have normal speech organs and have learned to use them through speech therapy. Some of them cannot monitor or automatically control the tone and volume of
their speech, so their speech may be initially difficult to understand. Understanding improves as one becomes more familiar with the deaf student’s
speech pattern. Another philosophy stresses on the auditory channel for communication
and the need to provide early amplification and intensive auditory stimulation in order to facilitate oral language development through listening Marschark,
2001:45. Meanwhile, the second or the alternative philosophy stresses the importance of vision as the communication channel and the importance of early
language development through signing. Proponents of a visual approach support the use of the sign language as the most accessible, clear and natural language for
the learners. The approach that uses the sign language as the language of instruction along with the spoken language through reading and writing is known
as the Bilingual Bicultural Approach Berent, 1996. For this study, a combination of speech reading and vision is proposed in
form of a computerized educational game. Here, the learners with hearing difficulty are assisted to learn English visually through speech reading
explanation.
2.1.5.6 Hearing Difficulty Learners and English Language
For learners with hearing difficulty who has English as a second language, it is not surprising if they are experiencing linguistic problems. SCIPS
2008 explains that difficulties manifest themselves in both written work and oral speech. Most mistakes may be found with sentence structure, verb tenses, word
omissions, pronunciation, words’ stress, and so on. The lack of hearing and auditory memory means that students may be unable to rehearse what is put down
on a page. Furthermore, native language has a grammar and syntax that is quite different to that of spoken English, which can also confuse the learners.
The educational methodologies in teaching English for learners with hearing difficulty have changed over time. Since the late 1900s educational
methodologies of English language have focused more on teaching the deaf children through Oralism Approach or Sign Language Approach and after that
focused on using Total Communication Approach and technology specially computer as a visual technique.
English is the lingua franca in which learners with hearing difficulty need to have the tools to become independent adults. Davila Hurwitz 1999 think it
is important to be able to clearly write if speaking is not an option as cited in Shagga, 2011: 60. Hearing difficulty learners generally experience tremendous
difficulty in acquiring English language in contrast to their natural and effortless acquisition of signed languages Berent, 2001. Without full access to the sounds
and intonations of English, the acquisition process for learners with hearing difficulty is often labored and unnatural and occurs at a much slower rate than
normal learners. For this reason, the development of the deaf students cognitive processes
based on auditory and oral elements should be reconsidered. If learners with
