Speechreading: A Way to Improve Understanding

Introduction

Preface Chapter 6 discusses the problems inherent in the development of tests of speechreading skill. It also describes current methods of teaching speechreading. This chapter is designed to acquaint the reader with the ways in which speechreading is evaluated and taught. The speechreading exercises in chapter 7 were designed by hearing-impaired students. They represent examples of the kinds of methodologies discussed in chapter 6 and are suitable for adolescents and adults. vi Preface Chapter 6 discusses the problems inherent in the development of tests of speechreading skill. It also describes current methods of teaching speechreading. This chapter is designed to acquaint the reader with the ways in which speechreading is evaluated and taught. The speechreading exercises in chapter 7 were designed by hearing-impaired students. They represent examples of the kinds of methodologies discussed in chapter 6 and are suitable for adolescents and adults. vi Acknowledgments The speechreading exercises in chapter 7, some of which have been edited to ensure format conformity, were developed by students in the Theories and Principles of Lipreading course at Gallaudet University. The authors wish to acknowledge all of the students who so graciously allowed their work to appear in this book, as well as Barbara Jarboe who contributed to the exercises on communication strategies. In addition, we wish to thank Jacqueline Sternberg of the Department of Audiology, Cynthia Vaughn of the Department of Communication Arts, and Pauline Peikoff of Alumni and Public Relations, Gallaudet University for their invaluable help in the preparation of this text. vii Acknowledgments The speechreading exercises in chapter 7, some of which have been edited to ensure format conformity, were developed by students in the Theories and Principles of Lipreading course at Gallaudet University. The authors wish to acknowledge all of the students who so graciously allowed their work to appear in this book, as well as Barbara Jarboe who contributed to the exercises on communication strategies. In addition, we wish to thank Jacqueline Sternberg of the Department of Audiology, Cynthia Vaughn of the Department of Communication Arts, and Pauline Peikoff of Alumni and Public Relations, Gallaudet University for their invaluable help in the preparation of this text. vii Introduction In order to understand speechreading as we know it, it is helpful to have some knowledge of its history. The history of speechreading is really part of the history of deaf education because it has always been one of the basic methods used to teach deaf individuals. Therefore, an overview of the history of deaf education, particularly oral-aural methodology, allows one to understand the development of the speechreading methods used today. Early History of Deaf Education Although deafness has been known since ancient times, until the sixteenth century prelingually deaf people were considered unteachable. In most societies they were classed with the mentally incompetent. The first known teacher of the prelingually deaf was a Spanish monk named Pedro Ponce de Leon who lived from 1520 to 1584. According to documents that he left, he was successful in teaching several deaf individuals, primarily using sign language (Deland, 1968). Toward the end of the sixteenth century and the beginning of the seventeenth century, teachers in different parts of Europe began to develop methods to teach the deaf. Juan Martin Pablo Bonet in Spain introduced the idea that deaf children could be taught to speak by learning production of individual sounds through the senses of touch and vision. For speech understanding, he advocated the use of the manual alphabet rather than speech reading. Around the same time, John Bulwer in England advocated use of a combination of sign language, speech, and "lip grammar" (speechreading). He regarded speechreading as a way of learning to speak rather than of understanding the speech of others. Although these early deaf educators and others used both sign language and speechreading, they believed that speechreading was useful for speech production rather than speech understanding. They advocated the use of the manual alphabet and sign language for speech comprehension. During the latter part of the seventeenth century and the early part of the eighteenth century, interest in speechreading spread to different parts of Europe. To a much greater extent, speechreading became recognized as a way of understanding language rather than a method of teaching speech. Charles Michel de l'Epee, working in France, was one of the first to make education of the deaf available to the general public. Before 1755 whatever education existed for deaf...