What is lipreading?
Lipreading simply means to follow conversation by looking at the speaker's lips when they're talking.
A lipreader will also be looking at the speaker's facial expressions, gestures and body language and using their residual hearing to pick up sound.
It's not possible to lip read every single word a person says, but it is possible to use lipreading as an aid to communication and many people with acquired hearing loss benefit from learning this technique.
Why learn to lip read?
Lipreading helps you make the most of your hearing
If you have hearing loss, but still use spoken English to communicate, learning to lip read can help you to make the most of your residual hearing.
Hearing loss makes it hard to follow conversations, especially if there is any background noise. When you learn to lip read you're able make the most of your residual hearing by supplementing what you can hear, with what you can see.
Lipreading supports communication and wellbeing
People with a hearing loss often find it hard to socialise or to follow conversations at home or at work. For some people, this can lead to feelings of frustration, isolation and depression. Lipreading not only helps you to improve your communication and be able to socialise, it also offers helpful tips for managing hearing loss in everyday life.
Build your confidence and become part of a community
If you choose to join a lipreading class at a place like City Lit, there is also a social benefit to learning to lip read. Many learners who joined the lipreading class at City Lit tell us it’s the first time they've ever met other people who understand how it feels to be isolated by hearing loss. In their feedback at the end of the course, the majority of learners tell us they feel their overall confidence has improved and they feel more able to participate in social situations.
The #1 tip for learning to lip read
Practise, practise, practise!
Due to differences in accent and facial features, everyone's lip patterns are slightly different. It's really helpful to practise lip reading on as many different people as you can.
People with hearing loss tend to naturally acquire a degree of lip reading over time. But by attending a lip reading class, you get the benefit of learning about the theory and by getting lots of opportunities to practise.
Also, did I mention practise? Learning to be a proficient lip reader is roughly the same level of study and commitment as learning to speak a new language.
Could you benefit from lipreading?
People who would benefit from learning to lipread include:
Individuals with hearing loss
The majority of people who come to class have some degree of hearing loss from mild to profound and use spoken English, not sign language, to communicate.
People with progressive hearing loss
People with progressive hearing loss may choose to join a lipreading class whist their hearing loss is still mild so they can prepare for future communication challenges and cope better as the condition progresses.
People of any age
There is no age restriction for learning lipreading. People of any age can benefit from a lipreading class.
Hearing friends and family members
Although classes are typically attended by people who have hearing loss themselves, hearing friends or family members who want to support someone with hearing loss are also welcome can benefit from learning to lipread.
People who do not use hearing aids
You don’t have to be a hearing aid user to learn lipreading as lipreading can be useful even without assistive devices.
New learners are often worried in case their hearing loss will stop them being able to follow the class. The majority of our tutors have hearing loss themselves and are teaching from lived experience.
At City Lit, all our tutors have all completed a specialised lipreading teacher training course. They've been trained to communicate with people with hearing loss, and will make adjustments to ensure everyone is included.
For example, we have a hearing loop available in the classroom, we can use live captions on our SmartBoard and we make sure that all the instructions for the exercises are written up on the board for anyone who can't hear the tutor's voice.
We offer classes in our building in Covent Garden, and also online classes via Zoom. We find that Zoom is a helpful way for people with hearing loss to learn. For example, you can use captions, you can join from a quiet spot at home to reduce background noise, you can get a close view of the speakers face for lipreading on the computer screen and you can link a Bluetooth hearing aid directly to your computer to make the most of your residual hearing.
What is Included in a Lipreading Class?
The full title of our classes is ‘Lipreading and managing hearing loss’. We cover the theory of lipreading and do lots of practise using different types of exercises. If you enjoy learning languages or doing puzzles you would probably enjoy a lipreading class. We cover topics to help you to manage your hearing loss in everyday life. Such as techniques for helping you communicate in noisy environments or tips on how to access help. We also offer half day workshops covering these topics for anyone who wants help with managing hearing loss but doesn’t want to commit to learning to lipread. These include 'Managing Hearing Loss at Work' and 'Living Well with Hearing Loss'. We do not cover BSL in a lipreading class. The classes are taught in spoken and written English and are not suitable for anyone who uses BSL as their first language and needs an interpreter. However, we do offer plenty of classes for Deaf people and anyone interested in learning BSL.
Learn to Lip Read at City Lit
At City Lit, we offer lipreading and hearing loss management classes to boost your communication skills and confidence in social situations. Most of our tutors have personal experience with hearing loss and teach from lived experience.
