Posted by 1001 Webs on 11/09/07 00:44

On Nov 8, 9:26 pm, Phil Payne <p...@isham-research.co.uk> wrote:
> > Similarly the deaf; those born profoundly death may not have learned a
> > spoken language (English, Spanish, German etc) to a high level, and as
> > such may find pictures easier to comprehend than written words.
>
> "Hey, she's deaf. Just give her some picture books."
>
> That has to be the most ignorant, presumptive, prejudiced and
> downright DUMB statement I've read on Usenet for many years.
>
> My late and much lamented grandmother was born profoundly deaf as a
> result of her mother catching Rubella during pregnancy.
>
> Not only was reading one of her greatest pleasures in life, but she
> was very adept on a piano even though she could hear absolutely
> nothing. She had a metronome on top of the instrument and just
> enjoyed using her fingers and the rhythm. Even as a seven-year-old I
> enjoyed her playing of the classics.
>
> She could lipread at thirty yards and had her eyes checked twice a
> year to keep up this capability. Nobody had any secrets from her.
>
> I've known her many times watch TV programmes for a few minutes and
> then sort in disgust: "All stolen from Marlowe/Shakespeare/whoever".
>
> She lived near Tamworth in Staffordshire. The Mobile Library used to
> stop outside the house once a fortnight and the driver would walk down
> the path and wave through the window - she would then go out and get
> eight books. You were only allowed four, but she had a ticket in her
> husband's name and got another four on that.
>
> The scriptwriters on Starsky and Hutch once admitted they had four
> basic plots and two variants, all from Shakespeare. My grandma
> spotted every one - ten minutes into a programme she'd tell you which
> one they were using and start predicting EVERY SINGLE scene. "He's
> the Malvolio character this time."
>
> Until the middle of the eighteenth century, deaf people in England
> were unable to "inherit property, to marry, to receive education, to
> have adequately challenging work-and were denied fundamental human
> rights" (Sachs, Oliver Sacks, Seeing Voices. Harper Perennial: New
> York, 1990.)
>
> Let's not go back there, huh?


A practical guide to teaching and supporting deaf learners in foreign
language classes

This book is about deaf people learning spoken/written foreign
languages. To date there has been a dearth of information on this
subject, and in that vacuum there has been a tendency to think that
deaf learners should be steered away from foreign language learning.
http://www.directlearn.co.uk/ashop/catalogue.php?cat=8

How the Deaf (and other Sign language users) are Deprived of their
Linguistic Human Rights.
http://www.terralingua.org/DeafHR.html

[Back to original message]