Deaf education, the Southeast Asian situation

By ANGELO G. GARCIA

October 18, 2011, 4:23am

MANILA, Philippines — The never-ending debate on whether English or Filipino should be the medium of classroom instruction has now extended to what language should be used in natural sign language for the Deaf.

Natural sign language has been the most common method of communication that majority of the Deaf have been accustomed to learn and use. In the Philippines, the Filipino Sign Language (FSL) is the dominant sign language. Although there are ethnic-based or localized versions of the sign language, FSL is still generally preferred among deaf Filipinos.

This same issue was in the core of discussion at the recent ASEAN Deaf Education Forum that was organized by the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB), the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), and supported by the Nippon Foundation Japan. This was held at the CSB Hotel located at the Angelo King International Center in Malate, Manila.

In the Philippines, access to deaf education is still insufficient. Only a handful of public schools with a Special Education Center offer education services for the deaf. (source: http://goo.gl/mYEFZ)

In the forum, representatives from the Philippines, Vietnam and Japan shared the situation of deaf education in their respective countries. They also cited how the use of their natural sign language as the medium of instruction is deemed the best way to go in deaf education.

“FSL is a language. It is the same issue as the use of Filipino, the vernacular language in regular education. In some parts of the country, lalo na ‘yung may mga ethnic communities, the advocacy is to use their language, their culture, the stories of their history integrated in the curriculum.

It is their life, it is their community, so when you know the language and what is being talked about, you’re open to learning,” said Theresa Christine De La Torre of the CSB Center for Education Access and Development (CEAD) Secondary Education Initiatives.

CEAD is a resource and development center of DLS-CSB. It is envisioned to take a leadership role in developing new grounds and initiatives that can benefit the Deaf through advocacy, research, training and development. CEAD conducted a study in 2008, 2009 and 2010 wherein they interviewed tertiary and secondary deaf students from private and public schools all over the country.

“It is necessary to present this perspective to shed light on issues that need to be addressed so that public and private organizations can work together on how to improve the situation and ensure the rights of the Deaf to accesses quality education,” De La Torre explained.

THE PROBLEMS

The study shows that deaf students were found to lack leadership skills and knowledge on sign language. The study also reveals that their attention skills are weak, their literacy and thinking skills are also weak, and that there are behavioral problems among deaf people.

These problems may be attributed to schools that have poor facilities and faculties that lack proper competencies in handling deaf students. The lack of interpreters, FSL skills, and understanding of the deaf culture are also to blame.

Most of the public schools in the country, especially those without Special Education (SpEd) centers, are not equipped with right tools and competencies in teaching deaf students. On the other hand, private schools device other methods in teaching deaf students. Some would rather use the American Sign Language as opposed to FSL.

The respondents even pointed out that teachers tend to look down at them and that they are not being given school works that are challenging enough for them. Some even said that the interpreters in their schools do not care for them at all.

However, the respondents are hoping that everything will change especially now that a dialogue has been opened between the Department of Education and deaf educators, to hopefully change the landscape of deaf education in the Philippines.

“We hope that FSL will be the official medium of instruction in deaf education. Our teachers are creative in their teaching strategies but we need a curriculum that develops students’ thinking, confidence and their intelligence. There are extensive opportunities in learning,” De La Torre shares.

THE VIETNAM SITUATION

In Dong Nai Province, Southern Vietnam, the Dong Nai Deaf Edcuation Project of Dong Nai University is recognized as a project that is changing deaf education in the said Southeast Asian county.

Dr. James Clyde Woodward, an expert in linguistics and anthropological analyses of sign languages in deaf cultures, started the Dong Nai Deaf Education Project. He is also the co-director of the Center for Sign Lingustics at the Chinese University in Hong Kong.

Before the project started in 2000, there was no education available for senior high school and college-level students. The Dong Nai Project provides deaf people an opportunity to take high school and university education.

Since it started the project, it has graduated its first junior high school class and the first and only senior high school class composed of deaf students.

Today, the Dong Nai Project has significantly improved the standing of deaf students in Vietnam. All Grade 9 students passed the national examination, a feat not even regular schools and regular students have achieved. Ninety four percent of their Grade 12 class passed the national examination as well.

The project uses Ho Chi Minh City Sign Language (HCMCSL), the dominant sign language in Southern Vietnam. Vietnam has three sign languages, the HCMCSL, Hanoi Sign Language, and Hai Phong Sign Language. They are all recognized sign languages.

“We use the local sign language for education purposes. We use the same books for the hearing students. We also have deaf teachers who teach the students,” he shares. “Deaf-centered means that the deaf people are the one who make decision regarding the project.

Even though the teachers are hearing, the students make the decision in this project. The people who know more about education are deaf people themselves.”

Most deaf children in Vietnam are taught how to speak orally at an early age because parents believe that if they learn how to sign first, they won’t speak anymore. Although Dr. Woodward debunks this practice.

“Ideally, natural sign language is best in deaf education, because natural sign language make use of visual space in a way that is very clear to deaf people. I would like to see more opportunities for deaf people according to their needs, wants and desires.

The program that we have will work for anybody because you don’t have to hear in order to be able to use it. If you hear, you can still sign it, if you don’t hear you can sign it. It’s beneficial for both but some people may not want this program.

I would like to see a variety of deaf programs in Vietnam. I would like to see more opportunity for bilingual education. I would like to see this program to be started in the elementary level like in Japan,” he says.

EDUCATION IS COMPULSOR IN JAPAN

In Japan, the education of deaf students is compulsory up to age 15. After that, the deaf students have to be on their own if they want to continue their education.

Nevertheless, awareness is still being raised to make Japanese sign language as the medium of instruction in their schools.

“In Japan, we never experience JSL (Japanese Sign Language) as the language of instruction. Most of our teachers are hearing teachers. In teaching class what is important is teaching in JSL,” shares Norie Oka of the Meisei Gakuen School for the Deaf, Japan.

Of the more than 70,000 SPED teachers in Japan, there are a total of 318 deaf teachers. In Mesei Gakuen School for the Deaf, 14 out of 26 faculty are deaf teachers.

“We still need to develop the materials we use in Japan. We need to have awareness of JSL in deaf education. We also need awareness in self-reliance, study of deaf identity, communication, and competence in Japan,” Oka shares.

“We want our children to learn and think by themselves, as well as develop as a human being with strong identity. In this aspect, the deaf and the hearing equals,” she adds.