WELCOME TO KENTERPRO:
IMPACT OF ONLINE SIGN LANGUAGE ON THE COMMUNICATION ABILITY OF STUDENTS WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENT IN PLATEAU SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• Background to the Study

The education of students with hearing impairment has over the years generated a lot of interest to experts in the field of special education. The concern is on the best approach to improve the education of students with hearing impairment all over the world. Apparently, people recognized the need to assist students with hearing impairment to process linguistic information for educational attainment.

Hearing impairment is one of the handicapping conditions, which many educators regards as a living problem because of their inability to hear and to talk due to the damage of their eardrum and cochlear. Such students are usually capable of learning with the aid of modified facilities. They are either partially or totally deaf as a result of many factors, including genetic, aging, exposure to noise, illness, chemicals and physical trauma. Their degree of hearing impairment ranges from mild to profound. This also affects their development of language which makes them to have problem with interaction and some basic skills in life. Most students with hearing impairment learn by sight rather than hearing aids. The use of sign language as a mode of communication makes it possible for students with hearing impairment to realize their educational aspirations (Schow & Nerbonne, 2013).

Communication is an essential part of human interaction. It is the process of sending and receiving information, ideas, feelings, and messages through speech, written language, sign language, gestures, and facial expressions (Hulit, Howard, & Fahey, 2011). All students, especially those too young to communicate verbally, need a way to share their desires, dislikes, and demands to others around them. One method of communication that is growing in popularity due to current research is using sign language, a manual form of communication involving hand shapes, movements, and facial expressions (Schow & Nerbonne, 2013). While many deaf students, those with an extensive loss of hearing, are taught sign language, studies show it may also benefit hearing students, those with hearing in the normal range of up to 15 decibels HL (Taylor-DiLeva, 2011; Schow & Nerbonne, 2013).

Sign language is a language that is used by people with hearing impairment to communicate. It is a language that uses manual symbol to represent ideas and concept. According to Riekelhof (2013), it is a term used to describe the language used by deaf people in which both manual signs and finger spelling are employed. Signs usually represent ideas and not single word. Sign language appears an easier mode of communication between the teacher and the students, intrinsically the students get involved more keenly in learning and acquisition of new information and literacy as well (Tang and Yang, 2007). Combining two modalities of communication such as tactile and kinesthetic channels with auditory and visual modalities, is greatest source of learning and improves learning speed as sign language is composed of both modalities. Use of movements in multimode sign language supports Piaget’s claim of learning and thinking (Barnes, 2010).

Sign languages are natural manual languages that are used by deaf people around the world, and which are functionally and structurally equivalent to spoken languages. In contrast to gestures, sign languages are symbolic, conventionalized, and compositional (Fitzpatrick, Thibert,  Grandpierre & Cyne, 2014). Like spoken languages, sign languages have sub-lexical, lexical and syntactic structures. However, signs are performed manually and perceived visually whereas words are performed orally and perceived aurally. This means that the phonology, relating to the sub-lexical language structure, differs across language modality. In sign languages, the sub-lexical structure is defined based on the formation and movements of hands and arms, as well as place of articulation and nonmanual features (e.g., facial expression) (Brentari, 2011), whereas in spoken languages, the sub-lexical structure consists of speech sounds, produced by forcing air through the vocal tract (Ladd, 2011). Today there are several hundred known sign languages around the world all of which are culturally specific and independent of the ambient spoken language (Corina, Gutierrez, & Grosvald, 2014). For example, in Nigerian there is Nigerian Sign Language, in Britain there is British Sign Language (BSL), and in the USA there is American Sign Language. ASL is a comprehensive visual language that includes its own grammar, use of facial expressions, and regional variations. Hearing impaired people who use ASL will visually acquire information and must quickly switch their attention while simultaneously processing information among multiple visual perspectives.

Online sign language is an e-learning platform that offers students the unique and fun experience of learning how to communicate visually using devices such as phones or personal computers. This is achieved through the use of several modalities such as private tools (e.g., WhatsApp, telegram, and Facebook groups), videoconference applications (e.g., Zoom, Google Meet) for sending and receiving assignments, discussion, sharing contents, and e-assessment. Online sign language provides students with hearing impairment who may not have local access to sign language with an opportunity to learn the language and develop their communication skills.

