Auditory Perception and Comprehensibility Among Selected Hard of Hearing English as Second Language Speakers in Kano State, Nigeria .

Auditory Perception and Comprehensibility Among Selected Hard of Hearing English as Second Language Speakers in Kano State, Nigeria .

Authors

  • Sulaiman Muhammad Isa
  • Nasiru Musa

Keywords:

Auditory, Perception, Comprehensibility, Hearing impaired, Trace Mode

Abstract

Every oral communication is dependent on information being correctly
perceived or received and understood. However, the problem of auditory
perception and comprehensibility among hearing impaired people is to
identify the abnormality of hearing loss at a specific anatomic level of the
auditory system which determines comprehensibility. Using audiological
instrument such as otoscope, audiometer and tympanometer, this study
examines auditory perception and comprehensibility among hearing impaired
people. The theoretical framework adopted for this study is Trace Model of
speech perception and the research sample consists of sixty-six (66) patients
of hearing impaired at the unit of Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT), Aminu Kano
Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Kano State, Nigeria through purposeful and
random sampling techniques. The data were collected using hearing test with
the aid of speech audiometry. The test has words and was presented via
headphones which the participants listen to and repeated. The data were
analysed qualitatively. The finding of this study shows that ESL hearing
impaired listeners utilise auditory feedback from their own speech to shape,
adjust, or define phonetic categories in the second language for
comprehensibility while accurate phonetic categories lead to improved
perceptual ability irrespective of their degree or level of hearing. The study,
therefore, concludes that ESL hearing-impaired people find it difficult to
realize L2 sounds (especially diphthongs) which compound the inability to
recognize words and comprehend speeches. Hence, there is need for effective
audition or amplification.

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Published

2023-08-17

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Section

Articles