STRATEGIES USED IN TEACHING SPEECH AND LANGUAGE TO LEARNERS WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENT IN OTANA INTEGRATED SCHOOL JOS, PLATEAU STATE

 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background to the study

Hearing-impairment is a broad term that refers to hearing losses of varying degree from hard of hearing to total deafness. The major challenge facing learners with hearing-impairment is communication. Learners with hearing-impairment vary widely in their communication skills. Learners with prelingual hearing loss (present at birth or occurring before the acquisition at language and development of speech patterns) are more functionally disabled than those who lose some degree of hearing after the development of language and speech. It is a known fact that speech and language are social tools used in social interactions with the purpose of communication. Hence, hearing plays an essential role in acquisition and development of speech and language. Thus considering the communication field, the hearing-impairment can be held as an important biological factor causing significant delay in speech and language development of learners with hearing impairment. Over the past decades, there has been a long standing controversy concerning the question of which strategies can be used in teaching speech and language to learners with hearing impairment in institution of learning. The communication controversy has been between the oralists and manualists (Raji, 2003). The oralists are of the opinion that oral communication helps learners with hearing impairment to lip read and possibly speak words. They argued that learners with hearing impairment who are skilled in lip reading can understand about sixty to eighty percent of English words presented. But on the other hand, the manualists argued that oral communication slows down a learner’s language and speech development at the period when the children learn language fastest (age 1 to 7 years). The issue however, should not be whether oral or manual method would be used, but which of the method would help learners with hearing impairment learn maximally in the classroom.

Jacobs (2010) believe that the use of the right strategy in teaching speech and language to learners with hearing impairment would help them learn to use speech, read and possibly speak. For instance, Cohen (2000) argued that sign language and finger-spelling tend to isolate learners from the wider community and if allowed to continue, might likely lead to segregation. Cohen further argued that the use of speech by visual means would help to build up comprehension and expression through manual means in the learner’s speech and language development.

The manualists, represented by Werner (2008) argued that acquisition of sign language and finger-spelling is a hallmark for both communication and socialization skills. For instance, Werner, reports that learning sign language first, actually makes it easier for learners with hearing impairment to learn to read, speak and possibly lip read. Werner further reports that learners with hearing impairment who learn to use gestures and signs communicate more easily than those who are taught speech and lip reading only.

The researcher suspects, however that while the above views by the oralists and manualists may work well for some learners with hearing impairment (mild to moderate) who can hear a little, and those who can distinguish the differences between many words that are similar in sounds, it may be difficult for severely and learners with profoundly hearing impairment who have never experienced speech before, except through Sign Language. Unfortunately, Nigeria has no sign system of her own. The officially-recognized sign language is the American Sign Language (ASL). This according to Abang (2005) is used widely among the learners with hearing impairment and taught in schools for the deaf throughout the country. Abang stated that learners with hearing impairment find it difficult to communicate with their parents, relations and other members of their respective families in ASL. Teachers’ poor qualification and lack of parental support hinders the acquisition of speech and language development. Further, Ngwoke (2012) stated that since ASL does not help children with hearing impairment interact meaningfully with their families and friends at home, they often feel rejected and ridiculed due to communication gap. It is not an overstatement to say that the performance of learners with hearing impairment in school is entirely dependent on the way they use and understand speech and language especially in inclusive or integrated schools. The researcher deemed it important to carry out this study in order to determine the strategies used in teaching speech and language to learners with hearing impairment in Otana Integrate, Jos.

1.2       Statement of the Problem

It has been observed that learners with hearing impairment record consistent poor performance in schools due to inadequate acquisition of speech and language. It is suspected that the poor performance might be caused by a lot of factors, one of which could be ineffective communication strategies adopted by special educators for learners with hearing impairment which seem not to take into cognizance the local gestures the learners already had before the introduction of other strategies. Most of these strategies are not based on the learner’s own local gestures. Learners with hearing impairment may find it difficult to interact with their peers using such speech and language.

It is suspected that the adoption of wrong strategy of teaching may lead to ineffective development of speech and language which also may lead to ineffective learning and understanding as a result of the following problems:

1. Lack of early identification and intervention of learners with hearing impairment.
2. Unqualified teachers are employed to teach speech and language in Otana Integrated School, Jos.

• Inability to use correct strategy in teaching speech and language to learners with hearing impairment.

1. The involvement of parents to support speech and language training is limited.

1.3       Purpose of the study

            The main purpose of the study is to analyze the strategies used in teaching speech and language to learners with hearing impairment in Otana Integrated School Jos, Plateau State. Specifically, the objectives of the study are to:

1. examine the strategies used in teaching speech and language to learners with hearing impairment.
2. find out the role that parents play in speech and language acquisition of their children with hearing impairment.

