Challenges of Teaching English to Hearing-Impaired Students

Augustinović, Amanda. (2018). Challenges of Teaching English to Hearing-Impaired Students. Diploma Thesis. Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, Department of English Language and Literature
Department of Phonetics. [mentor Geld, Renata and Tomić, Diana].

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the challenges teachers face while teaching English to hearing-impaired (HI) students. Due to the fact that research on this topic is scarce in Croatia, a qualitative approach was used to get a deeper insight into the current situation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six female teachers that worked in four different mainstream elementary schools and one specialized secondary level institution in Zagreb. The participants’ answers have shown that teachers face various challenges, some of the most important ones being the following: the lack of proper pre-service and in-service training, inadequate support of expert associates working in schools, inappropriate placement options of HI students, the lack of appropriate and government approved teaching materials, and ambiguous interpretation of certain educational laws. Although conducted on a small sample, the study provided better understanding of the teachers’ needs, which might lead to the improvement of teaching practices in the context of teaching English to HI students.

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