SuggestedTeachingStrategies:D/deafandhardofhearingStudents RoyalNationalInstitutefortheDeaf(RNID)guidelinesforteachingstrategies tousewithdeafstudents Thefollowinginformationisabasicguidelineforeffectivecommunicationwith peoplewithahearingloss.Deafandhardofhearingpeoplevarygreatlyin theirchosencommunicationmethods,andtheskillwithwhichtheydoit.

Howevermaincommunicationinlikelytobevia: Listening Facialexpression Lipreading Gestures Speech Mime BritishSignLanguage Writing Acombinationofthese!

Toeffectivelymeetthecommunicationneedsofadeafstudentinthecontext ofhighereducationalsettings,thefollowingshouldbeconsidered: 1.PersonalDelivery Lipreadingrequiresgreatconcentration.Threequartersofitisguesswork and, forthisreason,clearspeechandcontextualcluesarevitalforunderstanding. Speech:Speakclearlyandatareasonablepace.Trytokeeptherhythmof yourspeechasnaturalaspossible.Ifindoubtaskthedeafstudentifthepace isright. Visibility:Tobeabletolipreadthedeafstudentneedstobeabletoseeyour face.Trytokeepbeardsandmoustachestrimmeddonotcoveryourmouth withpens,cigarettes,coffeecupsorhandswhilespeaking.Trynottonod yourheadtoomuchorspeakwhilewritingontheboardorwalkingaroundthe roomasthiscreatesnearimpossiblelipreadingconditions.Ensurethatthe lightisonyourfaceandneverfrombehindyouasthiswillleaveyourfaceas asilhouette. Face:Trytomaintaineyecontactwhentalkingtoadeafstudentonetoone. Trytouseexpressioninyourfaceaswellasgestureasthishelpstoconvey thesenseofyourwordstoalipreader. Position:Thedeafpersonshouldbeseatedtobestadvantage.Sheorhewill knowwherebesttosit.Thiswillusuallybeaseatnearthefront,slightlyto onesideofthespeaker(theoptimumdistanceforlipreadingisabout6feet).

Distractions:Trytokeeplightreflectingorbrightjewellerytoaminimum,and wearplainclothes.Brightclothes,especiallychecks,stripesordotscanmake concentrationdifficult. GainingAttention:Besuretogainthedeafperson'sattentionbeforeyoustart speaking.Youcanwaveyourhandatthestudent,flashthelightsonandoff or,ifnecessary,asktheperson'sneighbourtotapashoulderorarmtoalert himorher. 2.Presentation Context:Beforestartingadiscussionorchangingthesubjectletthedeaf personalknowthetopicbeingdiscussed.Lipreadingismucheasierwhenthe subjectareaisknown. Structure:Trytofollowalogicalstructureforyoursessionasthismakes lipreadingeasiertofollow.Ifpossible,letthestudenthaveacopyofyour writtennotesbeforethelectureasthiswillhelpwithfollowinganargument. Pace:Trytoallowalittleextratimeforthedeafstudenttoassimilate informationandrespondbeforegoingontothenextstage.Breakthesession upsothatthedeafstudentisnotlipreadingforlongperiodsatatime. Contributions:Questionsandcontributionsfromelsewhereintheroom, especiallyiftheyarefrombehindthestudentwillnotbeheard.Repeatthe questionbeforegoingontoanswerit. 3.UseofVisualAids VitalInformation:Writeoutvitalinformationsuchaschangesofmeetingtime orvenueontheboardoroverheadprojectortomakesurethatthedeaf personisnotleftout. NewVocabulary:Trytoprovidenewvocabularyinadvanceorwriteitonthe boardorOHP.Unknownwordsareimpossibletolipread. ReadingTime:WhenusingOHPs,boardsorflipcharts,allowthestudents timetoreadwhatiswrittenbeforestartingtospeak. BoardsandFlipcharts:Trynottospeakwhenwritingontheboard.Students cannotlipreadthebackofyourhead. OverheadProjectors:Thesecanbeparticularlyhelpful,butrememberthat OHPscanbenoisywhichmaybedifficultforthosewhousehearingaids. Slides:Whenusingslidesinadarkenedroomleaveacurtainopenora spotlightonthespeakerorinterpreterorturnupthelightsagainbefore beginningthecommentary.

