Teaching Phonics to the Deaf

Learning visual phonics helps deaf students improve their reading skills.

When students know phonics, it greatly assists them with spelling, word recognition and reading comprehension. In 1982, the International Communication Learning Institute developed visual phonics so that deaf and hearing-impaired students could learn to identify and use phonemes. Deaf students who learn this technique are able to learn how to read more successfully, since phonics help with word decoding and recall. Visual phonics consists of 45 hand signals and matching written symbols that show how consonant and vowel sounds are generated. For example, the signal for "m" is touching your mouth with your index and middle fingers, signifying that the sound comes from the lips.

Instructions

1. Learn as much as you can about visual phonics. Learn the 45 hand and written signals. You may find partial guides online, as in "Visual Cueing for Speech Sound Acquisition" in the References section. Talk to your regional Department of Education about workshops that are available or contact the International Communication Learning Institute about resources they offer. Become comfortable with using the hand signals. Practice with colleagues or your family until it feels natural.

2. Integrate visual phonics into the classroom gradually. Do not overwhelm students by teaching them all 45 visual cues at once. Make it contextual. For example, if you are teaching your class about words that start with the letter "B," you can teach them the hand cue for "b." Hang visual charts around the classroom that highlight the written symbols.

3. Communicate to students that they should watch your mouth as you introduce a new visual phonic. Say a sound or a full word in an exaggerated way so students can clearly read your lips. Say the sound several times, but decrease your level of exaggeration each time. Ask the students to mouth the sound. Then tell the students that you will teach them a hand signal that imitates this sound. Say the sound several times while using the hand signal. Ask students to mouth the sound while using the hand signal, and then show them the corresponding written signal, which will look similar to the hand cue.

4. Teach new visual phonics regularly. Set up stations around the classroom where students can practice either writing or hang signaling. Stations may include flashcards, videos, picture books and one-on-one time with you or a parent volunteer.

5. Use visual phonics to teach rhyming words, syllable recognition, homonyms, alliteration and other language concepts. On spelling tests, hand cues can help students sound out the words. When reading higher-level books, written symbols will help students when they encounter new vocabulary. This will be a learning process for you as well as the students. Continuously research or attend training to learn how to integrate visual phonics into the classroom.

References

• "See that Sound!"; Betty Waddy-Smith et al.; 2003
• Visual Phonics: What is Visual Phonics?
• Visual Phonics: Visual Cueing for Speech Sound Aquisition

Resources

• See-the-Sound Visual Phonics