Examining Difficulties of Students with Hearing Impairments in Reading Comprehension According to Teacher Opinions

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the problems faced by hearing impaired students in their reading comprehension skills based on teachers’ opinions. In this study, which was carried out with the qualitative research method, the data were obtained from semi-structured interviews. The participants were 10 classroom teachers working at Ankara Kemal Yurtbilir Hearing Impaired Primary School, and the data were analyzed using the inductive method. A total of 7 themes were determined from the findings. According to the research findings, reading comprehension skill is considered as an extremely important skill by all participants in the participation of students in educational process, academic success and participation in social life. Teachers stated that hearing impaired students do not have sufficient vocabulary, and they are insufficient in their suffix knowledge and usage. In addition, the participants stated that hearing impaired students experienced problems especially in the comprehension dimension of reading. All the teachers interviewed stated that the training program used was not prepared for students with hearing impairment, and that they needed a separate curriculum fort the hearing impaired. Training well-equipped personnel and providing educational materials are among the other notable expectations and suggestions.