.Meanwhile Rixon 2012 categorizes young learners into two categories – those from 6 to 12 years old which covers primary school in many contexts.
and from 6 to 16 years old which covers compulsory schooling in many contexts. The first category is used to describe learners who study in primary school only
and commonly least visited for researches. On the other hand, as Rixon further explains, the other category is more often familiar for researchers because it is
easier to test teenagers than children. According to the explanation, it means teenagers are also included as young learners.
Another definition is proposed by Hoesein 2006 in her dissertation. She explains that young learners are the students of elementary school who are at
grade four up to grade six. Their ages range from ten to twelve years of age and have learned English for about one up to four years.
Definitions of young learners are various depending on the contexts. In some elementary schools, the learners’ age exceeds 12 years old, in which
commonly becomes the normal age of learners in the sixth grade. However, because of the various contexts in education, I define young learners as those who
are between 6 to 16 years old and still in the level of elementary school.
2.1.5.2 Definitions of Hearing Difficulty
Most people often define the term “difficulty” the same as the terms “disability” and “handicap”. Hallahan and Kauffman 2006 mention that those
terms are often used interchangeably. However, they are different and it is an important thing for teachers to understand the difference. A disability is an
inability to do something or a diminished capacity to perform in a specific way. Meanwhile, a handicap is a disadvantage imposed on an individual. Yet, in this
study, the body part which is avoided from working properly is ear. A hearing difficulty is used to describe two terms – hard of hearing and
hearing loss deafness. As cited in Shagga 2011: 48, according to the definition of WHO 2009 hearing difficulty is the lack or the complete loss in the ability for
hearing and thus explains it as below.
a Hard of Hearing
Hard of hearing is a reduction in the ability to perceive sound. Someone may have a mild hearing impairment and need hearing aids to make sense of
sounds.
b Hearing Loss Deafness
Hearing loss deafness is a term refers to people or animals who suffer from a complete hearing impairment and those who are fully or almost fully
incapable of detecting sounds. As mentioned above, hearing difficulty is divided into hard of hearing
and hearing loss deafness. Regarding to this definitions, it is clear that though categorized having difficulty in hearing, the degrees of learners with hearing
difficulty to hear are various.
2.1.5.3 Causes of Hearing Difficulty
Hearing difficulty can occur since birth. However, in many cases, it was caused by other causes. NICHCY 2010 divides the causes into four main
categories. They are: 1. Acquired
This means that the hearing difficulty occurs after birth, due to illness or injury. The most common cause of acquired hearing loss is exposure to noise.
Other causes can include fluid behind the ear drum, ear infections, childhood diseases such as Measles or Chicken Pox, old age, drugs, and wax blocking
the ear canal can cause hearing impairment at any age.
2. Congenital
It means that the hearing difficulty already presents when the baby is born. The first group of congenital causes is genetic causes. Genes are the structures
on the chromosomes in either the sperm from fathers or the ovum from mothers that determine what we inherit from parents. Congenital deafness
refers to the family history of hearing loss. 3. Complications during Pregnancy
Many things can happen during pregnancy that interfere the growth and development of the baby, such as diseases during pregnancy e.g. Rubella and
other viral infections and drugs that can damage hearing taken during pregnancy. If not carefully treated, these diseases can be harmful for the
infant.
4. Difficulties at Birth During the birth or after that, there might be some events happening that cause
harm or damage to the baby, like premature birth or difficult birth when the baby suffers from lack of oxygen. As noticed, some people are born deaf as a
result of malformed ear drums. Others suffer from deafness as a result of accidents or damage to the auditory portions of the brain.
Knowing the causes is a way to approach the learners with hearing difficulty. By understanding how they acquired the hearing difficulty, teachers can
consider different strategies and methods in teaching and assisting learners during their language learning.
2.1.5.4 Classification of Hearing Difficulty
The classification of hearing difficulty helps in knowing the characteristics of the learners who suffer from it. Pierson 2002, as cited in
Widitesnowati 2012: 32, divides the classification into five categories. They are slight, mild, moderate, severe, and profound hearing loss. The first category is
slight hearing loss which means learners can hear vowel sounds well, but they may miss some consonants. In other words, their speech cannot be as correct as
normal students. Meanwhile, in mild hearing loss, students with hearing difficulty miss a lot when people are talking. It is also hard to get their focus back regarding
to one of the characteristics of young learners which is active. He also adds when students are hard to understand normal speech and can get the message when the
speaker is directly in front of them 5 or 6 feet away, they suffer from moderate
