GENERAL PRINCIPLES AND SUGGESTED TEACHING STRATEGIES
GENERAL PRINCIPLES AND SUGGESTED TEACHING STRATEGIES
The process ofcognitive development of hearing impaired children is similar to that of ordinary children, only their development tends to be delayed by various factors, particularly that of language deficit. Therefore, hearing impaired children should be offered learning experiences similar to those of ordinary children. The curriculum for them should basically follow the mainstream curriculum but with appropriate adaptations to the curriculum materials and teaching approaches to meet their specific learning needs. As language deficit is the root cause of their learning difficulties, special emphasis should be placed on the development of language and communication skills in these children with the help of appropriate teaching resources and equipment.
Considering the total development of the children and time constraint, attention needs to be given to maintaining a good balance in the curriculum in terms of breadth and depth when making adaptations or when designing learning materials for the children. Neither of these elements in the curriculum should be emphasized to the exclusion of the other.
Change in levels, particularly from the primary to the secondary, change of schools and change of teachers may possibly leave gaps in the children's knowledge, which are often an obstacle to progress in learning. To ensure continuity, the teacher needs to identify these possible gaps in individual children through assessment and take remedial action to bridge these gaps without, however, neglecting the general progress of the whole class.
Learning is often easier and more effective when built upon previous knowledge. It is therefore important that the teacher should identify the previous knowledge of individual children in specific subjects and establish their baselines. Plans as to what learning materials and teaching approaches to use can then be formulated. This will not only bridge possible gaps in the children's knowledge but also avoid unnecessary overlapping of learning materials.
3.2.4 Individual Differences
Though basically schools and classes for hearing impaired children are encouraged to follow the mainstream curriculum with adaptations, consideration needs to be given to individual differences in the children in terms of ability and interest so that individual learning materials can be designed.
3.2.5 Communication Competence
3.2.6As the ability to communicate is a prerequisite skill both in studies and in everyday life, every effort needs to be made to develop communication competence in the children.
Residual Hearing3.2.7 Language Across the CurriculumThere is a general misunderstanding that hearing impaired children cannot perceive sounds whereas in fact most of these children have residual hearing. With sufficient training given to the children and with the help of effective amplification equipment, their use of residual hearing will help to improve their abilities to perceive sounds in the environment, which in turn will be helpful to language development. Therefore, the teacher needs to encourage the children to maximize their use of residual hearing for language development.
The learning of language should not be confined to language lessons only. Instead, it should be extended across the curriculum. Spontaneous language situations can be built casually into the lessons of other subjects to motivate the children to practise using the language for communication purposes. However, this should not be overdone, or these lessons will be turned into language lessons.
The following are some general teaching strategies suggested for teachers' reference. Some of these general teaching strategies may be familiar to the teacher. But as they are of particular importance to the education of hearing impaired children, it is considered that they should be emphasized in the Guide. However, it should be noted that these general teaching strategies are applicable to general situations in the classroom only. For the more specific teaching strategies relating to specific subjects, the teacher has to refer to Chapter IV of the Guide.
- Learning materials and teaching approaches have to be constantly reviewed and modified, where required, according to the children's learning needs.
- As language is best learnt in meaningful situations, a motivating language environment should be provided to develop the children's communication competence.
- Low achievers should be given more help to stimulate their interest in learning.
- Rephrasing of sentences can be considered when the children have difficulties in understanding them.
- The teacher should discourage the children from using
by constantly setting examples of natural speech used in everyday life. telegraphic speech- Hearing impaired children may not be familiar with questioning techniques and may therefore hesitate to ask questions. It will help if a motivating environment is provided in which to encourage the children to form the habit of asking questions when they have difficulties.
- Hearing impaired children, especially pre-schoolers, should be given opportunities to play and share with others and to take turns. Apart from the development of social behaviour, this is a good basis for verbal interaction.
- Auditory learning should be provided for the children to maximize their use of residual hearing. However, it should be noted that this cannot be done without a good management of hearing aids.
- A smooth interactive conversational flow should be encouraged to develop the children's communication competence.
- When speaking to hearing impaired children, constant eye contact should be maintained but exaggeration of
should be avoided. lip movements- The teacher should speak clearly, naturally, and at a normal pace. He should not pause between words unnecessarily, otherwise this would break down coherence in his message.
- Immediate positive feedback should be given to reinforce achievement or to correct an error.
