Including Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students in Foreign Language Instruction


	Since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, students who are deaf and hard of hearing are entering a greater number of postsecondary programs. At the same time, more and more postsecondary programs are struggling with just how to accommodate these students in their classrooms. Few classes, however, strike as much fear as those involving foreign language instruction. This training module provides information on the many issues involved, along with tips and resources for instructors, students, interpreters and service providers on how to create an effective, positive language learning experience for hard-of-hearing and deaf students. Note: although the presentation is divided into sections of tips for each of these four groups, each group may benefit from information in all sections.
	This training module was developed by Cheryl D. Davis, Ph.D, coordinator of the WROCC Outreach Site at WOU. WROCC at WOU provides technical assistance and support to postsecondary institutions to assist them in accommodation and access issues that may arise around serving deaf and hard-of-hearing students/clients. WROCC at WOU is located in Monmouth, Oregon at Western Oregon University. It is one of several projects associated with the Regional Resource Center on Deafness, in the Division of Special Education, School of Education.
	The information included in this module must be credited to the appropriate individuals. My thanks to Donalda Ammons, Ph.D., professor of Spanish at Gallaudet University for her training materials and expertise, and to Cindy Moore, RID CI/CT and Martha Smith, M.S. from Western Oregon University, for developing the access and accommodation ideas and issues included here. Also, much of the information in the interpreter section was drawn from two papers published on the internet by David Bar-Tzur and David Quinto, referenced at the end of this module. Comments, questions, and corrections should be addressed to Cheryl Davis at davisc@wou.edu.