Subbing year, round two - ding! There's a possibility I will be spending a lot of time in a classroom with a child that is hearing impaired. This will be sporadically throughout the year. I would love any advice concerning teaching a child with an interpreter. Routines, etiquette, anything! Thank You!!
Will the student have an interpreter or a hearing device? I taught a group of 5th graders with hearing devices. I was given a voice amplifier to wear that transmitted to their amplifiers. I have a really loud voice that sometimes hurt their ears. So, I had to be careful to monitor my volume.
If the student has an interpreter, make sure that you look at the student when you speak, not the interpreter. If you need the students attention, you can lightly tap their paper or them on the shoulder. Also, make sure that you write directions on the board for the student as well.
Talk to the student. I also asked the student and interpreter to teach me a few phrases like "Do you understand?" "Please" and "Thank you" so I could have more direct communication. Involve him with classmates. Another biggie - remember that written english and ASL are two totally different languages with completely different grammatical structures. If you are teaching him in English, or if he has to read or write at all for your class, he should be taught like an ESL student and might remedial work in grammar and sentence structuring
When you speak, make sure you are facing the child and don't cover your mouth. I have had students with mild, moderate, severe, and profound deafness. In each case, the children understood me better when they could SEE me speak. I have a mild hearing loss, and I do not read lips . . . but I still have a hard time understanding people when I can't see their mouth when they speak.
Thanks for all the information! I'll know more in a week or two, when I visit the classroom. He has an interpretor, but I'm not sure if he has any hearing devices. It's an early childhood classroom, so there won't be as much grammar and written instruction. This is a great start!
Kind of off the subject. Last year, mid year, we added a new member to the faculty- our ASL instructor. I'm not free the same times he is, so other than an occasional "Hi, how are you?" I really haven't had much contact with him at all. But his interpreter was with us for yesterday's meetings and mass, and I was watching her for a while. The flow of ASL is just so very pretty to watch. It was like a ballet.
A few years back, I taught in a room with a child who was hearing impaired. He had a hearing device and I wore an amplifier so he could hear me. He also had a paraprofessional that went with him and transcribed discussions that would show up on a screen for him so that he could "hear" the whole discussion, not just what I was saying. Try to speak clearly, don't cover your mouth, don't talk with your back to the room (I'm sometimes guilty of that if I'm getting something off of my desk, for example) and when you speak to the student, speak to the student, not the interpreter.
Great advice from above. Also, you want to make sure you have kids raise hands/use a talking stick so the child can identify who is speaking - try not to speak at the same time as others.
I had a total of 3 interpreters in my room over the course of last year, and the experiences weren't all positive. However, I learned a lot from them, and the experience. I teach high school, but I'm sure these could be applicable across grade levels. First, people with hearing loss become very visually oriented; students benefit from seeing what you're talking about. I used a lot of PowerPoints and visuals, even if it was just projecting a picture of who I was talking about or directions for assignments. Second, try to find a way and time to interact with the hearing impaired student without the interpreter. I learned from experience that the interpreters tended to interpret what I was saying incorrectly, or would jump in and sign what they assumed I was going to say. When I went out of my way to interact with the 2 hearing impaired students without the presence of the interpreters, I formed a much better rapport with them. Last, positioning is very important. It is very distracting and irritating if people walk between the interpreter and interpretee, but at the same time, it can really block off an area--including for you--if you can't walk thorugh, too. I had to finally instruct my interpreters on where to sit so they weren't blocking me in or students from me.
