MARICRIS L.

LLANO
Master of Arts in Education major in Special Education
SPED 603

Module 2, Activity 3:

Activity 1: Elaborate what the following:

A. AUDITORY TRAINING SKILLS

What is Auditory Training Skills?

Auditory training activities are a series of techniques that aim to improve overall speech
comprehension. Focused listening activities are designed to both optimize and enhance overall
speech perception. While it cannot fully restore your hearing, it can aid the brain’s cognitive
processes in registering and translating sound. Even hearing aid wearers have been known to
notice an improvement in their ability to hear with auditory training, including in difficult
listening environments.

Principles of auditory training

Many auditory training programs share a number of common training principles, such as
allowing for multiple repetitions of the sounds used for training, providing listeners with
immediate feedback on their performance following each listening trial, and progressively
increasing the difficulty level of the listening tasks. The next sections of this chapter outline
some of the auditory training parameters that are viewed as essential for promoting auditory
learning.

Benefits of Auditory Training

The benefits of an auditory workout arise not from somehow restoring cells in the ear, but from
the effects on the brain. While the ear is used to listen, the brain is what processes the sound into
something meaningful. Let’s examine some of the benefits of auditory training:

 Improved speech recognition

 Enhance communication abilities
 Increase the effectiveness of hearing aids
 Boost quality of life

These benefits are less about restoring your natural ability to hear and more about your brain
adapting to a new reality. Even hearing aid wearers have experienced incredible changes in their
ability to process the sounds heard throughout daily life.
 How Does Auditory Training Work?

Auditory training activities for hearing impaired individuals come in many forms. More
formalized treatment will involve one-to-one sessions, but the digital world allows for an
auditory workout to be performed at home without the presence of a professional. This training
focuses on three key areas of the human auditory system:

 Auditory Working Memory – This area of the auditory system focuses on successfully
registering words in short-term memory. The working memory enables an understanding of
the meaning of words and their linguistic contexts.
 Auditory Processing Speed – Functioning in a real-world conversation requires you to
process speech quickly. A lack of processing speed is why the hearing impaired often need
to ask the speaker to repeat their words or to slow down.
 Auditory Attention – The world has never been louder than it is today, and listeners must be
able to extract meaningful, relevant speech from an array of background noises.

Despite all this, do aural rehab activities result in a better hearing experience for someone who
is hearing impaired? The answer is yes, as long as the program is effective and challenging.
Studies have shown that more intensive programs yield better results. In other words, longer and
more frequent sessions are more likely to lead to superior long-term outcomes.

B. SPEECH AND SPEECH READING SKILLS

What is speech reading

Speech reading is often used synonymously with the term lip reading. Speech reading is using
what you see on the speaker’s lips as well as facial expressions and gestures to understand
conversation. One reason phone conversations can be particularly difficult for a hard of hearing
person is the lack of a face to “read.” On the other hand, everyone, even those with normal
hearing, uses visual cues. Next time you are in a very noisy room, notice how closely everyone
watches as well as listens to understand.

Strategies for working with students who lip-read

Lip-reading is not easy and requires great concentration. Three quarters of it is guesswork and
so clear speech and contextual clues are vital for understanding. Here are some of the things you
can do to make it easier for a lip reader to follow what you are saying.

 Position: The deaf student will know where it is best to sit — this will often be near the
front, slightly to one side of you. Try to avoid moving around (this may demand a change in
your normal teaching style!)
 Visibility: Face the light so you are not silhouetted in front of a bright window, for instance.
Make sure you don't cover your mouth (e.g., with your hands, a cup or pen). Agree suitable
cues with the student beforehand to ensure they are looking at you before you start to speak.
 Speech: Speak clearly and at a reasonable and natural pace. Do not shout as this will distort
your voice and lip patterns.
 Reinforcing meaning: Give the student time to absorb what you have said and rephrase it if
necessary. Remember sentences and phrases are easier to lip-read than single words. Use
gestures where these are relevant but avoid exaggerated facial expressions. If you change the
subject, make sure the deaf student knows. Write things down if you need to clarify them.

