Overcoming Difficulty in Teaching English To A Six-Year-Old Boy With Hearing Impairment at Education and Learning Solution.

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Maranatha Christian University

ABSTRACT

Bahasa Inggris adalah bahasa internasional yang sangat berperan di Indonesia sekarang ini. Di prasekolah dan taman kanak-kanak, anak-anak sudah diajarkan Bahasa Inggris. Bahkan di tempat kursus Bahasa Inggris disediakan tempat bagi anak-anak prasekolah dan taman kanak-kanak. Ketika saya magang di ELS (Education and Learning Solution), saya menemukan masalah dalam mengajar Bahasa Inggris kepada seorang anak yang mengalami gangguan pendengaran. Anak ini bernama Jeffrey dan berusia enam tahun. Jeffrey tidak sepenuhnya tuli karena ia masih menggunakan alat bantu dengar.

Dari masalah yang terjadi, ditemukan beberapa penyebab dan dampak yang ditimbulkan. Penyebab pertama adalah anak yang mengalami

gangguan pendengaran tersebut tidak dapat mendengar secara baik. Penyebab kedua adalah anak tersebut tidak lancar dalam berbicara. Penyebab yang terakhir adalah saya belum mempunyai pengalaman dalam mengajar anak yang cacat. Selain daripada itu, ada tiga dampak yang ditimbulkan dari permasalahan tersebut. Akibat pertama adalah saya membutuhkan waktu lebih banyak dalam mengajar anak ini. Kedua, anak-anak lain tidak merasa cukup tertantang untuk belajar pelajaran yang sedang diajarkan. Akibat yang terakhir adalah anak yang mengalami gangguan pendengaran tersebut tidak dapat bersaing dengan anak-anak lainnya. Solusi yang digunakan untuk masalah ini adalah dengan

menggunakan alat bantu visual seperti flashcards, gambar, dan replika barang. Solusi lainnya adalah menggunakan permainan pada saat pelajaran berlangsung. Dan solusi terakhir adalah dengan gerak-isyarat, berbicara dengan keras, jelas, dan dengan kalimat yang singkat.

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APPENDIX

A. Flowchart

Causes of the problem : 1. The child could not hear properly although he used a hearing aid.

2. The child could not speak properly.

3. I did not have any experience in teaching students with disabilities

Problem :

I had difficulties in teaching English to a six-year-old boy

with hearing impairment in ELS

Effects of the problem : 1. I needed more time to explain the material. 2. The other children were not challenged enough by the lesson.

3. The child with the hearing impairment could not keep up with the other children.

Potential Positive Effects : 1. The child can know what I will explain through the pictures.

2. The child will be attracted to the lesson.

3. The child can learn English easily.

Potential Solution I :

I use visual aids in teaching.

Potential Negative Effects : 1. The child will only be attracted to the pictures.

Potential Positive Effects : 1. The child can learn indirectly through games. 2. The child will remember the lesson more easily.

3. The child can communicate in English with the other children.

Potential Solution II :

I use games to teach English.

Potential Negative Effects : 1. The child is mentally affected by the games and just wanted to play. 2. The child will lose his initiative to answer the question while playing in groups.

Potential Positive Effects : 1. The child will pay attention to me.

2. The child will understands what I mean.

Potential Solution III : I speak to the child with the

hearing impairment using gestures and short sentences

with a loud and clear voice.

Potential Negative Effects : 1. The child is afraid because I speak loudly.

Chosen Solution :

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B. Transcription of the Interview

Name of interviewer : Yenny Christanty

Name of respondent : Elisa, A. Md

Day / Date : Friday / 22 July 2011

Place of interview : Education and Learning Solution (Bee Class)

Yenny : Ms. Elisa, may I ask you some questions?

Elisa : Yes, of course. What do you want to ask me?

Yenny : Do you know Jeffrey? The child with hearing impairment in the

Butterfly class?

Elisa : Yes, I do.

Yenny: Have you ever had a student with hearing impairment before?

Elisa : No, I haven’t. This is the first time I have a student with hearing impairment.

Yenny : Have you ever taught students with any disabilities before?

Elisa : I have never taught students with disabilities before but I have

taught students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia.

Yenny : Do you have any tips for teaching a hearing impaired student?

like Jeffrey?

Elisa : Yes, I do. The child with hearing impairment does not have good

concentration and cannot hear clearly although he uses hearing-

aids, we have to draw his attention using something that interests

him. We have to explain in a loud voice and should be attractive in

giving the material.

