Total Communication

L

LeviathanC

New Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2003
Messages
1,307
Reaction score
0
Have anyone had used the sign language called Total Communication before? I have been do that before since I was little. :|
 
:eek: WTF??? You don't know what it means...? How shame you are.

Here what it means:

Total communication (TC), a term coined by Roy Holcomb in 1967, is the title of a philosophy of communication, not a method (Scouten, 1984). Total communication may involve one or several modes of communication (manual, oral, auditory, and written), depending on the particular needs of the child. The original expectation of TC was for teachers to use the communication method(s) most appropriate for a particular child at a particular stage of development. Therefore, there would be situations when spoken communication might be appropriate, other situations where signing might be appropriate, others that would call for written communication, and still others where simultaneous communication might work best (Solit, Taylor & Bednarczyk, 1992).

Total communication seemed to be the bridge that allowed a crossover from an oral-only philosophy to a philosophy that embraced sign language. During the 1970's and 1980's most schools and programs for children who are deaf, as well as most major organizations in the field supported the TC philosophy. Today, although the debate seems to be between TC programs and bilingual-bicultural programs, "simultaneous communication is the most common form of communication used in educational settings for deaf children" (Kaplan, 1996, p. 469).


Click here to find out what TC means.
 
Originally posted by LeviathanC
:eek: WTF??? You don't know what it means...? How shame you are.

Here what it means:

Total communication (TC), a term coined by Roy Holcomb in 1967, is the title of a philosophy of communication, not a method (Scouten, 1984). Total communication may involve one or several modes of communication (manual, oral, auditory, and written), depending on the particular needs of the child. The original expectation of TC was for teachers to use the communication method(s) most appropriate for a particular child at a particular stage of development. Therefore, there would be situations when spoken communication might be appropriate, other situations where signing might be appropriate, others that would call for written communication, and still others where simultaneous communication might work best (Solit, Taylor & Bednarczyk, 1992).

Total communication seemed to be the bridge that allowed a crossover from an oral-only philosophy to a philosophy that embraced sign language. During the 1970's and 1980's most schools and programs for children who are deaf, as well as most major organizations in the field supported the TC philosophy. Today, although the debate seems to be between TC programs and bilingual-bicultural programs, "simultaneous communication is the most common form of communication used in educational settings for deaf children" (Kaplan, 1996, p. 469).


Click here to find out what TC means.
Click to expand...

Same thing here.. When I was little girl in NYC.. My grandmother always took me to place for TC... til I entered deaf school and not go to place for TC anymore cuz I signs not using my voice anymore.
 
Hmm It looks that way. Im not really sure i forget everying i learned in the deaf world :o
 
Nah, TC means you assess each student individually and try to see how they learn. Then you use whatever is needed to help them learn. Like for example, 5 students in a class, 2 might be signing only, 1 may be oral only, 1 might be both speaking and signing and 1 is like minimum language skills. So teacher has to teach differently to each students, to help them learn.

Bi-bi is probably what matches some ppl here, English and ASL separately and taught with each other. Like, use SEE for English and maybe ASL for rest of classes. I really :dunno:

ofc, these are my opinions. In my school, TC was used exclusively, and it was interesting to see my teacher trying to teach different ppl in different ways. For example, I learned everything visually and my teacher would use pictures to help me learn, etc...
 
I'm a Total Communicated person, since I can speak and sign at the same time too. I even speak without signs, and sign without speak. I'm thankful that I can do them both so I could blend in the "hearing" world and "deaf" world.
 
I hardly sign and talk at the same time. It's usually one or the other for me.
 
Is Bilingualism better than Total Communication?

Which method is the best for deaf pupils?
 
Well personally I believe there is no right method for teaching deaf people. They are individuals and the earlier there is a way found to teach these individuals, the better so they learn better.

I believe the total communication method is the best since it's suited for most deaf people. They can sign/talk and decide which method they feel most comfortable with and also hearing/deaf people will be able to understand them.

Ziusudra
 
I sign English and ASL.. I speak Oral also.. I can speak without signing and sign without voice on... so I do TC. :)
 
I do use TC when I was in school but not much use for a while since I was out of High School.
 
Funny how we all learned some form of communications!

At first, I was to embrace the oralism method alas that didn't work
then Signed English which I embraced, and then Total Communication which worked very well for me because by then I learned to speak and sign very well. Finally, AUSLAN (Australian Sign Language) which I also accepted as my main form of communication nowadays. :D
 
Total communication is a very good way to speak to everyone.

I go to deaf church occasionally and by speaking and signing at the same time, I have access to both the hearing and the deaf worlds. The hearing family members, who do not sign, of some of the deaf in church will come to me and ask why more deaf do not "speak' with their voices.

I tell them that some deaf are ashamed of their voices but most try and communicate as best as they can. What else can I say?
 
Back
Top