Methods to teach speech reading:

The first inclination in education is to improve speech reading in order to improve outcomes.
Therefore teaching methods are mentioned below:

 The Analytic approach focuses on the smallest units of speech to understand spoken
communication. It is a bottom-up approach that concentrates on the details of the sounds –
learning to recognize how they look on the lips and practicing their recognition in isolation
and in single words. As mentioned above, it is very difficult to build the message from the
sum of its parts and the use of this approach exclusively can be a frustrating and
cumbersome experience for persons with hearing loss, with lower chances for success in
everyday situations.

 The Synthetic approach is a top-down approach, where the perception of the overall
meaning of the message is emphasized more than concentrating on smaller parts. Common
exercises focus on giving the speech reader some clues such as key words or a topic that will
be discussed, presenting the message and having the speech reader respond to what he
thought was said. The goal is to use context and any known information to allow for
educated guessing, when parts of spoken information are missed. Limitations include
situations when a speech reader is unable to determine the context of the message or
unknowingly misinterprets the information, leading to misunderstanding.

Methods to improve speech understanding:

As mentioned, the analytic and synthetic instruction methods to teach ‘lip reading’ lack a
strong evidence base. Although they can be used as brief teaching strategies, goals
developed around improving these specific skills are not really warranted. The Pragmatic
approach below is often included in discussions of speech reading training, yet it is more
commonly recognized today as ‘hearing tactics’ or ‘communication repair strategies’.

 The Pragmatic approach focuses primarily on employing communication strategies to

ensure that residual hearing is maximized to increase comprehension of the speaker (hearing
tactics). The aim of this approach is for the individual to concentrate on interaction more
than the reception of specific cues or sounds, to ask for modification of the speakers
message, the context in which dialogue takes place, and develop specific strategies that they
 can employ in particular situations that are found to be most difficult to communicate. The
focus of this approach is based on how language is used in social situations and how the use
of language can affect those communicating; as a result, most of the exercises are framed
from the perspective of interaction. Specific training of communication repair strategies also
occurs to ensure they are fully engaged as a responsible communicator and can respond
when misunderstandings occur. Exercises can include narratives, question/answer,
discussion, and role-playing. Cues such as word order and sequencing, tense and word
endings, matching language to the situation and context, among others are considerations
when using this approach.

 The Holistic approach incorporates aspects from the Analytic, Synthetic and Pragmatic

approaches. The main objectives include improvement of overall communication skills, the
psychosocial aspects of hearing loss, the education of significant others (e.g. parents,
siblings and close friends), hearing aid orientation, an emphasis on improving
conversational and interactive skills, and the use of assistive listening devices. Training
goals include: increasing the child’s knowledge of the speech reading process, their ability
to generalize strategies to facilitate more successful communication, their tolerance for
difficult/frustrating communicative situations, their role in generating personal goals, and
their motivation to improve their speech reading

C. RHYTHM
Importance of Rhythm Achievement

Music achievement is the level of skill that one has acquired as a result of his or her aptitude
and experience with music (Gordon, 1993; Taggart, 1989). Likewise, rhythm achievement is the
level of skill that one has acquired as a result his or her rhythm aptitude, instruction and
experience. Music achievement, and subsequently rhythm achievement is evidence of what a
person has learned relative to his or her aptitudes (Gordon, 2003). It seems likely that the
acquisition of musical skills takes place in the early childhood years as children learn and react
to cultural norms. To be musically capable, a child must learn the skills necessary for musical
performance (Gordon, 1993; Lathom, 1972).

How to Teach

Children with a hearing impairment can develop a strong sense of rhythm by using body
percussion to learn popular songs like “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. Using clapping,
stomping, snapping, and patting, children can sway and march to the beat or the rhythms that
they memorized by echo learning. More advanced music students can learn songs by reading
the score just like any other piano or orchestra student. They may not be able to hear what they
are playing if they are completely deaf, but they can feel the vibrations by taking their shoes off.
While learning a song, deaf children will have a sign language interpreter with them most of the
time. If the child is not comfortable or is unable to sing the song, they can sign the words and
participate by playing an instrument part or doing the motions.

Effect of Instruction on Rhythm Achievement

In a study by White and Vanneman (1999), it was concluded that student involvement in
musical activities (one of which was rhythm and movement) is positively related to student
achievement in music, both tonally and rhythmically. In addition, the researchers also found a
positive relationship between students responding to music and students creating and
performing music.
 Activity 2

Do research of the following teaching strategies for teaching learners with hearing impairment:

1. LANGUAGE EXPERIENCE APPROACH

The language experience approach integrates speaking and listening, reading and writing
through the development of a written text based on first hand experiences.

