TEACHING ENGLISH TO DEAF PEOPLE: AN ANALYSIS OF THE

TEXT GENRE SYNOPSIS AND ITS BENEFITS TO THE

ENHENCEMENT OF THIS AUDIENCE WRITING SKILLS
Author: Cleiton Willian da Conceição

ABSTRACT:
Considering the spectrum of the public educational system in Brazil regarding foreign
languages, the situation which can be encountered in Brazilian public schools are failing the
teaching of EFL to of Deaf people, foreign languages. In the case of Brazil, English, has being
failing these students, not guaranteeing the effective learning of this language. In an attempt
to provide qualitative and equal learning for the Deaf, this paper aims at analysing the visual
support material and the use of the genre text Synopsis, with the goal of finding the benefits
of this approach in order to promote better learning of written English in all English classes
background.

INTRODUCTION
In a world where English has become the language of international communication, the
need for people from different backgrounds to learn this language has become compulsory,
especially considering the spread of the internet, which has brought people closer together.
All sorts of people are looking for ways of acquiring this language, whether it is through an
English school, an online course or private classes. This abiding search for alternative ways to
learn the English language is, mostly linked to the lack of basic language development in the
primary and secondary years of Education.

In Brazil, the absence of a solid educational curriculum perpetuates a poor learning of the
English language in the Basic Education, so Brazilian people also occupy the classrooms of
both physical and online courses all over Brazil.

In regard to this shortage in the primary and secondary years of the education in Brazil,
this situation does not present itself the same way to everybody. Considering the people who
are part of social minority groups, the teaching of foreign languages takes a total different
spectrum, which becomes, due to their social status and individualities, much harder.

Amongst these groups, there is the deaf community. Which is an organized group with
their own language, culture and social manners.
 Considering the fact that Deaf people have their social role as a group, it is important to
address that they also have educational issues regarding the learning of foreign languages,
especially the ones provided by public schools.

Touching upon this context, there are evidence that deaf individuals have been struggling
with language learning, taking into consideration their years of primary and secondary school.

According to Perlin (2010), the deaf individuals perceive the world through their eyes,
meaning that they understand and cope with life using their sight. In line with Perlin’s view
on the Deaf’s visual understanding of the world, Teachers need to take this factor into account
when designing their lessons to deaf learners. Since they understand and learn using their
eyes, teachers have to provide visually adapted materials for them to learn their way.

In relation to the fact that deaf people conceive the world through their vision, teachers
from all educational backgrounds should add to their practice of visual aids to enhance their
learning experience of foreign language. Based on that, materials produced for classrooms
with deaf people as part of the alumna should be constructed in a visual manner.

Based on that, these materials should fit the visual criteria of facilitating learning by deaf
students

Taking all of what was mentioned above into account, in an attempt to contribute to this
field, this research paper aims at analysing the construction of the supporting material to a
lesson, in which the main teaching resource was the text genre synopsis, organized in a visual
manner in order to respond to their learning individualities.

METHODOLOGY

This research paper is of qualitative nature, aiming at analysing the benefits of the text genre
synopsis in the enhancement of developing writing, therefore, reading skills by deaf learners
of the English. The material used to the exploration of the genre in class was made on
PowerPoint, making use of pictures found on the internet. Considering the individualities of
the deaf community, to be more specific, deaf people, it was taken into account their reading
and writing difficulties in regard of the oral language in the process of constructing this
material for the lessons.
THEORETIAL FRAMEWORK

ENHANCED VISUAL ABITITY OF DEAF PEOPLE

It is being discussed, in many fields of study such as Psychology, Anthropology, Teaching

and Education, the enhanced visual ability of the Deaf, as a result of their hearing loss, which
intensified their experience in perceiving the world through their eyes.

As stated by Perlin, deaf people are individuals who understand and perceive the world
through their eyes. This sense becomes the door entrance for this group to have access to
information. In the following extract from the book As Imagens do Outro Sobre a Cultura
Surda, Strobel explains how visually oriented deaf people are, in regard to their life
experiences:

Deaf individuals, with the absence of the sound and the

ability to hear, perceive the world through their eyes, as
well as everything that is around them: From dogs’ barks,
which are demonstrated by means of the jaws’ movements
and the body-facial brutal expressions – to bombs
exploding, which is obvious to the eyes of a deaf
individual, due to the changes that take place in the
environment (atmosphere), as well as the abrupt fall of
objects and the appearance of smoke in the air. (STROBEL,
2008, p. 45. Our translation).1

Indeed, deaf people use their keen visual ability in their advantage. Similarly. according to
Bahan, 1989, since the Deaf perceive the world through their eyes, he considers them ‘seeing
persons, which means that, unlike the hearing, the deaf experience life and learn through their
eyes.

When this group is considered as ‘seeing persons’, in a deaf cultural perspective, as it was
stated by Bahan, the medical viewpoint on deafness lose ground, and it is possible to consider
this lot as being a different linguistic group, which perceives the world different from the way
hearing people do.

