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From:
Stefan Woehrmann Date: Sun Jun 25, 2000 9:53 pm Subject: Re: SignWriting can inspire speech.... | |
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----- Original Message ----- From: Nancy Cole To: Sent: Sunday, June 25, 2000 9:42 PM Subject: Re: SignWriting can inspire speech.... > I think many teachers focus too much on speech. That can be a problem. > Myself am Deaf, and when I use my voice people look at me like I'm an idiot, > but when I write, I write well and I'm on the same level. My father emphazed > alot on speech, and though my parents understand me very well, it's the > outside world that has difficulty. It's an embarrassment to many Deaf not to > speak well. I think the purpose in surviving in the hearing world is that we > understand and communicate well with each other and writing is a very > valuable tool. Speech can be, but for Deaf who have never heard words, it's > kinda silly. > > That's just my 2 cents folks haha I never get a chance to write > anything...call me chicken:) > > Nancy Cole > Las Cruces, NM > Hello Nancy , thanks for your comment. I studied it now for several minutes. I feel uncomfortable. Why - ?? May be because you are absolutely right! > I think many teachers focus too much on speech. That can be a problem. But what is to be done. I think it is very very important to support deaf children in their first phase of learning to speak as much as possible. Later when they are already 14 or 16 years old they feel not motivated to practice articulation although they may experience that hearing people have difficulties to understand them. On the other hand - it is sooooooooo important to comunicate fluently using the comunication - system that allows them to develop knowledge, that allows them to express their needs and hopes ... to allow them to develop narative skills, to become able to answer questions and whatīs so much more important to become skilled to ask questions. So looking for all kinds of tools and techniques that help us to develop articulation on a high level you shouldnīt forget that the child first needs to know what it would like to comunicate and then the child needs the possibility to be able to express his ideas as well as possible in speech . All I can report is that my littel students first grade develop great. Iīm convinced that we wouldnīt have achieved that much if we wouldnīt use SW. The pupils of my 7 th grade use DGS - sentences written in SW as the background to develop skills in German: They have to translate the sentences - they realize that they donīt know the meaning of so many signs. They realize that they have got problems to figure out how to express the same idea in (spoken/written) German. Right now there are so many parents who ask for a CI for their deaf children. Itīs a long way and it takes so much time to accept the deaf child as what it is - . So to focus sooo much on speech is a problem. There is much more about a child and itīs so important that the comunication - skills (doesnīt matter what kind of sign/ speech) can mature. But --- I think that you can try to combine it. Speech - training every day for a special amount of time and the acceptance of the obviously so well developing signing skills - as long as you offer opportunities. SW is a big help in this whole process. > Myself am Deaf, and when I use my voice people look at me like I'm an idiot, > but when I write, I write well and I'm on the same level. So many teachers - I know about - would argue that you were lucky to be forced/motivated to focus so much on speech during your childhood and youth - because of your impressive writing skills. There are not too many deaf people who feel like that - "on the same level ". Well - as a hearing teacher who tries to support his deaf students as much as you can think of - Iīm in a constant conflict that canīt be solved easily. Just want to let you know that I experience a pride in the faces of my little students when they realize that they are able to speak the German words which stand for the written SW- movement - descriptions ;-) Stefan :-) You wrote: "Speech can be, but for Deaf who have never heard words, it's kinda silly." Really ? |
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