Through scaffold talk, the teacher supports students to document experiences and ideas, using
familiar and expanded vocabulary, modelling ways in which their thoughts and words can be
written down and later read. 

 Appropriate for students of all ages

 Connects ASL to written English/connects written English to experiences
 Reinforces English language structures
 Reinforces vocabulary concepts and use
 Reinforces reading and writing skills

1. Select an appropriate experience.

a. The experience should be aligned with curriculum and with the IEP goals and
objectives of the students.
b. The experience may be as elaborate as a field trip to a community site or as simple as
an experience in the classroom such as a cooking, art, or science activity.
2. Plan the experience and prepare the necessary materials.
a. For a field trip: Visit the site (if possible) so you will know the language learning
opportunities (e.g., vocabulary, syntactic structures). For all experiences: Determine
the vocabulary and structures you will target for language learning.
b. Gather materials to prepare the students (e.g., pictures, videos, websites, word cards,
books).
3. Prepare the students.
a. Provide activities to motivate students for the experience. For example:
 Read a book/story that is related to the topic.
 Using materials you have prepared, explain clearly to the students
what they will see, what they will do, and what they are expected to
learn. Students add other things they want to learn (using the K-W-L
strategy would be effective).
b. In the pre-experience activities and discussions, link the oral/signed language to print as
much as possible using not only vocabulary words, but connected language as well.
4. The experience.
a. During the activity, take advantage of all opportunities to link language to their
experiences.
b. Use a camera (instant-developing or digital) to capture the major events.
5. Discuss and write about the experience.
 a. Allow the student’s time to look at the pictures and discuss their trip/activity.
b. Students sequence the pictures.
c. Using the pictures as a guide, students dictate a story about their experience.
 For younger children, the teacher may record it on the board. Students can
illustrate most of the sentences on the story chart.
 Older children may write the story independently or with a partner.
 When the story is completed, read it to the children (see McAnally, Rose, &
Quigley, 2007, pp. 149-152 for suggestions for using different
communication modalities) or let the older children share their stories with
classmates.
6. Reinforcement and practice activities.
a. For younger children:
 Use word cards prepared prior to the experience. Students identify each one
and find it in the story.
 Use some of the word cards for spelling words. Children practice
saying/signing, fingerspelling, and writing each word.
 Read the sentences to the children. Ask them to “read” the sentences giving
them as much help as necessary for success.
 Children sequence the pictures again and put them into a photo album. Help
them write a sentence about each picture.
 Write one or two sentences from the language experience story on a large
sheet of paper. Give each child a paper, help him/her read the sentences, and
then illustrate the sentences with original artwork.
b. For older students:
 Use the steps in a process writing approach. After the students have written
their stories, they share them with a small group of students who respond to
the composition (commenting on parts that are well-done and asking for
clarification on parts that are unclear).
 Students revise composition and return to response groups until they are
satisfied with the content. Students edit composition for changes in syntax
and punctuation commensurate with their skill levels.
 When composition is in final form, students may select formats for
publication (for a more detailed account of the writing process, see Rose, McAnally, &
Quigley, 2004, pp. 180-183.) For a detailed example of a language experience approach, see
Rose, McAnally, & Quigley, 2004, pp. 107-110.

2. FITZGERALD KEY APPROACH

The Fitzgerald Key is well known among schools for the deaf and books are available ex-planning
it. Is a language method which teaches the order of words in a sentence according to a meaningful
procedure. The Key provides language-deprived children with basic sentence patterns and
transformations which they can learn and use in generating their own sentences. Each component of
the Key is a definite progression in language acquisition and is not a heterogeneous mixture of steps
leading nowhere in particular.
 Diagramming is a method of analysing sentences according to parts of speech. If a child has
learned to diagram, he can be taught them in 10 minutes by his visualizing the parts of speech in
their proper places on a diagram.

For the term project at the close of the course, the teachers planned and wrote stories with
questions, Key patterns, and diagram patterns. The materials were sequenced into three levels and
designated the KSD LANGUAGE SERIES.

3. TEACHING SPEECH WITH THE USE NORTHAMPTON CHART

Northampton Charts are aid for the deaf and hard of hearing children who were learning to
make correct speech sounds