• identify the challenge faced by the teachers and parents in teaching speech and language to learners with hearing impairment.

1. address problems of teaching speech and language to learners with hearing impairment.

1.4       Research Questions

            This study is to answer the following research questions:

1. What are the strategies used in teaching speech and language to learners with hearing impairment in Otana Integrated School Jos?
2. What role do parents of the learners with hearing impairment play in speech and language acquisition?

• What challenges do teachers and parents faced in the process of teaching speech and language to learning with hearing impairment?

1. What are the possible solutions to the problems of teaching speech and language to learners with hearing impairment?

1.5       Significance of the study

Not many people understand the role adequate strategies of teaching can play in the education of learners with hearing impairment. Some teachers of learners with hearing impairment have made some suggestions regarding the use of any strategy in teaching that can facilitate the acquisition of speech and language in schools. It is hoped that this study will be significant to teachers of the learners with hearing impairment, curriculum developers, parents, institutions and authors/researchers as well as children with hearing impairment themselves.           

It is hoped that when teachers of learners with hearing impairment are made to be aware of the findings of the study, through workshops and seminars, it would enable them to arrange the learners with hearing impairment learning programmes and develop instructional methods that would prove effective in helping them to overcome their speech and language difficulties.

The findings from this study would also benefit the policy makers and curriculum developers during the development of curriculum. It is hoped that when the curriculum developers are informed of the findings of the study, they would develop the curriculum in such a way that the basis strategies in teaching are incorporated into speech and language curriculum of learners with hearing impairment.

The result of the findings could be useful to parents of learners with hearing impairment. As the best strategy would have been discovered, it would help the parents of these learners to interact with their children and also contribute to the education of their children. For instance, when these children are still at home, their parents interact and communicate with them a lot in oral method.

The feedback from this study will also be of help to both parents and their children. They will be equipped with a communication system to enable them to interact effectively with one another and as such the children’s performances in speech and language will be enhanced.

Furthermore, this study will be significant to the learners with hearing impairment themselves. It will provide them with the effective communication strategy that would enable them to interact and understand their teachers as well as their parents. The feedback from this study will also help them understand verbal instruction given to them easily. This will help them to maximize their reading potentials especially the hard of hearing.

The results of this study could also serve to sensitize learning institutions that prepare teachers to develop a teacher education programme that would prepare teacher trainees for the job of developing in the learners the ability to use appropriate communication mode in reading and speaking in other to achieve better in schools.

The results of this study would help to sensitize text book writers and researchers to provide study guides for learners in their books. They may provide teachers with relevant and appropriate teaching strategies that could also help the learners with hearing impairment to apply and understand any reading tasks given to them easily.

1.6       Scope and Delimitation of the Study

            The study was restricted to Otana Integrated School, Jos. It is delimitated to learners with hearing impairment in secondary school section. The research will also be delimited to the following sub-topics: Speech, language, hearing-impaired learner, history of education of learners with hearing impairment, teacher training and qualification, global trends on education and strategies used to teach learners with hearing impairment, auditory training for learners with hearing impairment, articulation training, individual speech training, group speech training, stages of language and speech development, effects of hearing impairment on language, parents support in language acquisition for learners with hearing impairment. Anything outside this will not be discussed.

1.8       Operational Definition of Terms

Teaching: Is the process of inculcating the right method of teaching and skills by a special experienced teacher to learners with hearing impairment to be able to acquire speech and language.

Speech: Is the expression of or the ability to express thoughts and feelings by articulate sounds.

Language: It is a method of human communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way to develop learners with hearing impairment.

Impairment: This is the state of loss of any speech organ that facilitate the hearing and speaking of a learner with hearing impairment.

Learners with Hearing impairment: This is a group of learners who are studying in integrated schools. They have the following characteristics that are unique to them: limited vocabulary, delay in language and articulation deficit.

Communication: This refers to the methods in which the learners with hearing impairment and teachers exchanging information during classroom instruction.

Aural Methods: This refers to the auditory training aims at teaching the learner with hearing impairment to read the lips and facial expression.

Manual method: A system of communication that used alphabet (finger spelling) body movement, facial expression and sign language used as a means of communication.

Oral method: The use of spoken language, speech and lip reading by learners with hearing impairment.

American Sign Language (ASL): A non-verbal method of communication purely visual, gestural language which has been developed and is used for communication.