Challenges in Teaching English for the Deaf Students

Abstract

English is a subject included in the education curriculum in Indonesia.
According to the individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), one of the
categories of students with special needs is deaf students. This paper is aimed
to discover the challenges faced by deaf students’ teachers in teaching English
and the strategies to cope with those challenges based on relevant theories
and previous studies. The finding showed that teachers experienced several
challenges in teaching the deaf students such as getting students’ attention,
understanding words from students’ lip movements, giving definitions and
example, differentiating similar words in different contexts, and delivering
materials related to students prior knowledge. The strategies to cope those
challenges are asking students to prepare dictionaries, using alphabetic signs,
waving or patting students’ shoulders to get their attention. In addition it also
requires teaching model and professional teacher to be creative and effective
in teaching English for the deaf students.