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| Source: https://www.fitriananda.com/2020/08/ayo-belajar-bahasa-inggris-seru-loh_19.html |
As an Indonesian person who was born to be a Deaf person would never be easy. There are a lot of stereotypes about Deaf people, kind of dumb, sign language is a Tarzan language, no future, mute, imperfect, sinful, etc. And also, many hearing people think that sign language can’t help Deaf people to learn to write and speak. As instead of, lip-reading which many people are believed can help Deaf people to adjust their hearing life standardly. In which of Alexander Graham Bell was a founder of the telephone, I’m not sure because so far I know that he stole his claimed telephone. He hated sign language because he thought sign language couldn’t help Deaf people to write English well. I will explain the short Deaf history about what happened his terrible legacy to Deaf generations.
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| Source: https://hearinghealthmatters.org/hearinginternational/2016/the-international-deafness-controversy-of-1880/ |
In America past years ago, Laurent Clerc was an Old FSL (French Sign Language) native who immigrated to the United States on June 18, 1816. He was a Deaf person and also an educator. He met a Deaf American named Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet who was also an educator. Clerc couldn’t speak English so Gallaudet taught him to learn English and Clerc taught Gallaudet to learn sign language because Gallaudet couldn’t speak sign language. The first meeting of Gallaudet and Clerc met in Paris, France in 1806. Gallaudet and Clerc have established the first Deaf school named The Connecticut Asylum for the Education and Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons (now ASD, the American School for the Deaf) in Hartford, Connecticut in 1817 with the sign language method as a primary language. An Old FSL was modified to be American Sign Language (ASL) that which was founded by Thomas Gallaudet, in various village sign languages and home sign systems. ASL isn’t only taught in the United States but also taught in Canada, especially in the English-speaking regions (in fact is, Canada has three sign languages are ASL for Deaf Canadians who are English-speaking natives, LSQ (Quebec Sign Language) for Deaf Canadians who are French-speaking natives, and IUR (Inuit Sign Language) who is used to Deaf Indigenous live in the North Canadian regions, and more Indigenous sign languages). The ASL alphabet signs or various ASL daily signs are also many used outside of the United States and the International Sign (IS) are more little 60% of ASL. The 16th President of the United States Abraham Lincoln has opened the first and oldest Deaf university in the world, in Washington, DC on April 8, 1864, named National College for the Deaf and Dumb (now named Gallaudet University).
But by coming to Alexander Graham Bell who had Deaf family members and
was taught by lip-reading without sign language. He declared anti-sign language
and he was a hearing person. He actually knew sign language is used in the
United States but he defended his opinion that sign language couldn’t help Deaf
people to learn and write English well. He took part in the Second International
Congress on Education of the Deaf was an international conference of Deaf
educators held in Milan, Italy in 1880. The ICED 1880 had a terrible decision
to ban sign language in all Deaf schools and a declaration was made that oral
education or lip-reading was better than sign language. The fact that you
really know is the participants of the Milan Conference 1880 were mostly hearing
people and only one Deaf delegate, James Denison total of 163 of one Deaf
person was at the Milan Conference 1880. It usually we know is audism and an
audist (a person), the term of hearing supremacy against Deaf people or hearing
people think that a person who has hearing and speaking well more perfect and
normally than Deaf people.
The 21st International Congress on the Education for the Deaf
in Vancouver, Canada with a long-awaited moment and commitment to recognizing
that sign language is proven to be successful in educating Deaf children to
develop linguistically and cognitively. As a decision was lifting the ban on
sign language taught in all Deaf schools and requiring sign language taught in
all schools, except Indonesia.
In addition, many SLB/ Sekolah
Luar Biasa or special needs schools in Indonesia are taught by lip-reading,
SIBI (Sistem Isyarat Bahasa Indonesia/
Indonesian Language with Signed System) (more continued about the history of
SIBI and BISINDO in the next paragraph), and total communication, in both
signed and lip-reading. The Dutch brought their Deaf education system to be
taught in Indonesia. The first Deaf school was founded by C.M Roelfsema who was
a Dutch woman in Bandung on January 3, 1930, named Ciciendo School for the Deaf
and Mute, with the Dutch language was Vereniging
Voor Ondervijs an Doofstomme Kinderen, now named SLB Ciciendo. Then, Dutch
nuns also have founded the second Deaf school (SLB Dena Upakara) in Wonosobo in
1936 and the first year was teaching for Deaf males and females students. But
Dutch nuns also opened the male Deaf school in 1955 named SLB Don Bosco
Wonosobo. Both schools are Catholic Deaf schools.
