The use of oral pedagogy in teaching English as a second language to students with hearing impairment

This study seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of the oral method used in teaching English as a second language to students with hearing impairment in two schools for the deaf: Ma. Lena Buhay Memorial Foundation, Inc. (MLBF) and The Philippine Institute for the Deaf (PID). To achieve this goal, the researcher determined whether the method achieves the general objectives of the schools and their English programs.This study employed the descriptive-analytical method of Classroom Research. Both quantitative and qualitative techniques were combined as and when appropriate to setting, aim and tasks.The subjects were students with hearing impairment in Grade 5 at the Philippine Institute for the Deaf (PID) and Grade 6 and First Year High School at the Ma. Lena Buhay Memorial Foundation, Inc. (MLBF). Thirty English classes with an oral component (Speech, Language Arts, Auditory Training and Reading) were observed twice a week for approximately 10 weeks.The researcher sat in the classes and audiotaped 14 classes at MLBF and 14 classes at PID. She videotaped one class each in both schools and took footages of students interacting outside the classrooms of MLBF. Two evaluators were asked to transcribe audiotapes of 12 classes and analyze the lessons to validate the findings of the observer. A survey questionnaire was distributed among the teachers observed and interviews were conducted among the administrators, teachers and students of both schools. The researcher came up with the following findings:1. Majority of the classroom practices are aligned with the general objectives of the schools and their English programs.2. The method most often employed by the teachers in both schools is the Audiolingual Method. The techniques/strategies used are: correction of errors, repetition, modeling, pattern drills, question and answer, and giving of directions and information.3. The techniques used by the teachers achieve majority of the classroom objectives since more than 50 percent of the students were able to accomplish the oral tasks.4. Students communicate orally and manually in and out of the classrooms with their classmates, but they communicate orally with the teachers and with a guest or stranger.5. Classroom interaction shows a good balance of teacher talk vis-a-vis student talk although teacher talk is slightly more than student talk.Hence, the Oral Method achieves the first objective of the schools to develop receptive and expressive communication. However, since the goal of the schools is correctness rather than fluency, the second objective to prepare the students for mainstreaming in regular schools seems to be neglected due to the general inability of the students to talk fluently. The Audiolingual Method that is used in both schools does not seem to develop the ability of the students to comprehend or think critically