“My deaf staff member really needs to improve his English – his office correspondence just isn’t good enough.”
If people are deaf from birth or an early age, and do not have linguistic input early enough, then acquiring good English skills is always going to be difficult. Encourage your deaf staff member to attend an English class or to have tuition provided. This needs to be seen as lifelong learning.
“My deaf colleague wants promotion but her English simply isn’t good enough.”
Please separate out promotion prospects and management of English! The deaf person needs to be judged on his/her merits and potential. Then extra support for English can be offered or agreed as a future strategy. Do not hold back promotion opportunities solely on level of English.
“I am deaf with a good standard of education but my grasp of English is still not good.”
“English for deaf staff” is an issue that crops up in most organisations but it is a thorny problem everywhere with no definitive or single answer. See the suggestions on this page.
“Is there anything on the internet?”
Enrol on LearnDirect and then take advantage of their free modules on English grammar.
“I live in London so where can I go?”
Try the Centre for the Deaf near Holborn, London WC1. Look on their website (www.citylit.ac.uk) for information on appropriate English classes for deaf people in the workplace.
“I don’t live in London so where can I go?”
There are very few classes especially for deaf professionals (a pity) so asking around is your best bet. Your local adult education college may offer you a ESL (English as a second language) or EFL class instead – (why not sit in and see if it is right for you?)
“I need an interpreter though”
Discuss with both your work and the college as to who will pay for the interpreter. Hopefully you are already registered with ‘Access to Work’?
“What about online English tuition?”
Yes, this is another option, and can work, depending on what you want to achieve. Several online support agencies can be found via Google. Have a look at the many choices available.
“Do dictionaries really help?”
Everyone (deaf and hearing) should have a dictionary – no desk should be without one!
“What about Spellcheck?”
Yes! Your computer Spellcheck will be great to use. Have you also got a grammar check? This will pick up incorrect English or where you use English incorrectly (eg: using lower case) and will help with punctuation too.
“Anything else?”
www.plainenglish.co.uk have some excellent “how to” free guides on improving business English.
“I really want some one-to-one tuition especially on-line”
Yes we are thinking about providing an on-line service but not just yet! If you are a tutor who can offer this service then do get in touch with us.
We welcome any comments or queries about D/deaf professionals and English learning. Just email me at lc@Deafworks.co.uk.
Laraine Callow, Director Deafworks