Communication is the ability to exchange ideas and feelings with others both verbally and non-verbally. The capacity to communicate is the ability and desire to connect with others. Most children with hearing impairment learn to ask for what they need, to communicate how they feel and to establish and maintain interaction with adults or other children using sign language (Hulit, Howard & Fahey, 2011). Though the development of communication skills is not the same for every child, there are milestones that we can observe that serve as indicators that the child is making appropriate developmental progress. Even before a child with hearing impairment learns to sign their first word, they develop ways to communicate their needs. Communication begins from birth, through sounds, body movements and facial expressions. Children will move from crying and nuzzling to babbling, cooing, squealing and gestures/body movements, moving legs in excitement or distress, and later, gestures like pointing, eye contact, smiling and grimacing; all of these are early methods of communication.

According to Mohamed and Oussama (2017) online sign language platforms or application is based on the technology of avatar (animation in virtual world). These platforms translates transcriptions of natural hearing languages to a real time animation in sign language. Most of these e-learning application have developed web tool specialized in creating course for deaf pupils. The courses are a group of lessons, in which every lesson is a set of web pages containing a variety of images and their correspondent descriptions. The web tool provides an avatar which plays the sign already translated in the application. The association of images and their descriptions offers the advantages of clarity and simplicity of acquiring information of sign language lesson for students with hearing impairment and invariably helped in improving their communication skills. Therefore, the study seeks to examine the impact of Online Sign Language on the Communication ability of students with hearing impairment in Plateau School for the Deaf Bassa.

• Statement of the Problem

Plateau School for the Deaf Bassa is dedicated to providing education and support for students with hearing impairments. Effective communication is crucial for these students to interact with others and succeed academically. In recent years, technological advancements have brought about new opportunities for communication, particularly through online platforms. Online Sign Language has emerged as a potential solution to bridge the communication gap between students with hearing impairments and the broader community. However, the impact of implementing Online Sign Language on the communication ability of students with hearing impairments in Plateau School for the Deaf Bassa remains unclear. The Plateau School for the Deaf Bassa faces the challenge of facilitating effective communication among students with hearing impairments and their peers, teachers, and the wider community. Traditional methods of communication, such as face-to-face interactions and manual sign language, have limitations in terms of reach, efficiency, and accessibility. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the potential impact of Online Sign Language in enhancing communication skills among students with hearing impairments in the school.

1.3       Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of Online Sign language on the communication ability of students with hearing impairment in Plateau School for the Deaf, Bassa. The specific objective of this study is to determine:

1. The availability of e-learning resources for teaching and learning Sign language in Plateau School for the Deaf, Bassa
2. The relevance of online sign language on the communication ability of students with hearing impairment in Plateau School for the Deaf, Bassa
3. The challenges facing online sign language among students with hearing impairment in Plateau School for the Deaf, Bassa

1.4       Research Questions

1. To what extent are e-learning resources available for teaching and learning Sign language in Plateau School for the deaf, Bassa
2. What are the relevance of online sign language on the communication ability of students with hearing impairment in School for the Deaf, Bassa
3. what are the challenges facing the use of online sign language among students with hearing impairment in Plateau School for the Deaf, Bassa.

1.5       Scope of the Study

The study is focused on students with hearing impairment in Plateau School for the Deaf, Bassa. It is limited to the impact of online sign language on the communication ability of students with hearing impairment.

1.6       Significance of the Study

The study anticipated that the findings will be used by teachers to evaluate their understanding and use of e-learning facilities in teaching and learning of Sign Language and gain insight into the needs of students with hearing impairment in order to improve academic achievement.

The finding of this study may be used by teachers to find solutions to ever changing needs and interests of students with hearing impairment and appreciate the significance of the use of e-learning tools in the teaching-learning of pupils with hearing impairment in relation to academic achievement.

The study anticipated that the finds may be used by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and National Policy on Education (NPE) of Nigeria when making policies regarding making e-learning accessible for students with hearing; planning curriculum for special education teacher training instructional environment and interventions to improving performance.

1.7       Operational Definition of Terms

Online Sign Language: Online sign language is an e-learning platform that offers students the unique and fun experience of learning how to communicate visually using their devices such as phones or personal computers.

Sign Language: Sign language is a language that is used by children with hearing impairment to communicate. It is a language that uses manual symbol to represent ideas and concept.

ASL – This is American Sign Language which is approach as the general language of communication with hearing impaired students across the special, integrated and inclusive education.

Hearing Impaired: This implies the inability of an individual to hear sounds adequately

Students with hearing impairment: These are students that has loss their sense of hearing who are taught in a special school.

Communication ability: This is the ability of students with hearing impairment to be able to exchange ideas and feelings with others.

\