Yenny : Do you have other tips?

Elisa : Hmm.. That’s all.

Yenny : Ok then, thank you for your time.

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C. Transcription of the Interview

Name of interviewer : Yenny Christanty

Name of respondent : Elisa, A. Md

Day / Date : Wednesday / 14 December 2011

Place of interview : by phone

Yenny : Good afternoon, Mrs. Elisa. This is Yenny.

Elisa : Good afternoon, Yenny. May I help you?

Yenny : I want to confirm about the vision and mission of ELS and asking

about Jeffrey.

Elisa : Oh, ok. What do you want to confirm about the vision and

mission?

Yenny : The vision and mission of ELS has been told in the history of ELS

that you have given to me, right?

Elisa : Yes, that’s right. The vision is ELS want to be a place which can be a solution for learning. The mission of ELS is the children who

learn in ELS can still learn while they are playing.

Yenny: Ok, then.. Now I would ask about Jeffrey. Do you know when his

hearing disability began? Is it from birth?

Elisa : He has a hearing disability since he was born.

Yenny: Do you know the causes of his hearing disability?

Elisa : I have asked his mother and his mother doesn’t know the causes of his hearing disability. I don’t know whether it is because of genetic disorders, illness, or complication in pregnancy because

hearing disability can happen due to many causes.

Yenny: Do you have any special way to teach Jeffrey?

Elisa : Not in particular. We have to be patient in teaching him. I’m sorry Yen, but I have a guest right now. Maybe we can talk again later.

Yenny: Oh ok. Thank you so much for your information.

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

English as an international language in Indonesia is very important

nowadays. In preschools and kindergartens, children have already been

taught English. Even the English courses nowadays have classes for

preschool and kindergarten learners.

ELS (Education and Learning Solution) is an English course where I

did my internship. It was still on Jl. Mekar Kencana No. 58. I did my

internship as an English teacher and assistant teacher. I taught and

assisted every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Each meeting lasted for

one hour to one and a half hours.

ELS did not provide materials for the summer programme. Therefore, I

made the materials myself that I taught in ELS, together with my friends,

Clarissa and Nyssa. The material I taught is mostly vocabulary, but it was

integrated with other skills, such as speaking, pronunciation, and listening.

For my internship, ELS held a summer programme. The summer

programme is a vacation programme for the children who do not go on

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ten to eleven children. The age of the children ranges from three to eight

years old.

When doing my internship at ELS, there was a six-year-old boy with

hearing impairment in my class. His name is Jeffrey. He uses hearing-aids

in his right ear. In a telephone interview with Mrs. Elisa, she said that, “He

has hearing impairment since his birth. His mother did not know the

causes that made him have hearing impairment” (14 Dec). The situation

where there is a child with hearing impairment in a class is new for me

because I have never taught a child with disabilities before. Because of

this, I choose teaching English to a six-year-old boy with hearing

impairment as the topic of my term paper. Besides that, the topic is

interesting and will be useful in the future if I have to teach children with

hearing impairment.

B. Identification of the Problem

1.

Why did I find difficulty in teaching English to a child with hearing

impairment?

2.

How influential does the problem affect the situation in the

classroom?

3.

How should teachers teach English to a child with hearing

impairment at ELS effectively?

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C. Objectives and Benefits of the Study

The objectives of the study are I want to find effective ways to teach

English to students with hearing impairment, find out the positive and

negative effects from the potential solutions, and choose the best potential

solution to overcome the problem.

The benefits of the study for me as the writer are I can use the methods

proposed in the potential solutions to teach students with hearing

impairment and increase my knowledge about teaching hearing impaired

students. Another advantage of this study is that the teachers who read

my Term Paper can use the methods proposed in the potential solutions in

this Term Paper to teach any students who have hearing impairment. For

the parents of hearing impaired students, they can gain benefit too, as the

parents can also use the methods which are proposed in the potential

solutions to teach their child at home. The advantage of the study for the

readers is they can increase their knowledge about teaching students with

hearing impairment if they become a teacher in special schools. In

“Teaching in Special School”, Pondent said that, “Special schools are

schools that are geared to the needs of children with learning disabilities

or physical disabilities” (par. 1).

D. Description of the Institution

Based on the notes given by Mrs. Elisa, Education and Learning

Solution, henceforth called ELS, was founded on 30 November 2009 by

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location of ELS is on Jl. Mekar Harum No.18. Elisa is the owner and

coordinator of ELS. Elisa loves children and has already had five years

teaching experiences in Bintang Mulia Kindergarten and Logic Learning

Centre before she graduated from DIII English Programme at Maranatha

Christian University. After she graduated, she established ELS.