Actually, Indonesia has had its own sign
language named BISINDO (Bahasa Isyarat
Indonesia/ Indonesian Sign Language) since the 1950s, in according to Nick
Palfreyman who is a Deaf British sign language linguist who has been
researching the various sign language across Indonesia since 2007, before
coming to SIBI in the 1990s. SIBI appeared due to some interest (the rumor was
political reasons). As you know that SIBI is all used by ASL. That’s not
certified but it’s almost right. In
America before appeared of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA of 1990)
(in Indonesia, we have UUD Penyandang
Disabilitas tahun 2016), America had PSE (Pidgin Signed English) and SEE
(Signed Exact English). I don’t much know about PSE so I will explain what SEE
is. SEE is which uses for exact English words within signed on goals to help
Deaf children learn English. Therefore, SIBI was made to reach the goal to help
Deaf children learn Indonesian well with the signed. SIBI is recognized by the
government as the Deaf education system. Deaf people weren’t involved in the
SIBI program, that was all made by hearing teachers. BISINDO is unrecognized by
the government until the present. So ironically, SEE is no longer valid in
America instead of ASL was recognized through the ADA of 1990. That means all
Americans Deaf schools are taught by ASL. So, we have the bilingual system, which two languages
system that taught to Deaf children learn two or more languages at the same
time.
Back to the real topic, I need that hearing people to know about how my
experience learning English as a Deaf person. First of all, I want you to read
until the end as keeping the reading culture. Okay, we can start right now.
I always loved learning and knowing foreign cultures. The first language
that I’ve learned was Spanish because I fell in love with the memorable
successful Spain has won the 2010 World Cup and the 2008 & 2012 Euro Cup and
I’m a Cules or fan of Barcelona, as a soccer club despite I’m not a soccer
fanatic-fan and I’m an American sports-fanatic fan, especially huge fan of the
NFL/ American football and NBA/ basketball. Next second is English because I
have many foreign friends and I have my dream of living abroad. I started
learning English as a freshman in 2018 and I paid myself to a private English
teacher. Actually, I was a high school student, I had have interested in
learning English when a black teacher who was from Sudan or South Sudan if I’m
not mistaken. He came and been a speaker in my school. I came him and to show that my will to learn
English at English First. He gave a free offer that makes sure I could learn
English privately with him at English First without paying. Then, I returned
home and met my parents. But, unfortunately, my parents didn’t allow me to
going to English First because they thought Deaf people can’t learn English and
asked to me only speaking with Indonesian.
I had have tried to apply to some English courses in Yogyakarta but some
of the courses were rejected and some asked me to wear hearing aids, but mostly
they said that they aren’t ready for teaching Deaf people to learn English. So,
that’s why I started learning English autodidact with a private teacher I paid
without my parents support. We learned English together until the pandemic came
that forced our private course was stopped. After that, I started learning
English without a private teacher and joined the Deaf virtual English class
with 20-meeting. I have also been an English interpreter for the Covid-19 to
help translate the WHO instructions or news into Indonesian.
The obstacles and difficulties that I have been facing in learning English
does exist, but I learn English with a full of love since I love English. I
loved reading news/ magazines/ articles, watching the movies/videos/ serial,
and writing English on my blogspot. It reminded me of I had have been lazy and
always cried when I got a bad score of English tests at high school. I was
feeling left behind by hearing students. But, I’m now beyond happy to learn and
improve my English skill better and still reach as my skill as native English
does.
In conclusion that proves Deaf people can learn English but with fully
accessibility, with sign language and other access adjusts their conditions.
Deaf people have various backgrounds, which any of them can lip-reading and neither only sign language. That’s a respect that you really have. Deaf people
really don’t need listening and speaking but they need to learn English with
writing and reading. That’s a point.
To me, anyways I learn English within fully sign language that really helpful and beneficial because of sign language accessibility makes the easier ways of understanding English. The facts that really hearing people never aware of. Mostly think that Deaf people can't learn English because English needs to speaking and listening, as though it doesn't kind of I thought was.
That’s all I have shared my experience learning English as a Deaf
person. I hope you and hearing people are going to be open-minded and aware of
hearing privilege, then try to use it to fight and help the Deaf
community. The Deaf community is a
minority of culture, language, tradition, and the ways of life. Learn and be
more involved with the Deaf community since we are open to everyone and always
believe that sign language is for everyone.
Thank you, everyone.
Note: The Indonesian translation will be posted for Indonesian readers, especially hearing people.
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