In order to simplify the process of surveying people about their understanding of the

definition of specific words, I created a paper with basic instructions and the information I wished to
collect. This not only allowed me to remember all the questions, but also made it easier to remain
neutral on the words in question. Each person was asked to give what they believed the definition
was, and then to use it in a sentence so that I had a clear understanding of how they thought the word
should be used. Surprisingly the best respondents I had were between the ages of 20-30. Those I
asked who were older than this were unwilling to completely fill out their background information. I
did not come in contact with anyone younger than 20 that I would have been able to give the survey
to.
Although my age range is not as diverse as I would have liked, I did want to make certain I
had a variety of occupational and educational backgrounds. This I believe I was able to accomplish
as I was able to include someone who just graduated high school, someone who taught middle
school, and someone who had a Bachelors in Psychology. I was curious how the difference in
education would affect the outcome of the responses. The following chart shows the statistic of my
participants educational background (chart #1).

Bachelors
.
Number of Participants
Some College

.2

High School

0.5

1.5

Chart #1

2.5

Of these participants there were:

Males

Females

Ethnic Background:
Caucasian

African-American

Ages:
20-22: 1
23-25: 0
26-29: 3
30:

Occupations:
Middle School Teacher
Mental Health Assistant
Computer Tech
Custodian and Front Desk
None

Although my ethnic background was not varied, I feel that the education and occupation is
extremely varied and allowed me to better see how people in general view the vocabulary presented.
Mainstreaming
Of the responses to this definition the answers greatly depended on the persons education.
Those with little or some college either answered that they didnt know or that it was widespread

use/general normality. The answers that were closest to the definition the Deaf community uses were
from those with higher degrees. The definitions they gave were integrated and attends school with
general ed. students.
Oral
For this word every participant understood that Oral had something to do with the mouth.
Whether it was in a general sense or specifically referring to vocalizing varied and there was no
particular connection between education and the response. Some of the example sentences used made
reference to oral language, while others used the example of taking medicine orally.
Gallaudet
Not surprisingly none of my participants knew what this was, which upset several of them and
they demanded to know what the word meant. The only one who was vaguely close was the teacher
believed it was a French word. Of the responses to this word that I was given my favorite was from the
20 year old. This person wrote One who audits with gaul for the definition, and the sentence used was
Im gallaudet because of your pie. This person admitted to having no idea what to put so they decided
to get creative.
Hearing
Every single participant responded to this word by using the verb form of the word rather than
the label it is used as in the Deaf community. The only one who came close to the Deaf communitys
usage was the teacher, whos sentence was most of her friends were hearing. This I feel showed that
she was aware of the idea of using it this way even if it was not conscience of the differences in use.
ASL
I believe it goes to show how much more wide spread American Sign Language has become
over the last 30 years because 4 of my 5 participants knew immediately what ASL stood for. Of the one
who didnt, it was again my 20 year old, who just threw out a random definition of Age, Sex, Living.
Deaf

The responses for this word were unsurprising. Every participant described it as the inability or
lack of hearing. Each person saw this word in a negative light and as meaning to be lacking in
something. The only response that was partially neutral, or possibly just politically correct was the
mental health worker who put down non-hearing. It is clear from these answers that people see being
deaf as lacking in some way and as having lost something. Rather than seeing Deaf as having a rich
history, culture, and language.
Institution
The responses for this one surprised me because rather than receiving answers referring to
mental institution or something similar, my responses focuses on the fact that institution were a type of
organization. Many of the examples I was given referred to school institutions with one example of a
hospital.
Cochlear Implant
For the answers given to this word, most understood it was some kind of medical device
implanted into the body, however only the people with their Bachelors knew what it was. Both
commented that it was to improve the hearing for those who were hearing impaired. So although they
understood what it was, they still had a pathological viewpoint in that deafness was in need of being
fixed and that the implant did so.
From the results I received it was interesting the responses I received and how some of them
were negative without intending to be, while others have clearly improved in how the public views the
word. Institution has greatly changed from people automatically thinking of some sort of insane asylum,
to meaning a type of organization. The answers to the word Deaf clearly show that although people are
more aware of Deaf people, they still have a negative view and see them as lacking without realizing
they are doing it. I believe from these findings that as a hearing culture we have improved in out
acceptance of differences, but we still have a long way to go to change some of the negative
perspectives.