VISUAL PEDAGOGY AND ITS BENEFITS TO THE TEACHING OF DEAF

PEOPLE

1
Original extract: Os sujeitos Surdos, com a sua ausência de audição e do som, percebem o mundo através dos
olhos e de tudo que ocorre ao redor deles: desde os latidos de um cachorro – que são demonstrados por meio
dos movimentos de sua boca e da expressão corpóreo-facial bruta – até de uma bomba estourando, que é
óbvia aos olhos de um sujeito surdo pelas alterações ocorridas no ambiente, como os objetos que caem
abruptamente e a fumaça que surge.
 There are certain moments in the path of educators, especially those when in face of
student groups that requires specific dealing, driving teachers towards changing and adapting
their teaching practices to tend to the needs of these groups. In regard to deaf students,
considering their keen visual ability, teachers have to find ways to make their materials, as
well as their teaching more visual, in order to make it easier for deaf individuals to learn.

As an attempt to provide a better education not only to deaf students, but also to those who
learn visually, studies were develop focusing on the development of visual strategies and
applied to the teaching in order to visually facilitate the learning of this audience. These visual
strategies were entitled visual pedagogy, which is defined by Goldfarb as:

a teaching method implementing methodologies well-

matched with the audio-visual paradigm and encouraging
learners’ media literacy in the classroom context through
the use of visual representations (Goldfarb, 2002).

Considering the education of deaf individuals, the production of visually adapted material
becomes essential. Teachers who work with this specific group of students have to make use
of visual representations, so that the students can follow the explanation in a more
autonomous manner.

According to Campello (2007), to incorporate in the learning process visual experiences is

to give them the opportunity to learn autonomously through a variety of resources that appeal
to their keen visual ability.

THE USE OF GENRE AND VISUAL RESOURCES AS MEANS TO ENHENCE THE

LEARNING EXPERIENCE OF DEAF INDIVIDUALS

Genre texts are being widely used in ESL and EFL because, regardless the production
environment they were made in, they carry authentic use of language in each and every
sentence pertaining to these texts. Provided that they have real and authentic use of a given
language, the incorporation of genre text-based pedagogy is ‘on the hotspot’, regarding the
teaching of oral languages.

Several linguists and language scholars have given their share to the definition of genre. As
stated by Swales genre consists of a set of communicative events produced by a given
linguistic group in order to tend to their communicative needs. In Marcuschi’s text Genre1:
Definition and Function, says:
 We use the expression Genre as an intentionally vague
notion to name the materialized texts, which we come
across in our daily life and that presents social
communicative characteristics defined by content,
functional properties, style and unique composition.
(MARCUSCHI, 2002). 2

He also states that communication does not exist without being fitted in a genre text type.
Taking into account that communication is not established without being characterized or
categorized into a certain genre, the teaching of foreign languages cannot leave a genre-based
pedagogy for the teaching of foreign languages aside.

SYNOPSIS AS A GENRE

Genre texts are everywhere, manifested different ways, whether it is on a formal lecture or
a chat between friends. One of these social communicative genres, which was selected as a
learning asset to the enhancement of deaf students who are learning English was the genre
synopsis. According to the Oxford living dictionary, this genre is defined as a brief text or
general survey of something. In addition, it is said in Dictionary.com that the genre is a brief
or condensed statement giving a broad view of some subject.

In accordance with what was previously laid out and as for the definition of the genre in
question, it is important to note that regarding the use of language, this text can ensure the
improvement of both hearing and deaf students in a large scale, especially because of the
frequency this genre appears in the cinematographic world, which is very well appreciated by
learners in general.

ANALYSIS OF THE MATERIAL/ DISCUSSION

2
“Usamos a expressão gênero textual como uma noção propositalmente vaga para referir os textos
materializados que encontramos em nossa vida diária e que apresentam características sociocomunicativas
definidas por conteúdos, propriedades funcionais, estilo que composição característica.” (Original extract).
 Concerning the education of the deaf, especially in consideration to their visual ability, the
incorporation of visual resources is mandatory, provided that they are visual beings and need
their learning process to consider their way of living, their culture.

For that, visual material that can help the deaf students have better access to written
information and boost their learning experience. The first part of the material that is going to
be examined is the genre itself. In order to teach deaf students to both read and write in
English, it was chosen to work with everyday genre, text that were of easy access to the
students. Taking that into consideration, we chose to work with a synopsis, since the current
youth loves watching movies.

Another factor that led us to the choosing of working with the genre synopsis was that it is
a short, and yet eye-catching to students. Learners usually show positive signs when the text is
both short and engaging.

The following pictures represent the first part of the material to be analysed in this section
of this paper, in order to facilitate for the reader to visualize the object of the analysis.

(Fig. 01)

(Fig. 02)

These two pictures accurately represent the part of the material in which the genre synopsis
was placed. The first thing to be looked at is the disposition of the text, as well as the
background added behind it. The genre synopsis, compared to others is somewhat short,
ranging from a paragraph to a one page-long text, it will mostly depend on the writer’s need
in regard of the amount of information the text has got to have.

