L O R R A I N E B R A G G I N S

C I T Y L I T

Developing and evaluating an initial lipreading assessment for

adults with acquired deafness

The dilemma

There was no actual assessment of lipreading skills in our initial assessment process for adults being assessed for joining a lipreading class.

So why weren’t we testing lipreading skills?

Anxious

Loss of identity

Depressed

Afraid

Embarrassed

Angry

Loss of confidence

Insecure

Stigmatised

Suicidal

Arguments against testing for lipreading classes

1. Makes people nervous - doesn’t give a true account of ability.

2. All learners into first level anyway - non -accredited courses

3. Lipreading tutors felt a more holistic approach is appropriate – “It’s more about how you cope”

4. How would you measure lipreading skills?

Why is it so difficult to assess lipreading?

Only about a third of sounds are clearly visible

Of those – many look the same as each other

Why else is it so difficult to assess lipreading?

Not just observation of lips and other facial movements A complex process:

-processing language-auditory memory- visual memory- short-term memory capacity-knowledge of syntax and vocabulary-use of context-lateral thinking

Affected by:- fatigue, mood, interest, distractions

Affected by the speaker

Rationale for looking at changing the practice

Drawbacks of existing initial assessment:

1. Tutor embarks on teaching course with

- no idea of students’ lipreading levels

- insufficient detail on any language issues

2. All students directed to beginners – no fast track option for more able lipreaders.

Aim

To develop a lipreading initial assessment task with these objectives:

1. Quick

2. Valid and reliable

3. Provides useful information on current lipreading skills and on any support needed

4. Unthreatening

Stage 1 – Devising the test

Quick Useful info on skills No damage to confidence

Task 1 (easy)- Eye skills plus use of context, anticipation and basic vocabulary (‘synthetic’)

Task 2 (harder) - Eye skills only (‘analytic’)

Task 3 (easy) - Eye skills plus use of context, anticipation and more complex vocabulary plus use of language, grammar, mental tie-up skills (‘synthetic’)

Tasks 1 and 3

SCRIPT task 1 (repetition exercise)

Please buy me some…orangespearspeachesgrapes

SCRIPT task 3 (mental tie-up exercise)

1. “I need to go to the garage to fill up with petrol.”2. “I need to go to the optician’s to pick up my new glasses.”3. “I need to go to the bank to pay in a cheque.”4. “I need to go to the post office to post a letter.”

Visible phoneme list (task 2)

Stimulus word Sample responses Score Possible score

1 Sheep chimp 2 3

2 march boss 1 3

3 Room room 3 3

4 Germ chops 2 3

5 Life love 2 3

6 There there 2 2

7 For for 2 2

8 Bow p 1 2

9 Rope rope 3 3

10 Wave w 1 3

TOTAL SCORE 19 27

Valid and reliable?

How to present the test?

Video versus live?

“the shorter the test, the less reliable”

“If you measure someone on a number of occasions, for example, you will get a variety of scores” (Green and

Bartram, 1998:32-33)

Stage 2 - Trialling and modifying the test

Stage 3 – Designing the questionnaireStage 4 – Piloting and modifying

I strongly agree

I partly agree

I don’t agree or disagree

I partly disagree

I strongly disagree

1.I now have a

clear idea of what

happens in a

lipreading class

2. I felt

comfortable doing

the lipreading

tasks

3.The interview

was the

appropriate length

of time

4.The lipreading

tasks helped me

realise how much I

already lipread

5.I understand

there are

limitations to

lipreading

Stage 5 – Trialling and evaluating the test

Trialling

10 people attended the ‘drop-in’ (Feb 12th – April 9th) and all 10 did the tasks.

Evaluating

1. Personal diary

2. Questionnaire and SAE

3. Interviews with lipreading teachers

10 people did the test. Possible total score of 27.

0

1

2

3

4

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

No

. o

f P

eo

ple

Score

Test Results Summary - Task 2

Test results

High scores reinforce suggested evidence that we all acquire lipreading skills unconsciously (Calvert et al, 1997:

593).

2 interviewees who stood out

1. Delayed responses from a non-native English speaker with severe hearing loss.

2. Concentration issue for person on medication.

Summary of lipreading teachers’ comments:

Re 1. Need to allow more time for him to digest and process information.

Re 2. Will need more ‘eye breaks’, shorter exercises, energisers, maybe give copy of lesson in advance.

Questionnaire results: total responses 8 (out of 10 handed out)

I strongly agree

I partly agree

I don’t agree or disagree

I partly disagree

I strongly disagree

1.I now have a

clear idea of what

happens in a

lipreading class

5 3

2. I felt

comfortable doing

the lipreading

tasks

7 1

3.The interview

was the

appropriate length

of time

7 1

4.The lipreading

tasks helped me

realise how much I

already lipread

6 2

5.I understand

there are

limitations to

lipreading

7 1

Comments on questionnaires

“Generous with time”

“Very helpful”

“Very friendly and supportive, thanks”

“Was very friendly and understanding”

“I found the interviewer extremely welcoming, a good listener and sensitive to my needs. Thank you!”

“It was a very reassuring process”

“Informative, friendly, considerate”

Unexpected Outcome

There were high levels of agreement that tasks helped them realise how much they could lipread already.

One advantage of testing – “can give students a sense of accomplishment” (British Council, 2004)

Conclusions

The data provided by a quick lipreading test in an initial assessment can sometimes be useful for planning teaching and anticipating support needs.

Incorporating a brief test delivered with due consideration, and at an appropriate point, in the initial assessment interview, need not adversely affect the relaxed and unthreatening atmosphere or damage confidence.

People are unaware of how much they lipread already and a test that demonstrates this can be motivational and could be used for that purpose.

What next?

1. Get more feedback throughout the year from the tutor who will teach these students – were the test results as relevant as we thought?

2. Continue with the test till June 2015 – note findings and modify as required.

3. Develop and trial a harder test with more complex sentences and phonemes (fast track?)

4. Consult more widely with lipreading teachers when I have more data (June 2015)

5. Extend the ‘drop-in’ time and make advance appointments for people we are expecting.

References

British Council Testing and assessment (http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/testing-assessment , 2004) accessed 9.5.14

Calvert G, Bullmore E, Brammer M, Campbell R, Williams S, McGuire P, Woodruff P, Iversen S, David A (1997) Activation of Auditory Cortex During Silent Lipreading Science, New series, Vo. 276, No. 5312 (Apr 25, 1997) 593

Green M and Bartram D (1998) Initial assessment to identify learning needsBristol: FEDA. (FE matters vol. 2, No 7)

Thank you for listening

Any questions?