Congratulations to our trainee lipreading teachers
City Lit’s trainee lipreading teachers celebrated in their virtual Oscars awards party on the final day of their course as they became the first ever lipreading teachers to complete the entire teacher training course online. The trainees have met on Zoom two days each month since last October while the normal course was adapted throughout the year to transfer to online delivery by trainers Fiona Pickett and Lorraine Braggins.
Head of Progamme for Lipreading and acquired hearing loss, Lorraine Braggins, said: “Our trainees were not just learning the plate spinning you do when you teach anything online. They were also applying specialist methodology for delivering lipreading exercises to deaf and hard of hearing learners. Half of this year’s group also have a hearing loss themselves, so on top of that they were reading captions which they rely on to understand what their students are saying. And all this while juggling the stresses of life and work through a pandemic! What a phenomenal achievement for them all.”
Having to put the whole course online has not only enabled this cohort to complete their training but it has equipped them with the skills needed to teach in our digital world. The past year has seen a trend towards learning lipreading online as those with hearing loss sought out ways to maintain their communication and feel less isolated. There is a desperate countrywide shortage of lipreading teachers to teach many of the estimated 11 million people in the U.K. with hearing loss. So while these newly qualified teachers will be able to teach in a traditional classroom, the ability to also offer online classes means they can reach learners who might otherwise not be able to access a local course. City Lit launched the Hear My Lips campaign to train more teachers nationwide when it celebrated its centenary in 2019.
Lorraine Braggins says: “Our trainees come from all over the country and from a whole range of different professional backgrounds so they all bring something valuable to the course which they can share. Though they were not meeting up in person, we were really impressed by the support they gave each other and how much of a group dynamic they created from their screens. We congratulate our newly qualified lipreading teachers on their great achievement and wish them all the very best in their new careers.”
Applications are now being accepted for the next course starting Sept 2021
For more details email: lipreading@citylit.ac.uk
City Lit also offers face-to face and online lipreading courses from introduction to advanced levels.
For more details email: lipreading@citylit.ac.uk
Lipreading teacher training
Lipreading and managing hearing loss classes
You can now study in the comfort of your home with our online lipreading and managing hearing loss courses - Browse our courses here >
