Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Kontra, Edit H.
• Moritz, Nuzha
• Domagała-Zyśk, Ewa
• Podlewska, Anna

Titel

Deaf schoolchildren, adolescents, and adults on methods and strategies that work for them when learning foreign languages

Ist Teil von

• English as a Foreign Language for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Learners, 2021, p.93-109

Auflage

1

Ort / Verlag

Routledge

Erscheinungsjahr

2021

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Alma/SFX Local Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Learning a foreign language is a struggle for many Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students but it does not have to be. The process can be made easier if teachers use appropriate teaching methods and materials, however, what is appropriate is a matter of debate. The present study takes a look at this issue from the perspective of the learners themselves and lets the voices of those who already have some experience in learning English be heard directly. A research team at the Department of English Applied Linguistics of Eötvös Loránd University has been investigating the foreign language learning situation of DHH schoolchildren, adolescents, and adults since 2006 and has collected both survey and interview data from each target group. Their accounts have provided a large amount of data that can help the work of current and future language teachers. As expected, the research participants argued for the implementation of barrier-free education, the use of their national sign language across the curriculum including foreign language teaching. They were also able to name and describe specific teaching and learning activities they found conducive to understanding, memorizing and using the foreign language material of which a selection is made available in this study. Learning a foreign language is a struggle for many Deaf and hard of hearin students but it does not have to be. The process can be made easier if teachers use appropriate teaching methods and materials, however, what is appropriate is a matter of debate. This chapter takes a look at this issue from the perspective of the learners themselves and lets the voices of those who already have some experience in learning English be heard directly. Foreign language teachers of special needs learners have to work hard to find appropriate methods, techniques, and strategies to help their students achieve success in acquiring a second or third language. Most journal articles and book chapters that give practical advice to teachers also build on the personal teaching experience of the researcher. Advocating the use of sign language in Deaf education might seem a thing of the past for many, but in countries with strong oralist traditions these efforts are still on-going.