Totalna komunikacja jako podejście wspomagające rozwój zdolności językowych uczniów głuchych

Abstract

The study presented shows changes which took place in the field of deaf children education during the second part of the twentieth century. For the most part these changes can be referred to as a different treatment of communication needs of the deaf. Above all, there is a considerable need for a flexible approach while chosing the primary means of communication to be used in the environment of the deaf as well as amongst the hearing people establishing contacts with them. This study emphasizes the right of choice by the deaf as soon as language foundations are created. Places of leaming (pre-schools, schools) must not force students to choose any single, particular method of communication. Before such choices are madę one has to take into consideration individual abilities, experiencies and social environment determining factors of each deaf child. A growing number of deaf education professionals realize the need to search for morę effective methods of language skills development. They also stress the necessity to apply additional means of communication support (e.g. facial expressions, body language, gestures and sign language). For these reasons rehabilitation programs have to guarantee developmental security and psychological comfort of deaf children. A growing number of deaf people rehabilitation professionals in Poland and all over the world realize how important sign language is for deaf community. They fully appreciate its value as an educational tool for deaf children and teenagers. The first part of this study presents review of existing research and opinions conceming the formation of various means of deaf people communication. Review of foreign literaturę (mostly American, British, German and Russian) enabled us to show development of an organized educational system for the deaf, the influence of prominent professionals upon educational methods applied as well as various means of communication that have been used. The main subject discussed in the second part of the study is total communication system introduced into places of learining for the deaf. The concept of total communication was created during the 60-ies in the U.S.A. and it is defined as „a philosophy incorporating the appropriate aural, manuał, and orał modes of communication in order to ensure effective communication with and among hearing-impaired persons”. The second part of the study presents how various means of communication with the hard of hearing can be used. It also shows which means of communication are used among various age groups of the hard of hearing in Poland. The purpose of our research was to prove correctness of the philosophical concept of total communication in view of its usefulness in rehabilitation and education of the deaf. Our survey covered 324 persons. there were 136 hard of hearing students at the elementary school level, 34 hard of hearing students from technical school, 49 hard of hearing adults and 105 educators from various deaf education institutions. The following complimentary survey methods were applied: Communication Skills Inventory (CSI) and the Inventory of Communication Behaviour Observation. These tools enabled us to discover and to perform quantitative and statistical analysis of the phenomemon which cannot be clearly and easily noticed by educators during casual observation. This phenomenon proves that the use of sign language does not have any detrimental influence upon the ability to use speech. To the contrary - it aids in development of language and communication competence and skills. Our research and its results represent an attempt to break the barrier of schematic thinking typical for hard-core oralists which devalues sign-language and is motivated by thinly veiled contempt for the deaf people. Survey results presented in pedagogie conclusions represent an attempt to show new directions and ideas for research in the field of deaf education. Ideas which take into consideration all means of communication available inclusive of the manuał methods. This new approach regarding education of the deaf which recognizes all methods of communication (including manuał communication) as being of equal importance represents the comer-stone of total communication philosophy.