In these two pictures, it is possible to see how this piece of writing was adapted to have
less obstacles to keep them from effectively reading and understanding the content of the text.
The background was also chosen aiming at supporting and making it easy for the students to
understand what is being said in the text. It is essential to note that this synopsis is the
summary of the film Wonder Woman, which summarizes the main points of the plot, as well
as some additional information regarding the movie and its making process.

The background, as it was previously mentioned, plays an important role in helping the
students understand the text. Strobel explains that the enhanced ability of the deaf should
always be taken account when planning and teaching this group. Students who are deaf need
visual adaptation and stimulation. Considering the background of the material, in a very basic
manner, it helps students discern what is being explored as content in the text, since it opens
room to the possibility of visually link the students to their previous knowledge of Wonder
Woman and what is contained in the text.

Synopsis, from ancient Greek means whole view, so it is a condensed text that has the
main ideas and points of a culturally expressive works, such as movies, books and etc. This
genre also plays an important role in the lives of those who appreciate the art of cinema.
People usually take the time to read synopsis, so they can get informed, in relation to the
content of movies, books and the like.

As a strategy to make the lessons more interesting and relevant to the students, we thought
of this genre to ensure a better experience with a genre-based approach in a classroom of deaf
students. As it was mentioned in the theoretical framework, many authors consider deaf
individual to posses an enhanced visual ability. Considering this factor and the students
cultural background, as you could see, every little piece, such as the background, are placed
there with the sole purpose of improving the learning experience of learning written English.

Another part of the visual resource that was considered to this analysis is the one where it
was made use of gifs to help students visualize the content of the text better. The following
pictures can represent this section of the material.
 (Fig. 03) (Fig. 04)

(Fig. 05) (Fig. 06)

In this section of the material, it was attempted to convey meaning by the use of gifs in
order to assist the students into understanding the content of the text. Nowadays, the use of
gifs has gained large space in the teaching of foreign languages. For instance, teachers have
been using them as means of making students visualize better the use of some grammar
tenses, as well as to illustrate the lessons. Gifs are just one of the items taken from the
internet, more specifically social media, that are being incorporated by language teachers all
over the world.

Acknowledging the visual enhanced skill of the deaf, gifs, as well as images of all sorts, if
chosen correctly can help this group of learners build a better comprehension of written texts.
Strobel says that deaf individuals experience life visually, as opposed to hearing people, who
rely mostly on their hearing.

Taking into account the fact that people who are deaf rely mostly on their sight, gifs
displayed great potential in helping these students learn. For example, when confronted with
this part of the material, students responded well and the results could be seen on their written
productions.

The text describes different parts of the movie, in a very condensed manner, which, as
explained before, is the purpose of this genre. In an attempt to visually assist the students, gifs
were placed in the material. Considering that most of the learners had already watched the
movie, these gifs aimed at helping these individuals to, through their enhanced ability to see,
could understand between the written that and what was optically laid out, connected to the
text by PowerPoint hyperlinks.

The other parts of the material are linked to the construction of the theme of the lesson, as
well as guide-questions to lead apprentices to being able to write their own synopsis, after
understanding the function and structure of this genre.

All in all, this visual resource was constructed as an attempt to tend to the visual needs of a
group of deaf students. It was displayed that the more visually adapted the materials are, the
more they get to engage and effectively learn.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This research paper serves as an early step towards researches that might come along in the
future analysing the benefits of implementing visual materials in lesson, in which there are
deaf earners. Also, it is of vital importance to note that when dealing with students, adapting
to meet their specific needs is top priority, thus, learners of all cultural and social backgrounds
can effectively learn, especially deaf people, since these individuals have their own
perspective on culture and social interactions and relationships. So, the importance of
discussing and applying visual strategies and adaptations to help them truly learn has to have
a lot more space.

Having an interpreter in the classroom will not resolve all the issue and obstacles deaf
people has to endure. So, regardless the context and situation deaf students are being taught,
working with visual pedagogy becomes top concern. As well as, considering the fact that
many studies suggest that applying visual-based adaptations and materials help most of the
students learn in a more concrete manner. So, This study takes one of the first steps,
discussing about how beneficial visual based adaptation and teaching resources can be to help
deaf students learn more effectively.
SOURCES

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Silver Spring, MD. Liston Press, 1989d.

CAMPELLO, A. R. e S. Pedagogia Visual / Sinal na Educação dos Surdos. In: Quadros, R.

M. de.; Pelin, G. (orgs). Estudos Surdos II. Petrópolis: Arara Azul. p. 100-131, 2007.

GOLDFARB, Brian. Visual Pedagogy: Media Cultures in and Beyond the Classroom.
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MARCHISCHI, Luiz Antônio. Gêneros Textuais: Definição e Funcionalidade. In:

DIONÌSIO, Angela Paiva, BEZERRA, Maria Auxiliadora, MACHADO, Anna Rachel (org.).
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SWALES, Jahn M. Genre analysis. English in academic and research settings.

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The Dictionary.com. Synopsis Definition. Available on: <

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/synopsis?s=t>. Accessed on September the 13th, 2018.

THE OXFORD DICTIONARIES. Synopsis. Available on:

<https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/synopsis>; Access on: June the 13th, 2018.