{"id":804,"date":"2017-01-14T17:57:51","date_gmt":"2017-01-14T14:57:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/?p=804"},"modified":"2017-10-14T17:59:46","modified_gmt":"2017-10-14T14:59:46","slug":"only-class-for-teaching-english-to-deaf-and-mute-threatened-with-closure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/only-class-for-teaching-english-to-deaf-and-mute-threatened-with-closure\/","title":{"rendered":"Only Class for Teaching English to Deaf and Mute Threatened with Closure"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yemeni American News <\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"

Ibrahim Jahoush<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ibrahim Jahoush, who has lost his hearing\u00a0 wakes up to an impossible mission:\u00a0 Teaching English to the deaf and mute in Yemen.\u00a0 He himself has gone through much\u00a0 to learn English.\u00a0 He was confronted with an untold number of obstacles to keep pace with his peers of normal students and make it from one level to the next.<\/p>\n

Ibrahim recalls:\u00a0 \u201cI still remember that I went to Amideast and met a lady named Debby.\u00a0 This lady guided me to the links of the sites for teaching English to the handicapped with muteness and deafness and also sign language in foreign languages.\u00a0 She also advised me of the websites that especially help the deaf and mute to pass the TOEFL exam.\u00a0\u00a0 I began to focus on this point.\u00a0 My ambition became to help the deaf and mute learn the English language.\u00a0 Currently, unfortunately, the TOEFL for people with special needs is unavailable in Yemen.\u00a0 However with continued efforts we will hopefully reach this objective.\u201d<\/p>\n

The hardships faced by Ibrahim made him think of those young kids similar to him, who are deaf and who desire to improve their abilities and become proficient in English.\u00a0 Thus, he presented to the management of Yemen America Language Institute (YALI) a proposal to set up an English learning class to cater to the deaf and mute and meet their special needs:<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first\u201d, relates Ibrahim, I presented the idea to Yali\u2019s management and told them, \u2018will YALI accept to admit deaf students to study English\u2019\u201d.\u00a0 They replied that no they cannot accept deaf students.\u00a0 Then I asked them, \u201cHow come you accepted me then and I am deaf?\u201d\u00a0 They replied, \u201cYou are an exceptional case\u201d.\u00a0 I then told them there are others like me among the handicapped and some are even better than me. They then requested that I present a program to consider for this special course.\u00a0 So, I prepared an English language learning program suitable for the deaf and mute.\u00a0 The proposal was presented to the Academic Management, the program was approved for a trial semester\/term.\u00a0 We then set up a trial learning term and achieved remarkable success.\u00a0 Even YALI\u2019s management never expected that the deaf and mute were going to be able to understand\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ever since this special course started deaf and mute students flowed into this special YALI program by the scores.\u00a0 They were all determined to overcome their handicap with great enthusiasm and determination, and thus enhance their ability to mould into society.<\/p>\n

Ibrahim continues, \u201cThe Special Learning Program for the Deaf and Mute was different and especially designed for them.\u00a0 It makes learning simplified and suited to their needs.\u00a0 They find no difficulty with the program and soon after a while they are merged with their fellow normal students\u201d.<\/p>\n

What about deaf and mute female students?.<\/p>\n

\u201cGirl students actually constitute the majority of the learning program for the deaf students.\u00a0 You might even reverse the question and ask, are boys admitted into the program?\u00a0 This is because most of the appliers for the program are females\u201d.<\/p>\n

What are some of the obstacles faced in teaching the deaf students?\u00a0 Ibrahim states, \u201cMy experience with them as a teacher there is one obstacle that prevents my communications with them.\u00a0 This is especially with respect to women.\u00a0 The veil places me in an embarrassing position, as the program I concocted entails having to touch the neck to communicate; i.e. learning by reading the lips and deciphering by means of touching the vocal chords to get the voice rendition.\u00a0 In the case of the veiled ladies I have to bring in a female teacher or volunteer to carry out this task\u201d.<\/p>\n

Another problem told by Ibrahim:\u00a0 \u201cThe teachers teaching the normal curriculum do not have the slightest idea of the ability of the deaf students to absorb and thus treat them as they would any other normal students.\u00a0 The deaf student requires twice the time to understand and more hours\u201d.<\/p>\n

We were told that the this is the only course of its kind in Yemen and now it is threatened with closure, because it lacks support from any private or public entity.<\/p>\n

There is not any government entity that supports us except the Handicap Fund.\u00a0 This Handicap Fund support has also stopped because of the war situation.\u00a0 We were threatened with closure due to the halt of aid.\u00a0 We, the young people and a number of professors from Sana\u2019a University then took the initiative of setting up a charitable\u00a0 bazaar to save this special course for the deaf and mute.\u00a0 We were able to cover some of the costs.<\/p>\n

We also tried to contact the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation and I asked them give special courses for teaching English to the deaf and mute.\u00a0 However they just said they will consider the matter and study it, after the situation is stabilized and the war is over.\u00a0 I get a lot of requests from other governorates from those requiring special needs who want to study English.\u00a0 However,\u00a0 and unfortunately, we are unable to absorb them, because there is only one class available now and for only ten students.\u00a0\u00a0 The cost of one student to take the course for learning English for a year broken down\u00a0 to ten terms is as high as US $ 650.\u00a0 There are also audio and visual learning aids.<\/p>\n

Finally, I thank the \u201cYemeni American\u201d newspaper which turned its attention to our case and presented our suffering to the public.\u00a0 My hope is that after this interview, we can continue with the course to teach English to the deaf and mute and thus lighten the future for this special group of people.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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