Teach Kiswahili to hearing impaired

Kiswahili is important not only as a national and official language in Kenya but also a compulsory subject in the primary and secondary school curricula and a medium of instruction in lower primary.

Kiswahili is a lingua franca — a language or dialect systematically used by people who do not share a native language or dialect to communicate, particularly as a third language distinct from both native languages.

With the oldest and richest written literature south of the Sahara, Kiswahili has increasingly become prominent because of its demand and use as a national and international language and is poised to become the common language in Africa.

NOT TAUGHT TO DEAF

However, Kiswahili is not taught to the deaf and hearing impaired.

There was an outcry that learners performed poorly in Kiswahili in local and national exams.

Some stakeholders even conceded that Kiswahili overburdened learners since they already had to learn two other languages (English and Kenyan Sign Language, or KSL) and that it be removed from the curriculum.

KSL follows the language structure of the American Sign Language (ASL), often incorporating non-manual markers to compliment signs. They include gestures, facial expressions, signing space and the speed of signs.

Conversely, KSS (Kenyan Sign for Schools) often misses out on the subtle features of language.

It uses a subject-object-verb (S-O-V) sentence pattern while English uses subject-verb-object (S-V-O). A sentence like “I am going to the store” will be signed “I store go”.

VISUAL INFORMATION

Notably, KSL is not a written language: Its function is to transmit information visually.

While this helps a deaf person to communicate effectively, it is confusing while writing.

Although both KSL and KSS are used in schools all over Kenya, it is unclear what is sanctioned by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD). However, the Kenyan National Association of the Deaf (KNAD) and the University of Nairobi-based Kenyan Sign Language Research Project (KSLRP) advocate KSL.

Majority of deaf adults in Kenya use KSL.

Post-lingual deaf adults (those who lost their hearing after they had learnt a language, typically at five years or older) tend to advocate KSS since they have a previous understanding of the features of spoken language.

Pre-lingual deaf adults did not have a solid foundation in any language and so have limited KSS comprehension. Many teachers find KSS easier for leaners to learn and use as they simply sign exactly what they say.

But their students have difficulty understanding them. For deaf Kenyans, KSL is a natural means of communicating; many pupils revert to KSL outside class.

As children join primary school, they are expected to acquire pre-requisite language skills by the end of the eighth year.

They should be able to listen, speak, read and write in Kiswahili and develop an interest in it beyond primary school level.

Learners with hearing impairment are not exceptional since they pursue the same curriculum as the rest. Ultimately, they should read, write and use signed media for Kiswahili language at the highest level of education.

LISTENING EXPERIENCE

Hearing children learn to talk by listening to people around them use language meaningfully. But children who do not hear lack the listening experience.

English and Kiswahili are diverse languages but they use fairly similar letters of the alphabet.

Teaching and learning of reading and writing can basically be done using similar strategies.

The challenge is, listening and speaking for children with hearing impairment are skills that need a differentiated approach.

Kiswahili-specific signs should be established for KSL to facilitate comprehension and proficiency of the language while schools should have adequate visual aids for Kiswahili on display.

Kiswahili textbooks should be adequate in number and used optimally for the deaf and visually impaired and an exam also set.

Besides training all teachers and exam officials to translate English signs into Kiswahili, the Ministry of Education should include Kiswahili, which should be taught to the deaf and hearing impaired, and add it to their syllabus.

It is imperative that learners, particularly post-lingually deaf and hard of hearing, become proficient in Kiswahili to acquire the necessary communicative skills to integrate into the community.

Ms Onjoro, a publisher, author, motivational speaker, educationalist, consultant and freelance writer, is a PhD student at Mount Kenya University. [email protected].