Strategies for working with D/deaf and Hearing Impaired learners

•      Don’t turn all lights out to watch a DVD

•      Don’t speak whilst writing on the board

•      Don’t waffle!

•      Don’t walk up and down the classroom while talking/teaching at the same time

•      Don’t cover your mouth (with a beard or your hand)

•      D O N’ T S P E A K L O U D L Y A N D S L O W L Y

•      Don’t talk to the signer, talk to the learner

•      Adapt material to accommodate for the learner:

•      Listening tasks can become reading tasks

•      Be aware of structural differences between Sign Language and English.

•      Allow time for responses; translating three times adds about 7 seconds to response time

•      Write down new terminology

•      If something isn’t understood, try rephrasing. Other words may be easier to lip read