Teaching hearing-impaired children requires face time, visual aids, and minimal vibrations. Written instruction should be concise and clear, and teachers should use vivid illustrations. Interpreters can enhance instruction, and teachers should avoid complicated sentences.
The best way to teach hearing-impaired children is to use extreme amounts of face time, visual aids, and small devices that cause vibrations, if any. Hearing-impaired youth, who prefer to be called deaf or deaf, learn best when written instruction is concise, clear, and direct. In cases where teachers are not proficient in sign language, the use of an interpreter can also enhance instruction.
While teachers of deaf students may turn away during instruction and move around the classroom, these aren’t the best strategies for hearing-impaired children, according to researchers. One of the main tools for teaching hearing-impaired children is the teacher’s face. It can convey tone, subtext and statement of skill.
For this reason, continuous discussion during a lecture presentation is generally considered the best approach. Audiologists and educators suggest that teachers stay not only forward-facing, but very close to the eyes of hearing-impaired students. This makes it easier for the child to read lips as well as read facial expressions and full body gestures.
Visual aids are the backbone of deaf education. Such aids may include videos, presentations, postcards and photographs. Computer lessons and even wordless plays or skits can enliven a lesson plan and masterfully convey information to hearing-impaired children. The best teachers of hearing-impaired children often use vivid illustrations before moving on to written assignments.
Although hearing-impaired children cannot hear, they are sensitive to the vibrations of loud noises. Such vibrations can be a distraction and should be kept to a minimum, according to experts. Therefore, any media that includes audio should generally be muted.
Effective communication can ensure that a well-prepared lesson plan turns into an effective learning experience for hearing-impaired children. Because lectures, a staple in traditional classrooms, cannot be used effectively in a deaf education, deaf teachers often rely on written communication and signed communication. Experts recommend short sentences with simple subjects and verbs, avoiding complicated clauses or long sentences for both homework and class assignments. Complicated sentences may require further explaining, taxing the student with an excessive need to write or sign questions and decipher new directions from the teacher. Complex sentences, however, have yet to be taught, authorities say; some experts, in fact, suggest a special didactic emphasis on complex sentence structure for hearing-impaired children.
While many teachers of hearing-impaired children have moderate skills in sign language, those who do not typically teach alongside professional interpreters. This is considered one of the best communication strategies as it allows the teacher to use oral language while the interpreters translate. This practice allows for a more spontaneous exchange between instructors and hearing-impaired children.
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