Challenges faced by students with hearing impairment: Who use Portuguese Sign Language in mathematics classes

Abstract

This study aims to understand which communication challenges are faced by students with hearing impairment in a Mathematics class. Hearing loss can hinder the communication that is established in the context of Mathematics classroom, since teacher and students are not fluent in the same language: teacher’s first language is, mainly, Portuguese, while for students with hearing impairment it is the Portuguese Sign Language (PSL). Given the nature of the research this study follows a qualitative interpretative paradigm, based in a design of a case study with two students with hearing impairment that attended the 6th grade of an inclusive school that is a reference for bilingual education. The results show the communication difficulties experienced by the students which inhibit them from constructing a solid mathematical knowledge, whether in the interpretation of statements or in the interactions they establish, due to the low fluency in Portuguese Language in the written form and in PSL. These students demonstrated poor lexical knowledge in PSL when using the language to work mathematically, specifically with respect to the identification of mathematical terms for which there is no defined gesture.