Pedagogic strategies teachers use to teach reading in english to grade three deaf learners at selected special needs schools in Lusaka district.
Date
2024
Authors
Banda, Ngoza Joseph
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The University of Zambia
Abstract
This study sought to analyze the pedagogic strategies teachers use to successfully teach grade three deaf and hard of hearing learners to read English language. The objectives of the study were to; (i) Analyze pedagogic strategies teachers use to teach reading to deaf and hard hearing children. (ii) Examine the appropriateness of teaching and learning materials used when teaching reading to deaf and hard of hearing children. (iii) Determine the challenges faced by teachers in an English reading instruction. This research adopted two learning theories, which included constructivism and multimodality theory. The study was qualitative in nature and a case study design was adopted. To come up with the with the study sample, purposive sampling was used. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and classroom lesson observations. The study sample consisted of three (3) administrators, seven (7) teachers and twenty-five (25) pupils totaling to thirty-five (35) participants. The collected data was analysed thematically as guided by the research questions. The findings established that teachers teaching deaf and hard of hearing learners reading in English employed a number of strategies in their reading instruction. The pedagogic strategies included picture reading, picture and word matching, lip reading, repeated class reading, fingerspelling, look and say, storytelling, translanguaging, sandwiching, interactive whole class reading, role play, language games, demonstration, miming, letter or word matching, question and answer, teaching using concrete or real objects and teaching learners Zambian sign language. The varied use of teaching and learning materials like picture charts, flash cards, picture cards, word cards, story books with a lot of pictures and real or concrete objects in hands-on and manipulative classroom activities proved to be appropriate and demonstrated the importance of employing a diverse range of resources in an English literacy instruction. The findings further revealed a number of challenges which ranged from the lack of teaching materials to the absence of specialized teachers. The study concludes that to the greatest extent possible, teachers used strategies and materials which were appropriate for deaf and hard of hearing learners despite facing a number of challenges which need addressing if teachers are to do a better job. Arising from the findings, the researcher recommends that the Ministry of General Education through the Curriculum Development Centre to work hand in hand with teacher specialists from respective Special Needs Schools so as to develop more appropriate teaching and learning materials for deaf or hard of hearing learners. Key words: Pedagogic, strategies, reading, deaf and hard of hearing, constructivism, multimodal.
Description
Thesis of Master of Education in Literacy, Language and Applied Linguistics.