Teachers (N=39), administrators (N=9), and a speech therapist working with deaf students rated 240 competencies for teaching English as a symbol system. The top 38 competencies involved practical teaching skills and techniques. Competencies related to the oral-aural method, theory, and background information about deafness were not given high…

A school district established a Total Communication Project to improve consistency in teachers' role modeling of English with deaf students, which was the primary language of the classroom, and American Sign Language (ASL), which was used as an intervention tool. This paper describes the program, its theoretical framework, and procedures for…

The comprehension of 30 severely and profoundly deaf students (ages 10 to 17) was evaluated under 11 communication conditions involving individual and combined presentations of lipreading, listening, fingerspelling, and signed English. Severely deaf students scored higher than profoundly deaf students under all but one condition, and all students…

Social-emotional behaviors of 76 adolescents with moderate to profound hearing impairment enrolled in residential and public schools were assessed by their classroom teachers. No significant differences were found between students in total communication and oral programs, nor between students in residential and public schools. Contradictions with…

This article discusses the incidence of infant hearing impairments, auditory screening tests, and available intervention choices for infants with severe to profound congenital hearing loss, including methods for communication and cochlear implantation. American Sign language, manually coded English, fingerspelling, total communication, and…

This narrative of a graduate student with deafness describes her experiences in various educational environments including oral communication, total communication, and mainstreamed. The article emphasizes the role of parents as the child's best advocates and advises parents to trust their own instincts and not accept the authority of professionals…

Discusses three studies: (1) the effectiveness of semantic analyses of written narratives of students with hearing losses in determining language ability; (2) written-language characteristics of writers matched by reading abilities alone and matched by reading ability and age; and (3) written-language characteristics of writers with hearing…

A study involving 20 children (ages 4-9) using cochlear implants compared the articulation of those who used oral communication only (n=10) and those who used total communication (TC). Results from the Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation indicate those using only oral communication committed significantly fewer errors than TC users. (Contains…

Production of 19 word-initial two-segment consonant clusters was examined in 12 children (ages 6-16) with cochlear implants, including 6 using oral communication and 6 using total communication. Results showed that 48% of the clusters were correctly produced (75% correct for oral communication users and 21% correct for total communication users).…

An inclusive kindergarten class of students with and without hearing impairments is described. The "Education Together" program used total communication, a combination of whole language and basal instruction, behavior management techniques, and extensive teacher collaboration. Issues such as communication problems, discipline,…

A study examined the speech intelligibility of children (ages 1-15) with deafness who use hearing aids. Data revealed a strong significant trend toward higher intelligibility for children with more residual hearing, and a significant trend toward higher intelligibility for users of oral communication than those using total communication. (Contains…

This paper presents a cultural model of deafness, describing the experiences of a deaf child as enculturation into a deaf world. The implications of this view on social, cognitive, and linguistic development are explored through description of BoMee, an adopted Korean deaf child being raised in a multilingual, multicultural environment.…

This paper provides a legal update on the role of the judiciary in determining an appropriate communication method for teaching hearing-impaired students. The paper concludes that the judiciary has consistently upheld the right of educational agencies to determine educational methodologies while attempting to protect hearing-impaired individuals'…

This paper presents historical information about language teaching methods and focuses on "formal" and "functional" strategies of teaching and learning. Particular attention is directed toward the immersion type of education. A table that lists developments in language teaching theory from 1840-1977 is presented. A table that summarizes…

This article discusses principles for intervention with young children who have hearing impairments. It covers the nature of hearing loss; diagnosis and types of hearing impairments; sensory aids; and benefits and limitations of different approaches including the auditory-verbal, auditory-oral, cued speech, total communication, American Sign…