Ewa Domagała-ZyśkCentre for Education of the Deaf

and Hard of Hearing John Paul II Catholic Univeristy of Lublin

Taught in integrative kindergartens and schools

OR 46 special schools for the deaf in Poland

◦ Language of instruction: Polish System Sign-Language or Polish Sign Language,

◦ Oral instruction is common◦ Many multi-disabled children learn there:

alternative communication methods, restricted education possibilities

Context: Foreign language classes, esp. English are obligatory for all pupils in Poland since 1st grade, majority of pupils additionally take private tutorials

Till 2001 D/deaf pupils were waived from foreign language classes – they learn only Polish and Polish Sign Lanuguage

Since 2001 all D/deaf pupils have to learn one foreign language apart from Polish and Polish Sign Language

Till 2001 D/deaf grammar school students did not take their final exam in languages – no possibility to enter a university

After the 2001 bill D/deaf grammar school graduates started to enter universities

Note-taking Translations Transliteration Tutorials Polish classes English for the Deaf classes Financing: National Disability Fund, Ministry

for High Education grants

Special courses for the deaf are now offered also in Siedlce (AP), Cracow (UJ), Poznan (UAM), Warsaw (UW)

At other hight schools D/deaf students participate in classes together with their hearing colleagues

Rarely foreign language classes are changed into Polish Sign Language classes or Polish – Łódź (UŁ)

• Established in 2004 Staff: KUL teachers and students, volunteers Forms of support:

Note-taking Translations (Polish Sign Languege) Transliteration (Polish Cued Speech) Tutoring Polish for the Deaf and HOH English for the Deaf and HOH

First deaf students started at KUL in 1999 Since then more than 30 students

graduated from BA or MA in Pedagogy, Economics, History, History of Art, Computer Sciences

2010/2011 – 12 D or HOH students are studying Pedagogy, Philosophy, Economics, Law, Culture Studies, Landscape Architecture, Computer Sciences

Program started in 1999

Lasts 120 hours for each student, but might be extended till 300 hours (about 70% students use the second option)

o Levels: A1, A2, B1. B2, C1

Ministry of High Education grant 2009-2010 „English as a language of communication of the deaf university students”

Ph D thesis (in progress) „Cued Speech as a tool to enhance English pronunciation of Deaf subjects”

Ph D (in progress) „Perception of spoken English by Deaf individuals”

About 30 papers and chapters (in Polish)

Italy, Univeristy of Sannio – special programme for the deaf univiersity students of Information Technology

2001-2009 ISL as a language of insruction, special handbook Talking Hands Ca. 120 students

Italy, Univeristy of Torino 2001-2009 ISL as a language of insruction, Several students have participated so far

Regular EFL classes for the D/deaf since 1998

Notetaking, translation and tutoring are available

Students also study abroad during summer camps

Some studied at Gallaudet Univeristy

EFL classes since 2004 About 100 deaf students per year Translations Extensive use of CIT: speech-to-text

reporters, Smart Boards, Internet, electronic dictionaries etc.

Since 2008 a special project was launched to teach English to the Deaf

Small group of a few people as in Hungary only a few Deaf persons study at the univeristy

Sign language as a language of instruction

Russia – about 250 D/deaf students from Bauman Moscow State Technical Univeristy have learnt English

The projesct started in 1994 with establishing a centre for D/deaf education

Turyn 2010 – 10th Conference of Eruropean Society for the Study of English (ESSE) - seminar 61: Teaching English to deaf Adults

Istambul 2012 – we are invited to continue the work – conveyors of the session: Elana Ochse (Italy) & Ewa Domagala-Zyśk (Poland)

Teaching EFL to the D/deaf

students at KUL

Small groups of 2-3 persons Individualised program – English for

Lawyers, Business English, Engineering English

Method of communication: mainly oral, sign supported, Cued Speech , Polish Sign Language

Qualified English teachers = interpreters

Techniques:◦ Text analysis◦ Vocabulary exercises◦ Using L1 in teaching grammar◦ Strudctured writing◦ Visual stimuli – pictures, schemata, tables,◦ Internet programmes: SignOn, SignOnOne, Real

English, www.oup,com itp.

Standard textbooks We teach writing, reading, English lip-

reading and speaking (if wanted) Communication and Information

Technology: iPacks, interactive exercises, Smart Board

TEACHING: - SPECIFIC TECHNIQUES - DIFFICULTIES- RESULTS

Focus-on-Form Instruction: Perception of new materialUnderstandingAssimilation IntegrationPresentation

Clauses with irregular pattern: questions, infinitive clauses, gerund clauses

Relative clausesSubordinated clauses

(Berent 2007)

The subject-verb -obcject (SVO) pattern is most comonly used

Prepositions (18,5% ),Articles (14,3%)Verb Tenses (14,4%)Adjective clauses (7,4%)Plurals (6,8%). Future and past forms (5,8% i 5,3%)Infinitive clauses (5,3%)

(Domagała- Zyśk 2009)

To know better the psycho-social functioning of the Deaf individuals – visual memory use, learning style, type of motivation, learning difficulties

To make the research more cooperative internationally: there is no need to reinvent the wheel