Ni Gallant: To speak or sign at university – my dilemma

As a very “grown up” (in the around a while sense) and who speaks but prefers interpreters for receiving in any situation more than one to one, I can see your dilemma. I was the only deaf person in mainstream school when interpreters were unheard of so had no choice but to use my voice to be understood & to do loads of reading to keep up. I still prefer to use my own voice rather than someone else’s for the reasons you say – I want my individual tone & word choices used & however great an interpreter is they can’t do that exactly as ‘me’. People I know weell are used to this, new people may be puzzled by really that is not my problem. But I know others like me who make the opposite choice.

I am in the same situation as NI, I am a fluent BSL user and my voice sounds like a ‘hearing person’. There are times when I find my clear voice to be a barrier to communication, especially when people assume I can hear as well as I can speak; which is not the case.

I tend to look at my communication skills as assets, and there will be times in your life when you will want to use your voice to help you along you way. But there are also times when using BSL, without your voice, could be equally productive. You will have to make that decision about what is best for you.

I have one golden rule. I will never use my voice in the company of other BSL users. If other Deaf people are using interpreters (in a meeting, for example), I will then use BSL too. There are times when it is important to show others where your political affinity lies. In my own sense of self, I am more comfortable in the company of other Deaf people and it is important that my voice doesn’t put my peers at a disadvantage.

As for interpreters, one of the biggest lessons I have had is to learn how to like interpreters. It is a difficult thing to do when you are asking another person to be your voice, when you already have one. Sometimes, you will be quite critical of the interpreter’s choices when they provide a voice over. I have learnt to love interpreters who go the extra mile to create a quality voiceover, as they build your personality into their rendition. In time, you will know who you want to work with and they will become your allies.

The last thing for me is that you need to abandon the idea that ‘one should use their voice if they have one’. You are just a person who knows two languages. You will make a day to day, even a second to second, decision about which language serves you best.

While you are a student, I am a lecturer; so I sit on the other side of the fence. I am faced with the question of whether using BSL or English would suit the situation best. All of my students are non-sign language users/hearing but there is something about using BSL that grabs students’ attention. I have often used BSL, especially in front of an audience in a large lecture theatre. In a tutorial or seminar, I sometimes use my voice because the student will want to have access to the English I use as an academic. You see, my languages are my tools to help me do my job the best I can.

I understand and I have two coping strategies;
1. Tell them that your ear is broken, not your voice!
2. Play the lip-reading game – Speak a word without your voice and see if they get it. Usually, they get a shock to find out how hard it is.

What gets me is that my computer doesn’t accept ‘lipread’ as a correctly spelt word!

Personally, I prefer to be with my deaf friends using sign language, as I feel comfortable and I am not ‘medically deaf’ when I am with them. I’m proud to be Deaf and not have a hearing problem.

I hope that helps.

Reg 🙂

Ni,

I think there’s a number of different issues for you – situationally driven, and I don’t think there’s going to be a one-answer-fits all. I’m like you – someone who is very comfortable with speaking but needs that little extra help. Unlike you, I’m actually NOT that comfortable with my own signing skills, so it would be very daunting for me to put across a complex theory in sign. I’m also a final year undergraduate – history – and a mature student, so I don’t worry about the whole socialisation issue. But then, you don’t mention that really.

What I have found works for me:
– in the third year we don’t really have lectures any more, not in the sense of hearing them in large theatres with very large groups. Also, not all lecturers are the same: some welcome questions, some seem to prefer you to listen throughout. In my first and second year when I did have those kinds of lectures, I would simply lipread throughout and have a notetaker by my side. That did occasionally backfire, speakers with strong accents and so on – as others have said, I just did a lot of extra reading after the lecture. I made sure with every speaker that I could, to email them before the module started, to introduce myself, to explain that I would be sitting at the front and staring a lot (which can actually unsettle people who are used to people writing furiously instead!) and that please, if possible, not to turn your back to me. Luckily, the university was set up with good presentation equipment that meant the lecturer rarely had to look back at the screen.

I got copies of powerpoints – often, before the lecture (ask if they will give them to you beforehand). they help a lot, actually, if there’s good information on them (and not just pictures) as it gives you a starting point for the extra reading. Wikipedia is also good. I know they will tell you not to use it. Don’t reference it, for heavens sake, unless it really is suitable, but DO use it – it will give you a basic start on a subject which you can then use as a springboard for further reading. And often they do include a list of books on the subject which you can then raid the library for. Just don’t blindly accept everything you read on it!

