The main goal of our project Cued Speech Europa is to promote the use of this communication system with deaf and hard of hearing people as well as other groups who might benefit from it, such as people with Pervasive Developmental Disorder or Specific Learning Disorders. For this purpose, we have now finished the first online training module for teachers, parents and any other professional to learn how to cue in French (Langue française Parlée Complétée), in Italian (Parola Italiana Totalmente Accessibile), and in Polish (Fonogesty).
Why should you take this course?
Cued Speech is a lip-reading supporting system that allows people who cannot fully perceive speech to fill in the gaps and get access to all spoken language, even if they have hearing impairment or any disorder that could hamper their comprehension of speech. With this MOOC, we wish to gather people who are in direct contact with this target group either through their work or in their social environment. The course will teach them about the theoretical base of Cued Speech and give them some exercises to get familiar with this system.
What does it look like?
The course is available in the three languages of the project (French, Polish, and Italian) and has six Units, which cover what Cued Speech is, why use it and with whom, what lip-reading is, an explanation of the International Phonetics Alphabet, as well as two more practical Units on the system itself to develop basic skills.
Here are the different Units of the course:
The course contains some text explanations, illustrations, videos, as well as interactive exercises to test your knowledge. It will be very important for you to remember that this system is phonetic, which means that it is not based on how words are written, but rather on the sounds that we produce. This is why Unit 4 will guide you through the different vowel sounds and consonant sounds you need to know in order to cue. The great benefit of using a phonetic system is that you will be able to cue anything you want: onomatopoeia, invented words, proper nouns, foreign nouns, and all of that by keeping your unique accent!
This of course will also lead to differences between countries, and even regions, that speak the same language with a different accent. However, as hearing people are able to understand each other’s different accents, Cued Speech allows those who do not have complete access to spoken language to do the same and discover the linguistic richness of the world.
Who is it made for?
As a teacher, speech therapist or any other profession in the field of education, this course is interesting for you to help children from all ages develop not only their comprehension of spoken language, but also to develop their lexicon and literacy skills. If you are a parent or know someone who would benefit from this system, you will observe the same benefits and be able to communicate with them at all times, even in noisy environments. The combination of using Cued Speech at home and with education professionals has shown to foster even greater success in language development and inclusion of people with specific needs in their education, training and eventually in their professional life.
This of course will also lead to differences between countries, and even regions, that speak the same language with a different accent. However, as hearing people are able to understand each other’s different accents, Cued Speech allows those who do not have complete access to spoken language to do the same and discover the linguistic richness of the world.
How do I sign up?
If you want to subscribe to the course, you only need to create a free account on this platform for French Cued Speech and get access to all the content you need to get more familiar with Cued Speech. The whole project team would also like to thank all of you who have already signed up or are about to for supporting our project and giving us your feedback for continuous improvement!
This of course will also lead to differences between countries, and even regions, that speak the same language with a different accent. However, as hearing people are able to understand each other’s different accents, Cued Speech allows those who do not have complete access to spoken language to do the same and discover the linguistic richness of the world.
Project website : cuedspeech.eu
Follow the project on Facebook: @Logopsycom
#cuedspeecheuropa #erasmusplusproject
Our partners in this project are: Association pour la Langue française Parlée Complétée, Istituto dei Sordi di Torino, Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawla II, Euphoria, Fundacja ARTeria