ELS has a vision to be a place which can be a solution for learning.

ELS develops multiple intelligence which is expected to make every child

who learns at ELS become more spirited in study because ELS can

change their paradigm and makes studying fun.

The mission of ELS is the children who learn in ELS can still learn while

they are playing. ELS uses many activities, such as art, cooking, watching

movies, playing games, etc. to teach preschool, kindergarten, elementary,

junior high school, and senior high school students. ELS also provides

solutions for people who want to learn English or improve their English

skills. In ELS, people can learn as much as they want, and ELS can help

them overcome every difficulty they face in learning English.

In ELS, besides English, children can learn Mandarin and Art.

Elementary, junior high, or senior high school students who have any

problems in their studies can join the study group in ELS to help them

raise their grades in school.

E. Method of the Study

The process of collecting the data for this Term Paper is from

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conducted when I taught in class, and when I assisted the teacher in

class. The observation was done for more than one month, from 20 June

to 25 July 2011. For the supporting data for the analysis, printed sources

and Internet sources are used; meanwhile field data is stored in the

internship journal that I wrote when I did the internship.

F. Limitation of the Study

My study is focused on one child with a hearing impairment in Butterfly

class in ELS, the English course where I did my internship from June to

July 2011. The child that I choose as the subject for the term paper is not

totally deaf, but he uses hearing aids. His name is Jeffrey. He is six years

old, and he is a 1st grade elementary school student. I taught and did my

observation about this child in the classroom for about one until

one-and-a-half hours in each meeting.

G. Organization of the Term Paper

This Term Paper begins with Abstract, the summary of this Term Paper

in Bahasa Indonesia. Following the Abstract is Declaration of Originality,

Acknowledgements, and Table of Contents.

The Table of Contents is followed by Chapter I until Chapter IV.

Chapter I is the introduction of this Term Paper. This chapter will discuss

the background of the study, identification of the problem, the objectives

and benefits of the study, description of the institution, method and

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discusses the problem I faced, with the causes and the effects of the

problem. Chapter III is the potential solutions. This chapter discusses the

solutions for the problem with the positive and negative effects of the

solutions. Chapter IV is the conclusion. This chapter contains the solution

that I choose and the reasons why I choose it. Following Chapter IV is

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CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSION

My problem in teaching English to a child with hearing impairment has

three causes. The first cause is the child could not hear properly. The

second cause is the child could not speak properly. The third cause is I did

not have any experience in teaching students with disabilities. Besides

that, the problem has three effects. First, I needed more time to explain the

material. Second, the other children got bored. The last effect is the child

with hearing impairment could not keep up with the other children. The

potential solutions of this problem are using visual aids, games, gestures

and speaking in short sentences with a loud and clear voice.

This chapter will discuss my chosen solutions for the problem. My

chosen solution is all of the potential solutions. The reason why I choose

all of the potential solutions is because all of the potential solutions support

each other. When I taught, I used flashcards and games accompanied by

speaking in short sentences with a loud and clear voice.

Teaching English to a child with a hearing impairment needs more than

one technique to apply. The teacher needs a lot of visual aids to deliver

the lesson because a child with hearing impairment depends more on his

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flashcards, to teach. Rosy states that, “A teacher should use pictures,

images, graphs and gestures to explain things to hearing impaired

children. Children with hearing impairments learn more easily by watching”

(par. 5). Visual aids help children with hearing impairment to understand

the lessons more easily. In every lesson, I also used games to review the

lesson before they did the exercise. With games, the child with hearing

impairment could still learn indirectly. Djiwandono states that games

increase the interest of a child with hearing impairment to the lesson and

increase the motivation to study (361). Therefore, I used games to

motivate the children in studying. Besides, when teaching, I used a loud

and clear voice, and short sentences. In “How to Teach Children Who Are

Hearing-Impaired,“ Ireland states that when teaching or giving instructions,

use short and clear sentences (par. 3). The combination of these three

techniques help me in teaching English to a child with hearing impairment.

To sum up, the best solution to teach English to a child with hearing

impairment is to apply all the above potential solutions. Each of the

potential solutions will support the other potential solutions; as a result,

teaching English to a child with hearing impairment will be easier and

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Interview

Elisa, A. Md. Personal interview. 22 July 2011.