Teaching English as a foreign language to deaf and hard of hearing pupils in some European countries and in Serbia

Abstract

Teaching a foreign language to deaf and hard of hearing pupils is a relatively new concept in modern education systems in the world and in Serbia, which is being developed in the last decades of the twentieth and early twenty-first century, and is based on educational policy of equal opportunities for all, representing attitude that all students should be provided equal opportunities for education, as well as the same quality of education, without discrimination on any grounds. Until recently it was thought that deaf and hard of hearing pupils cannot learn a foreign language, as it presents a major challenge for them, because they often have difficulty in learning the spoken language of the country they live in. The common attitude was that deaf and hard of hearing pupils cannot adopt the system of another, or a foreign language. Nowadays, it is recognized that learning and knowing of a foreign language, on some level, can provide a new perspective for deaf and hard of hearing pupils, in terms of facilitating access to higher levels of education, better employment opportunities and career advancement, greater access to information on the Internet, travelling and similar. Deaf and hard of hearing pupils, as a foreign language learners, usually learn English language (in non-English-speaking countries), because educational systems recognized the importance of English for everyday life in the modern world. Given the fact that the teaching of a foreign language for deaf and hard of hearing pupils is a relatively new phenomenon, there is no consensus about the appropriate teaching approach, working methods, as well as the contents of teaching a foreign language for this population of pupils. In some countries, the deaf and hard of hearing pupils learn a sign language of English-speaking countries, such as the British or American Sign Language as a foreign language, while in other countries, they learn spoken English and work to develop all four language skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking), with necessary modifications, in accordance with individual mental and physical abilities of deaf and hard of hearing pupils. In the last twenty years, in Europe and in the world, numerous programs for teaching English as a foreign language for deaf and hard of hearing pupils were developed and it would be useful to establish adequate standards of skills and competence in the knowledge of a foreign language for deaf and hard of hearing pupils. As teaching a foreign language for deaf and hard of hearing pupils raises a number of issues further research and drafting of various types of experts in this field are needed. This paper gives an overview of the system and content of work in teaching English as a foreign language for deaf and hard of hearing students in Norway, Sweden, Poland, Bulgaria and Serbia and presents some relevant research projects in this field.

Nastava stranog jezika za gluve i nagluve učenike je relativno nov koncept u sistemima savremenog obrazovanja, u svetu i u Srbiji, koji se razvija u poslednjim decenijama dvadesetog i početkom dvadeset i prvog veka, a zasniva se na obrazovnoj politici jednakih mogućnosti za sve, koja zastupa stav da svim učenicima treba pružiti podjednake mogućnosti za obrazovanje, kao i isti kvalitet obrazovanja, bez diskriminacije po bilo kom osnovu. Donedavno se smatralo da gluvi i nagluvi učenici ne mogu da uče strane jezike, kao i da bi im to predstavljalo veliki izazov, jer često imaju poteškoća sa učenjem i govornog jezika zemlje u kojoj žive, pa je zastupan stav da gluvi i nagluvi učenici ne mogu da usvoje sistem još jednog, odnosno stranog jezika. Danas je prepoznato da učenje i poznavanje stranog jezika može da pruži novu perspektivu gluvim i nagluvim učenicima, u smislu olakšanog pristupa višim nivoima obrazovanja, boljih mogućnosti za zapošljavanje i napredovanje u poslu, lakšeg pristupa informacijama na internetu, putovanja i slično. Gluvi i nagluvi učenici, kao strani jezik, najčešće uče engleski jezik (u zemljama neengleskog govornog područja), jer je prepoznat značaj poznavanja engleskog jezika za život u savremenom svetu. S obzirom na činjenicu da je nastava stranog jezika za gluve i nagluve učenike relativno nov fenomen, ne postoje jedinstveni stavovi o adekvatnom nastavnom pristupu, metodama rada, kao i sadržajima nastave stranog jezika za ovu populaciju učenika. U nekim zemljama, gluvi i nagluvi učenici uče neki od znakovnih jezika zemalja engleskog govornog područja, poput britanskog ili američkog znakovnog jezika, kao strani jezik, dok se u drugim državama uči govorni engleski jezik i radi na razvoju sve četiri jezičke veštine (čitanje, pisanje, slušanje i govor), uz neophodne modifikacije, u skladu sa individualnim psihofizičkim mogućnostima gluvih i nagluvih učenika. U poslednjih dvadeset godina, u Evropi i svetu, razvijaju se brojni programi nastave engleskog kao stranog jezika za gluve i nagluve učenike i teži se uspostavljanju adekvatnih standarda veština i kompetencija u poznavanju stranog jezika za gluve i nagluve učenike. Kako nastava stranog jezika za gluve i nagluve učenike pokreće brojna pitanja neophodna su dalja istraživanja i usaglašavanja stavova stručnjaka različitih profila u ovoj oblasti. Ovaj rad daje pregled sistema i sadržaja rada u nastavi engleskog kao stranog jezika za gluve i nagluve učenike, u Norveškoj, Švedskoj, Poljskoj, Bugarskoj i Srbiji i predstavlja neka relevantna istraživanja i projekte iz ove oblasti. .