A Preliminary Evaluation of Learning Sign Language Through Information and Communications Technology (ICT)

Introduction

Sign language is a medium of communication that communicate visually by employing the hands, arms, and face, as well as the upper body for production and the eyes for comprehension, to communicate with Deaf/Hearing Impaired (D/HH) individuals around the world in their daily lives to replace oral language (Mann et al., 2015). It consists of a combination of hand movements and facial expressions (Neiva & Zanchettin, 2018) and is expressed with hand gestures, body movements, and signs (Karpov et al., 2016). Besides, sign language is a form of communication that uses the movement of the hands, body, and lips to deliver information and express a speaker's thoughts rather than speech. Instead of using acoustic sound patterns, sign language uses hand forms, orientation, movements of the hands, arms, and body, as well as facial expressions and lip patterns, to visually impart word meanings (Sahid et al., 2016). Sign language also makes its users think visually because its delivery pattern is more towards visuals and its communication involves the use of the eyes (Wilbur, 2013). An individual with D/HH struggles to learn how to communicate since they cannot hear all of the sounds around them, including their own voice. According to World Health Organization (WHO, 2017), almost 360 million people or 5% of the world’s population have hearing loss that can be mild, moderate, severe or profound are struggle to communicate every day. In contrast to acoustically transmitted sound patterns, most people with hearing disabilities, especially those with mild to profound disabilities, communicate via sign languages, with manual or gestural communication to express meaning (Neiva & Zanchettin, 2018).

There are two types of sign language in Malaysia, namely Kod Tangan Bahasa Melayu (KTBM) dan Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia (BIM). The listening community has designed KTBM for the use of the hearing impaired. The code for KTBM was taken from American Sign Language (ASL), including some local and grammatical signs representing nouns and verbs used in Malay. KTBM is used as a communication medium and also in the teaching and learning process in schools. On the other hand, BIM is the official language for the hearing-impaired community in Malaysia. The hearing-impaired community has been designed for their own use and to reflect their own cultural context. BIM is used for ordinary daily conversation by the hearing-impaired community and has been gazettes as the official language of the hearing impaired in Malaysia.

The Deaf/Hearing Impaired (D/HH) community in Malaysia uses Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia (BIM) as their communication method. On the other hand, informal education in primary school as well as secondary school, Kod Tangan Bahasa Melayu [KTBM]) is being used as the formal language for communication. Although there are individuals with hearing problems who still can use verbal language, their number is minimal, and their verbal ability is very limited. This makes sign language a priority in the 'oral' communication system of the hearing impaired. Parents with deaf and hard of hearing children need information on sign language to help them support their children (Aznan, 2008). This is important because every deaf or hard of hearing child needs to start communicating with their parents and family members as early as possible for their positive development.

In Malaysia, BIM is the primary language for the hearing impaired (Lim, 2006). According to Shaari (2004), BIM is the language of deaf people used in their daily communication and is a symbol of the identity of deaf people in Malaysia which is rich in various cultures. BIM is considered a symbol of the identity of deaf people because the form of their signals follows their way of life and culture and is not influenced by other external elements. Other groups such as those who have difficulty speaking, those who cannot learn the language through speech, and those who cannot hear can also use sign language as a medium for them to communicate because it can facilitate and provide opportunities to give opinions, ideas, feelings, etc. The use of body language and intonation in this sign language also can be an attraction for them to use it in daily life (Wilbur, 2013).