Lipreading teacher training course

What is the course about?

You will acquire the knowledge, skill and attitudes necessary to qualify as a teacher of lipreading to adults, most of whom will have an acquired hearing loss (though some may have been born deaf, they will however use speech as their preferred method of communication).

This course will be delivered online and onsite and will involve tutor presentation and class discussion. Student preparation and homework outside class times is strongly encouraged. To fully participate in the online part of the class, you will need:
• An email address
• A reliable internet connection
• A computer/laptop/tablet with a fully updated browser (preferably google chrome). Your device will need a microphone and camera (a webcam is helpful).

What will we cover?

The course will include:
• The theory and practice of teaching lipreading to post-lingually deaf people
• The physiological processes and the psychology of the adult with an acquired hearing loss
• The effects of acquired hearing loss upon the communication of adults and ways of alleviating those effects
• Ways in which amplification, lipreading and communication are optimised by those with hearing loss
• The phonology of spoken English and its application to lipreading learning and teaching
• Specialist techniques and methodology for teaching lipreading
• Services and assistive aids to those with acquired hearing loss.

What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...

Demonstrate knowledge of:
• how adults with an acquired hearing loss lipread
• how to recognise, select and use appropriate methods and techniques throughout a course of teaching lipreading to adults with an acquired hearing loss
• the importance of voice and devoice, and show how residual hearing can be combined with lipreading
• the factors affecting optimum conditions for lipreading in any situation
• how to encourage adults with acquired deafness to maximise these factors
• the effects of deafness on people
• how to explain the types and causes of deafness to adults with an acquired hearing loss
• how to explain relevant environmental aids to adults with an acquired hearing loss
• when other professional help is needed and how to make appropriate suggestions to adults with an acquired
hearing loss
• the routes to obtaining a hearing aid and the roles of professionals in ENT/Audiology

To pass this course you will need to:
• Attend 80% of the course
• Successfully deliver an assessed teaching session
• Complete and pass written assignments

What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?

You will need to be fluent in spoken and written English. Spoken English should be your preferred method of communication since you are training to teach people who mostly have acquired hearing loss and who use spoken English and not BSL. The course is therefore delivered in spoken English and not in BSL.

You do not necessarily have to be a good lipreader yourself to teach lipreading. Most importantly, you do need to have clear lipshapes so that other people find you easy to lipread. This will be assessed in the interview.

No formal academic qualifications are required; although you will need to demonstrate that you can research and write assignments independently. Acceptance onto the course follows a successful interview. Prior to interview, you should visit some lipreading classes to help gain some awareness of the role of a lipreading teacher with post-lingually deafened adults. Some lipreading classes are online and some are face-to face. (Class information available on ATLA website https://atlalipreading.org.uk/)

You will also need basic computer skills including word processing, using email, researching topics and accessing resources on the internet. There will be some live online sessions during this course taught on Zoom, so experience of participating in an online meeting e.g. on Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Google Meet would be helpful but is not essential. You will be shown how to use the features of Zoom during the course.

There will also be an optional induction session before the first block if you need support with Zoom and accessing Google Classroom (our Virtual Learning Environment).

We will contact you by email with joining instructions before your course starts.

How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?

We use lectures, distance learning, demonstrations, group work, pair work, individual work, handouts, tests, teaching practice, tutorial, class visits and observation.

You will also write assignments in your own time and compile a coursework portfolio containing session plans, teaching material, tutor assessments and self-evaluations.
There will be some home study in between each lecture block.

The course uses Google Classroom, a Virtual Learning Environment. Resources, discussion and news forums will all be available on this site; you will need to access Google Classroom regularly throughout the course.

You will do teaching practice within the lecture blocks both at the City Lit and online.

You will also be required to observe and write up a range of lipreading teachers, both face-to-face and online.

Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?

• You will be given a reading list; buying the books is not compulsory.
• Paper, pens, A4 files, dividers, other stationery items, memory stick, printer ink
• Travel costs relating to course attendance and observations
• Cost of staying in London during lecture blocks (to be arranged by the student)
• Membership of Association of Teachers of Lipreading to Adults (ATLA). Student membership is currently free.

When I've finished, what course can I do next?

• Further courses in teaching adults
• Attend ATLA national and regional training days.