Lipreading Classes

Lip reading can be discreet and invaluable aid in understanding conversations and overcoming the difficulties associated with hearing loss.

Deaf CanDo is offering a new and very innovative concept using a 10 week computer based course for any hearing impaired adult who wishes to learn lip-reading as an aid to understanding conversational speech. The course has been developed by Dr Mary Allen who is also the tutor.

No computer skills are required, and in fact, by undertaking the course students who have no previous computer skills will have the added benefit of becoming familiar with them

The focus will be on the speech movements of consonants in the English language using hundreds of video clips and interactive exercises to help the student learn lip-reading.

The tutor, D Mary Allen, holds a BA in Liberal Studies; Honours in Communication Studies and her Ph.D. is in Education, specializing in the field of learning lip-reader herself, having relied on lip-reading since being hearing impaired at birth.

The sessions are one hour duration and both morning and evening classes are available depending on booking for more information contact Deaf CanDo.

Brief Outline of Course

This is a new computer-based 10 week course, using a CD-ROM developed by the tutor Dr Mary Allen. The focus will be on the speech movements of consonants in the English language. The course consists of 10 one hour lessons, using hundreds of video clips and interactive exercises to help the student learn lip-reading. There will be some group activity that will encourage students to participate in the learning process. Information on hearing loss and coping strategies will be given as opportunity arises.

The course is for any hearing impaired adult who wishes to learn lip-reading as an aid to understanding conversational speech. Computers will be used throughout the course, and students will be encouraged to take active participation in class activity and learning. There are no audio instructions in the computer course as the focus has been on visual delivery of the course material.

By the end of the course the student:

• should be able to understand the usefulness of lip-reading in helping understand basic conversational speech
• will have gained some basic computer skills (for those who had no previous computer knowledge or experience).

Course requirements

No computer skills required. Doing this course will actually introduce the students to computers and they will develop basic computer skills.

Course Dates and cost

Courses run throught the year subject to enrollment numbers.
 

Cost: $140.00 per person for a 1 hour session each week over 10 weeks.

A minimum of 8 participants are required for courses to run.

Background

The tutor, Dr Mary Allen, holds a BA in Liberal Studies (majoring in Information Management and Italian Studies) and Honours in Communication Studies. Her Ph.D. is in Education, specialising in the field of learning lip-reading from computers. As part of the doctoral research, she developed a lip-reading software to enable hearing impaired adults and found effective. In that time also, she presented papers on her research at three international conferences.

Dr Allen herself, is an experienced lip-reader, having relied on lip-reading since being hearing impaired at birth. In recent years, she has won national and state awards in national lip-reading competitions.