COMMUNICATION TRAINING SKILL FOR IMPROVEMENT OF ORAL/AURAL COMMUNICATION AMONG LEARNERS WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENTS IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS FOR THE DEAF IN WESTERN REGION OF KENYA

Deafness can adversely affect a learner’s educational performance in the areas of oral communication and experiential learning. The greatest problem of learners with hearing impairment whose hearing loss range from 16 ? 55 dB HL, and who depend on residual hearing and lip - reading as their primary mode of communication is inability to communicate orally. This calls for audiological rehabilitation (AR) process which aims at reducing communication deficits that are secondary to hearing impairment. AR process basically equips a deaf and the hard of hearing learner with skills to enable him/her orally communicate with the wider hearing society. The AR programs were contained in the Provisional Curriculum and Guidelines for the hearing impaired children in the stages I, II, and III, all containing specialist subjects For unknown reasons, this trend started to decline around 1988 and various reasons have been speculated for such a decline (Abila, 1988). Limited research has been carried out to establish the reasons for deterioration of communication training skills in the schools. The objective of this study was to find out related communication training skills taught to children with hearing impairments for improvement of their oral/aural communication in schools for the deaf in Western region of Kenya. Audiological Rehabilitation model advanced by Stephens and Kramer (2011) which furnishes a deaf learner with communication tools to enable him/her acquire oral communication skills was adapted for this study as a conceptual model. Descriptive survey and correlational research designs were used in this study. Target population comprised 18 head teachers, 188 teachers, and 318 hearing impaired learners. Saturated sampling technique was used to select 15 head teachers, leaving out three for piloting, while purposive sampling technique was used to select 56 teachers and 95 children with hearing impairments. Data was collected using questionnaires and interview schedules. Validity of the instruments was established by experts in the area of the study. Reliability of the instrument was determined through a pilot study using test re-test method involving 3 head teachers, and 9 teachers. Reliability coefficient for head teachers’ questionnaire was .89; teachers’ questionnaire was .87, all significant at p