Lipreading assessment presentation

1. L O R R A I N E B R A G G I N S
C I T Y L I T
Developing and evaluating an
initial lipreading assessment for
adults with acquired deafness

2. The dilemma
There was no actual assessment of lipreading skills in
our initial assessment process for adults being
assessed for joining a lipreading class.
So why weren’t we testing lipreading skills?

3. Anxious
Loss of identity
Depressed
Afraid
Embarrassed
Angry
Loss of confidence
Insecure
Stigmatised
Suicidal

4. Arguments against testing for lipreading classes
1. Makes people nervous - doesn’t give a true account
of ability.
2. All learners into first level anyway - non -accredited
courses
3. Lipreading tutors felt a more holistic approach is
appropriate – “It’s more about how you cope”
4. How would you measure lipreading skills?

5. Why is it so difficult to assess lipreading?
 Only about a third of sounds are clearly visible
 Of those – many look the same as each other

7. Why else is it so difficult to assess lipreading?
Not just observation of lips and other facial movements
 A complex process:
-processing language
-auditory memory
- visual memory
- short-term memory capacity
-knowledge of syntax and vocabulary
-use of context
-lateral thinking
 Affected by:
- fatigue, mood, interest, distractions
 Affected by the speaker

8. Rationale for looking at changing the practice
Drawbacks of existing initial assessment:
1. Tutor embarks on teaching course with
- no idea of students’ lipreading levels
- insufficient detail on any language issues
2. All students directed to beginners – no fast track
option for more able lipreaders.

9. Aim
To develop a lipreading initial assessment task with
these objectives:
1. Quick
2. Valid and reliable
3. Provides useful information on current lipreading
skills and on any support needed
4. Unthreatening

10. Stage 1 – Devising the test
Quick Useful info on skills No damage to confidence
Task 1 (easy)- Eye skills plus use of context, anticipation
and basic vocabulary (‘synthetic’)
Task 2 (harder) - Eye skills only (‘analytic’)
Task 3 (easy) - Eye skills plus use of context,
anticipation and more complex vocabulary plus use of
language, grammar, mental tie-up skills (‘synthetic’)

11. Tasks 1 and 3
 SCRIPT task 1 (repetition exercise)
 Please buy me some…
oranges
pears
peaches
grapes
 SCRIPT task 3 (mental tie-up exercise)
1. “I need to go to the garage to fill up with petrol.”
2. “I need to go to the optician’s to pick up my new glasses.”
3. “I need to go to the bank to pay in a cheque.”
4. “I need to go to the post office to post a letter.”

12. Visible phoneme list (task 2)
Stimulus word Sample responses Score Possible
score
1 Sheep chimp 2 3
2 march boss 1 3
3 Room room 3 3
4 Germ chops 2 3
5 Life love 2 3
6 There there 2 2
7 For for 2 2
8 Bow p 1 2
9 Rope rope 3 3
10 Wave w 1 3
TOTAL SCORE 19 27

13. Valid and reliable?
How to present the test?
Video versus live?
“the shorter the test, the less reliable”
“If you measure someone on a number of occasions,
for example, you will get a variety of scores” (Green and
Bartram, 1998:32-33)

14. Stage 2 - Trialling and modifying the test

15. Stage 3 – Designing the questionnaire
Stage 4 – Piloting and modifying
I strongly
agree
I partly
agree
I don’t
agree or
disagree
I partly
disagree
I strongly
disagree
1.I now have a
clear idea of what
happens in a
lipreading class
2. I felt
comfortable doing
the lipreading
tasks
3.The interview
was the
appropriate length
of time
4.The lipreading
tasks helped me
realise how much I
already lipread
5.I understand
there are
limitations to
lipreading

16. Stage 5 – Trialling and evaluating the test
Trialling
10 people attended the ‘drop-in’ (Feb 12th – April 9th)
and all 10 did the tasks.
Evaluating
1. Personal diary
2. Questionnaire and SAE
3. Interviews with lipreading teachers

17. 10 people did the test. Possible total score of 27.
0
1
2
3
4
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
No.ofPeople
Score
Test Results Summary - Task 2

18. Test results
High scores reinforce suggested evidence that we all
acquire lipreading skills unconsciously (Calvert et al, 1997:
593).

19. 2 interviewees who stood out
1. Delayed responses from a non-native English speaker
with severe hearing loss.
2. Concentration issue for person on medication.
Summary of lipreading teachers’ comments:
Re 1. Need to allow more time for him to digest and
process information.
Re 2. Will need more ‘eye breaks’, shorter exercises,
energisers, maybe give copy of lesson in advance.

20. Questionnaire results: total responses 8
(out of 10 handed out)
I strongly
agree
I partly
agree
I don’t
agree or
disagree
I partly
disagree
I strongly
disagree
1.I now have a
clear idea of what
happens in a
lipreading class
5 3
2. I felt
comfortable doing
the lipreading
tasks
7 1
3.The interview
was the
appropriate length
of time
7 1
4.The lipreading
tasks helped me
realise how much I
already lipread
6 2
5.I understand
there are
limitations to
lipreading
7 1

21. Comments on questionnaires
“Generous with time”
“Very helpful”
“Very friendly and supportive, thanks”
“Was very friendly and understanding”
“I found the interviewer extremely welcoming, a good listener and
sensitive to my needs. Thank you!”
“It was a very reassuring process”
“Informative, friendly, considerate”

22. Unexpected Outcome
There were high levels of agreement that tasks helped
them realise how much they could lipread already.
One advantage of testing – “can give students a sense
of accomplishment” (British Council, 2004)

23. Conclusions
 The data provided by a quick lipreading test in an initial
assessment can sometimes be useful for planning teaching
and anticipating support needs.
 Incorporating a brief test delivered with due consideration,
and at an appropriate point, in the initial assessment
interview, need not adversely affect the relaxed and
unthreatening atmosphere or damage confidence.
 People are unaware of how much they lipread already and a
test that demonstrates this can be motivational and could
be used for that purpose.

24. What next?
1. Get more feedback throughout the year from the tutor
who will teach these students – were the test results as
relevant as we thought?
2. Continue with the test till June 2015 – note findings and
modify as required.
3. Develop and trial a harder test with more complex
sentences and phonemes (fast track?)
4. Consult more widely with lipreading teachers when I
have more data (June 2015)
5. Extend the ‘drop-in’ time and make advance
appointments for people we are expecting.

25. References
British Council Testing and assessment
(http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/testing-assessment , 2004) accessed
9.5.14
Calvert G, Bullmore E, Brammer M, Campbell R, Williams S, McGuire P,
Woodruff P, Iversen S, David A (1997) Activation of Auditory Cortex During
Silent Lipreading Science, New series, Vo. 276, No. 5312 (Apr 25, 1997) 593
Green M and Bartram D (1998) Initial assessment to identify learning needs
Bristol: FEDA. (FE matters vol. 2, No 7)

26. Thank you for listening
Any questions?