In the lecture hall – I’m assuming that you sit quite near to the front, in order to lipread your lecturer. I would simply go to your lecturer before the lecture, say that you’re deaf (if they don’t already know) and that you have trouble pitching your voice so that everyone can hear you without deafening the lecturer. Tell them that you’ll pitch it so that the lecturer can hear you, but that if he/she feels that the people at the back won’t hear, can he repeat what you said? (In my book a good lecturer will do that ANYWAY, but not all do). I have to say, I think your uni colleagues are a far more dynamic and eager lot than mine are – most of mine at the back were fast asleep or playing games, i think!!!

Seminars – I was lucky in that one of my notetakers was also an interpreter. Due to my aforementioned lack of confidence with BSL, I knew I certainly didn’t want seminars interpreted into BSL, because I’d already found that actually “listening” to BSL and then reverting it back into English gave me more of a headache than actually just lipreading it. I had resigned myself to having to read the notes over the notetaker’s shoulder. However, the interpreter suggested that I try SSE or SEE, using a LOT of lipspeaking, with some sign to back it up, keeping to academic english structure and format. And it really worked for me, meant that I could keep up. As you said, there’s a delay and interrupting is difficult. What I found worked is asking the teacher or the seminar leader (who, in a GOOD seminar where the discussion is flowing, should be guiding the seminar discussion anyway) in the introductory email to make sure that people put their hands up – which also helps me to see who is speaking, as well as giving us all a go. Sure, sometimes you get it wrong. Accept that you will. Speak up at the beginning of the module, most people do a sort of round robin at the beginning of getting people to introduce themselves. use that opportunity to say that you’re deaf, that you have a ‘terp, and that if you do interrupt someone, you apologise now – you’re not being rude, you just didn’t hear them. I would also use your own voice here. It really is an advantage because you can put across exactly what you wanted to say, and not rely on someone else.

In addition, by going up to your lecturers and speaking to them, you will find that they remember you. That’s a big advantage if you’re a keen student because it means that when you come to ask them for a reference in the years to come, they will be able to give you a good reference that is highly specific and individual to you, rather than just a generic one that they give when they can’t quite remember the student involved! Develop a relationship with them – its not like at school where there was the them and us. They want to give you good marks, and if they see that you’re working to help yourself, they’re generally more willing to help you to get over whatever bumps you’ve got, if you didn’t quite hear something or your notetaker didn’t quite get something right in the seminar (and if they’re not, make a note, and avoid that lecturer like the plague when it comes to choosing a dissertation supervisor).

[and btw, when you find a lecturer/seminar leader that works well with your ‘terps/notetakers and values them enough to give them regular breaks, appreciates their input and views and speaks to you like a regular human being… value the hell out of them, is all i will say :)]

I’d also argue against your last part. You say you’re interested in the views of “grown up Deafies”. you’ve already found that your Deaf friends say you should sign, but ask yourself this: are they saying this from the perspective of giving you the best advice they can for you, or are they doing so from the sort of militant Deaf perspective? that’s the one area where I am different to you: I don’t count myself as being Deaf. I’m deaf. I do what works for me and the people around me, and to me, that is far more important than sticking to what other people say I should do for cultural reasons. University is more than merely learning about a subject to a degree level. its also about finding your own feet, growing into a rounded individual, rather than someone merely content to follow the crowd. Ask yourself: why is it so important for those Deaf friends of yours to continue to use BSL, even though, as you admit, they have a voice that they can use? Why is it so important to them that you do the same? Its about group reinforcement, us vs them, deliberately making yourself different against the world, to make the group stronger. which is fine; as long as it works for you. the moment it doesn’t, is the moment you must be strong enough to step forward and take the path that works for you.

Sorry this is a bit long!

keth

Keth, has anyone shown you Speech to Text Reporting or Electronic Notetaking support options for university – they can be funded via DSA very easily.

I am like you a deaf person with some but not fluent sign skills. I wish I’d known STTR was available in the UK and not just as CART in the USA. They can manage group discussions to some degree especially if they have been given proper preparation.