Tolerance enables us to transcend the boundaries that separate us and discover solidarity because, despite our differences, we are all equal. Kaunas University of Applied Sciences is a higher education institution that promotes tolerance, strives for the opinion of every member of the community to be heard, that the needs are met, and that everyone feels accepted and valued.
The Language Centre of Kaunas University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Education, contributes to increasing tolerance in the university by reducing the segregation between hearing, deaf, and hard of hearing members of the university community. Renata Sedliorienė, the head of the Language Centre, invited Mykolas Balaišis, a graduate of the university, vice-president, and head of training of the Lithuanian Deaf Association, to teach Lithuanian Sign Language as an optional subject. “Reading individual lectures, introducing their participants to the deaf and hard of hearing community, its culture I’ve done previously, but I haven’t worked as a lecturer. After receiving R. Sedliorienė’s suggestion, I decided that I needed to try this out myself,” says M. Balaišis. The main goal of the lecturer is not to teach all Lithuanian sign language to students, but to provide them with a solid foundation that would help them overcome the fear of communicating with the deaf and hard of hearing. “I want students to understand how to communicate. That is my goal,” the lecturer emphasizes.
The situation is improving
According to M. Balaišis, a few decades ago, people with hearing impairments were pushed aside because the hearing community didn’t know how to communicate. But the situation is changing. Society is increasingly interested in and cares about the deaf and hard of hearing community. The establishment of Lithuanian Sign Language Interpreting Centers is significantly contributing to the improvement of the situation. “In addition, there are more shows and movies with subtitles on TV broadcasts. Subtitles are also used in cultural events, such as performances adapted for the hearing impaired at the National Kaunas Drama Theatre. The situation is improving”, – the lecturer does not lack positivity about this situation. It is very important that due to the increase in the number of Lithuanian Sign Language Interpreting Centers in the country, more and more deaf and hard of hearing people can study at higher education institutions.
Support, help, suggestions
M. Balaišis says that he did not experience exclusion due to hearing impairment while studying at the university. Daiva Čekanavičiūtė, a student of the Department of Pedagogy with this disability, agrees with the lecturer. “Study subjects are accessible, understandable, teachers always try to help. Although the group members do not speak sign language, considering that I read well by mouth and can speak, they are willing to communicate. Sometimes it happens that I don’t understand what has been said, then the nearby sign language interpreter comes to the rescue,” says the student about her studies, adding that she appreciates the atmosphere at the Department of Pedagogy because not only from group members, but also from teachers and administration receives support and the help they need. D. Čekanavičiūtė is happy with her studies, but she, a student with a hearing impairment, also had to face challenges. “Lectures in the subject of Music Education are compulsory for students of Pre-School and Pre-Primary Education study programme, but music is only relevant for a deaf person who can hear and understand it with a hearing aid. For me, unfortunately, it is incomprehensible, and the sign language interpreter cannot translate the sounds of the music,” says the student. “I finished the subject of Music Education. The lecturer praised me and evaluated me well for the adjusted task. But I would suggest looking for a solution that would benefit both the lecturer and the student with a disability. Despite the challenging hardships, I am sincerely pleased with my studies and the excellent lecturers.”
More changes
In order to make the study environment better for all university students and for communication to be more fluent, additional lectures in Lithuanian sign language taught by M. Balaišis are accessible, in which students are introduced to the history of sign language, deaf and hard of hearing culture, Lithuanian sign language alphabet, used for names, surnames, names of cities that are not included in the sign language. Lectures are adjusted to be focused on not only formal language learning. Teaching Lithuanian sign language in higher education is a great decision of the university, but the Lithuanian Deaf Association is trying to initiate more changes. “A hearing person receives a lot of information: from television, radio, reads press publications, hears it from other people, and for the deaf and hard of hearing, access to information is limited. The goal of the Lithuanian Deaf Association is the Legal Recognition of Sign Languages, which would ensure that Lithuanian sign language would be taught in every school and kindergarten, and training would be organized for specialists in various fields (firefighters, police officers, doctors, etc.). This would increase the availability of information for people with hearing impairments,” says M. Balaišis, the vice-president of the Lithuanian Deaf Association.
Reducing the communication barrier between the hearing, the deaf, and the hard of hearing is an important step that will not only lead to a better study environment in university and a friendlier, more supportive atmosphere, but will also help to overcome stereotypes about people with hearing impairments in society.