Assessment is of particular importance in teaching hearing impaired children. It is a measurement of the children's progress. It provides feedback to both the teacher and the children not only on how far the knowledge or skill taught has been mastered but also on how effective a teaching programme is. The teacher can thereby review the learning materials and teaching approaches and make modifications accordingly. It is recommended that this should be carried out regularly.
Assessment can be formal (e.g. various kinds of exercises, tests and examinations) or informal (e.g. quiz, oral presentations, discussions and observation). It should be noted that in the assessment, a child is not measured against other children in the class but against himself.
Teaching resources are essential in teaching hearing impaired children. The following are some of those commonly used in schools and classes for hearing impaired children:
3.5.1Computer Assisted Learning (CAL)
(1) As a tutorA lot of software developed for the mainstream curriculum can be used with hearing impaired children without any need for modifications. Software packages are available on short-term loan from the(2) As a toolThe computer presents some subject materials; the children respond to the materials; the computer evaluates the responses and, from the result of the evaluation, determines what to present next. With appropriate, well-designed software, the computer tutor can easily and quickly tailor its presentation to accommodate a wide range of individual differences in the children.
The computer can be used as a tool for word processing, calculation, statistical analysis, etc. The children can then use it to help them study other subjects.
(3) As a tutee
To use the computer as a tutee is to teach the computer to perform some tasks through activities such as LOGO programming. For that, the children have to understand what they are going to teach and how to teach. The focus of the lesson will then be shifted from the end product to the process, from acquiring facts to understanding and manipulating them.
(1) Software designed for English-speaking users usually displays the menu or instruction in English. This may be difficult for hearing impaired children. A note written in Chinese accompanying the software may be helpful.(2) At times the children may have to use software made in other countries, which can sometimes be cultural-biased. Before using the software, the teacher may need to prepare the children and provide them with some background knowledge of the related culture.
(3) Hearing impaired children may feel frustrated when they cannot hear the sound signals given by the computer to indicate an error or a reward. Training them to listen for these sound signals would be helpful. Alternatively, some software which can change a sound signal into a flash on the screen can be used.
(4) User-friendly software is more suitable for computer assisted learning. The software should be smart enough to handle unexpected input from casual users and display understandable feedback.
3.5.2 Educational Television (ETV)
ETV programmes serve to enhance the motivation of the children and provide them with reinforcement. Hearing impaired children will benefit more from ETV programmes provided pre-viewing work is done. It will be helpful if the teacher can watch the programme first and prepare the children for what to expect, giving them pre-viewing activities before, and follow-up exercises after, they have watched the programme. While watching the programme, the teacher should leave enough time to show the children other supplementary visual materials or aids, particularly those relevant to voice-overs.
In teaching hearing impaired children, every effort has to be made to encourage their use of residual hearing to acquire language skills. Suitable equipment with the bestamplification effect on speech reception should be used according to the needs of the environment. Such equipment can be grouped into two categories as follows:
(1)
Individual Hearing Aids(2)Individual hearing aids, when well fitted by the audiologist, offer optimum amplification. These aids can be coupled to the Loop Induction System or Frequency Modulation System (FM System). To achieve the best amplification effect, good and comfortable tailor-made earmoulds are necessary.
Group Hearing AidsFor better amplification effect in group teaching, Group Hearing System, Loop Induction System and FM System can be used. Since the FM System and the Loop Induction System are wireless, they allow much more freedom of movement in classroom teaching and in activities.
(2)The speech trainer is used for teaching speech as it provides better amplification.
(3)The S-Indicator is designed for teaching voiceless /s/ sound and other voiceless fricatives.
(4)The N-Indicator helps hearing impaired children with the elimination or production of nasal sounds. It can also be used for phonation, e.g. for practising voiced and voiceless plosives, so that the children can feel their differences.
(5)The Fo-Indicator helps to teach the children pitch, intonation and phonation.
(6)The Vocal II and the Visi-Pitch provide visual representations of voice characteristics (glottal onset, voice quality, pitch levels, intensity levels, syllabic stress, etc.). Pitch and intensity traces can be shown independently and simultaneously. Such representations enable the children to compare their performances with that of the teacher's.
(7)Converted toys, e.g. a jumping toy dog, a toy elephant playing a musical instrument, etc., which operate with the input of sounds, can be used to encourage vocalization and improve breath control.
Specially designed hardware and software can be used to facilitate speech therapy. For example, animated graphics provide meaningful and motivating feedback on various dimensions of speech.