degree of hearing loss in either of them is high between 60 and above, there are different types of hearing loss such as conduction hearing loss, mixed hearing loss, sensineural hearing loss, symmetric hearing loss, asymmetric hearing loss, Aiyeleso, (2015). Students with hearing impairment are students who have auditory sensory problem; the problem prevented them using the ear organ for what is mean for. They are students who se sign language in communication, as a result of their lack of auditory feedback they requires special teaching in order to benefit from teaching and learning as their hearing counterparts. Students with hearing interact and participate meaningfully in school activities the adjustment requires here by students with hearing impairment does not mean to given advantages over their hearing counterparts, to change course or out coming or to guarantee success, rather it means any action taking to help improve their interaction and also success in their academic activities, therefore students with hearing impairment must adjust in order to participate in learning process irrespective of peer’s discrimination, they must adjust to adaptive (hearing impairment) they have, trust that they can live and perform well alongside their hearing peers, social adjustment among students with hearing impairment means acceptance of whatever condition of disability or quilt about it.
Sign language is a service provided by hearing people to a community of deaf and hearing people, who do not understand a common language. To demonstrate proficiency, interpreters are expected to be bi-lingual and should know a particular languages and skills required in different interpreting settings of education interpreting. Deposit the relevance of sign language interpreting services in inclusive setting; interpreters are beclouded with some challenges such as cultural background in signing. This background necessitated doing an in-depth study to find out some of the factors that inhibited successful interpretation services in inclusive institutions performed their assignments with a multiplying of challenges comprising of social, economic and cultural backgrounds in which they were subjected to work. They were obliged to work in environments with different rules and codes of ethics and the needs of those whom they served. It is believed that different social and educational backgrounds which concretize these challenges often created intrinsic and extrinsic challenges them and their clientele they serve.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
It is a well known fact that children with hearing impairment have problem in communication, they grow up without vocal language, the few that are lucky to have received speech and language therapy skill perform badly in terms of listening, vocal communication vocabulary, words, among others, this lead to many parents have embracing the use of sign language to vocal language to facilitate communication to their children with hearing impairment because they cannot hear of discriminate sound this gave birth to the introduction of liaison agent between the speaker and students with hearing impairment known as sign language interpreter. These problems include:
i. Lack of available interpreters in all departments; as a result they are not given their best in terms of service to students with hearing impairment this is because most of their welfare is not met.
ii. The interpreters are either absent from lectures because they have gone to source for extra income to support the meager amount paid by the College or they are late to their lectures and students with hearing impairment who attend lecture without the interpreters are in the receiving end.
iii. Some of the available interpreters are coursemates who volunteered to interpret during lectures and they are not perfect in passing the actual information. They are either left behind or they at times interpret a different due to lack of skills. It is for this reason that the researchers see the need to present the topic challenges of sign language interpreters of students with hearing impairment in inclusive setting: A case study of Federal College of Education, Pankshin.
1.3 Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study is to investigate into the challenges of sign language interpreters of students with hearing impairment in inclusive setting: A case study of Federal College of Education, Pankshin. Specifically, the objective is:-
1. To examine challenges faced by sign language interpreters in Federal College of Education, Pankshin.
2. To find out possible problem faced by students with hearing impairment due to lack of sufficient sign language interpreters in Federal College of Education, Pankshin.
3. To proffers some remedial measure which can be used to mitigate the impact of lack of sign language interpreters in Federal College of Education, Pankshin.
1.4 Research Questions
1. What is the challenge faced by sign language interpreters in Federal College of Education, Pankshin?
2. What is the problem faced by students with hearing impairment due to lack of sufficient sign language interpreters in Federal College of Education, Pankshin?
3. What are remedial measures which can be adopted to mitigate the impact of lack of sign language interpreters in Federal College of Education, Pankshin?
1.5 Assumption
The following assumption had been formulated by the researcher to guide the study:
1. Assuming insufficient of interpreters is the case of failure among students with hearing impairment.
2. Assuming lack of qualified interpreters is the challenges faced by students in Federal College of Education, Pankshin.
3. Assuming that the provision of poor welfare is the challenge faced by sign language interpreters in Federal College of Education, Pankshin.
1.6 Significance of the Study
The study when completed may benefit the following stakeholders: Sign language interpreters, students, parents.
Sign Language Interpreters: The study when completed with benefit sign language interpreters because through the study administrators will understand some problems face by interpreters and find solution to them thereby mitigate the problems of the interpreters and spur them to improve at their duty.
Students: Students with hearing impairment who are the final consumer of sign language will benefit from the study because one problem of interpreters is detectors and attended to the will natural perform their function effectively this will translate the more output in the academic performance of students with hearing impairment in Federal College of Education, Pankshin.
Parents: Parents who work to pay school fee of their children with hearing impairment will benefit from the study, because the main purpose of parents’ spending is to invest in the education of their children.
1.7 Scope of the Study
The study is strictly expected to cover all sign language interpreters and students with hearing impairment in Federal College of Education, Pankshin.
1.8 Operational Definition of Terms
The terms are defined according to their usage in this study.
Disability: It is the inability of the individual to function well without an interpreter because of lack of hearing.
Impairment: It is a damage done to the tissue of hearing that leads to hearing impairment which calls to use an interpreter.
Students with hearing Impairment: These are groups of students who have hearing loss that hinder them to access information through hearing which they depend on sign language interpreting services.
Sign Language: It is a gestured language based on the use of manual and non-manual features used by the Deaf community and their interpreters.
Sign language interpreting service: Sign language interpreting is a service provided to children with hearing impairment and hearing people who do not understand a common language.
Sign language interpreter: This refers to a trained professional who facilitates communication and conveys all auditory and signed information so that both hearing and students with hearing impairment may fully interact in the class to enhance their academic performances.
American Sign Language (ASL): It is a visual-spatial language in which the interpreters use in translating class instructions to learners with hearing impairment through facial expressions, finger-spelling, and lip-reading.
Academic performance: It is defined as how students with hearing impairment achieve in the class with or with the aid of sign language interpreter.

CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter reviews the related literature relevant to the study. The review of related literature was carried out under the following sub-headings:
2.1 Sign language interpreter
2.3 Communication and interpreting
2.4 Inclusive education
2.5 The roles of sign language interpreter in inclusive setting
2.6 The need of sign language interpreter
2.7 Benefits of sign language interpreter in inclusive setting
2.8 Challenges of sign language interpreter in inclusive setting
2.9 Summary of the review of related literature