VideosandTapes:Trytousesubtitledvideoswherepossibleorobtaina transcriptofthecommentary. 4.Lectures Handouts:Wellpreparedhandoutsprovidedinadvancetoallowreadingtime willincreasetheamountthatadeafstudentgainsfromyourlecture. Position:Trytostayinthesameplaceandnotmovearoundwhileyouare talking. Booklists:Makesurethatyougivethedeafstudentrelevantbooklistswell beforethestartofthecourse.Adeafstudentmayrelymoreheavilyontext booksthanlecturesandsoeasyavailabilityisagreathelp. 5.Seminars Fordeafstudentsgroupdiscussionsareprobablythemostdifficultsituations todealwith.Buttherearewaysofovercomingsomeoftheproblems. Size:Theoptimumsizeofgroupforadeafpersonisbetween6and10.Ifa groupisbiggerthanthisitisunlikelythatpeoplewillbenearenoughto lipreadandfollowingcontributionstodiscussionsbecomesmorecomplicated. Seating:Arrangetheroomsothatthestudentcanseeeveryonebyputting chairsinacircleorhorseshoeshape.Makesurenooneissilhouettedagainst thelight. Chairing:Allowthedeafstudenttotakehisorhershareinchairingthe discussion.Whensomeoneelseischairingmakesurethatthisperson controlsthediscussion,encouragesmumblerstospeakupandprevents unnecessaryinterruptionswhenpeoplearespeaking. Equipment:Ifthestudentisusingaradiomicrophoneorloopsystem rememberthatallcontributorstothediscussionwillneedtospeakintothe microphone.Ensurethatthisisknowntothegroupbeforediscussionstarts. 6.Practicals,LabandStudioWork Avarietyofdifferentsituationscanariseinpracticalsessions. Examplescouldbe: Donotstandbehindthestudentwhenheorsheisworking.Rememberalso thatthestudentcannotwatchtheworkandlipreadyouatthesametime. Whenteachingpointsariseduringthesessionasaresultofsupervisingthe workofotherstudents,remembertoattractthedeafstudent'sattentionbefore speaking.

Makesurethatthedeafstudentcanseeclearlywhatyouaresayingand doingwhengivingademonstration. 7.FieldworkandPlacements Specialprovisionmayhavetobemadeforstudentsonfieldtripsoron placements.Astudentwhocopeswellwithlipreadinginalecturetheatremay bequiteunabletomanagewithoutfurthersupportwhenonawindybeachor moororinanoisyfactory.Beflexibleandtalkthroughthepossibleoptions andsolutionswiththestudentwellinadvancetoavoidproblems. 8.Timetabling Rearrangingthetimetableslightlycanmakeanenormousdifferencetoadeaf student.Examplesaregivenbelow: Lectures:Trynottofillanentiredaywithcontactteaching.Lipreadingistiring andafewhourseverydayisbest. Tutorials:Ifastudentusesaninterpreterorcommunicatorrememberthatthis needstobetakenintoaccountinthetimingoftutorials. 9.ChoiceofRoom Thiscanbevitaltomaximisetheamountwhichadeafstudentcangainfrom asession. Lighting:Choosearoomwithgoodlightingwherelightwillbeconcentratedon thespeaker'sface.Roomswithwindowsdirectlybehindthespeakerarenot goodastheywillleavethespeakerasasilhouette. BackgroundNoise:Chooseaquietroomwithoutbackgroundnoisefrom trafficwhichmaymakeitdifficulttohearhearingaidusersaremore distractedbybackgroundnoisethanhearingpeople.Ifstudentsarebeing dividedintogroupsforasessiontrynottoputmorethanonegroupinaroom asthediscussionofanothergroupcanmakeitdifficulttodecipherwhatis beingsaidnearby. Acoustics:Trytochoosearoomthathasbeenacousticallytreated.Carpet, softfurnishings,ceilingtilestoabsorbsoundallmakeiteasiertohear. AmplificationSystems:Checkthattheroomissuitableforanytechnical equipmentthatmaybeused.Cantheamplificationsystemalreadyinstalled beusedinconjunctionwithaportablelooporwitharadiomicrophone system? Decoration:Trynottochoosearoomwithbrightordistractingwallpaperor pinboardsbehindthespeaker.Thiscanmakeitdifficulttoconcentrateonthe speaker.Ifnecessary,useascreenbehindthespeaker.