oralism

Oralism is an educational philosophy and methodology for teaching deaf individuals that emphasizes speech and lip-reading while prohibiting the use of sign language. Proponents of oralism believe that by relying solely on spoken language, deaf children can better integrate into hearing society and communicate more effectively in everyday situations. This approach was widely adopted in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, often through methods like the oral method, which involved intensive training in pronunciation, auditory training, and articulation exercises.

The practice of oralism was popularized following the Milan Conference of 1880, where representatives voted to ban the use of sign language in deaf education. This decision had a profound impact, leading to a decline in sign language use in schools and a shift towards oralist teaching methods. Critics of oralism argue that it can be detrimental to a deaf child's development, leading to isolation, frustration, and a lack of comprehensive language acquisition. They point out that not all deaf individuals have sufficient residual hearing to benefit from auditory training, and that lip-reading can be extremely difficult and often unreliable.

In recent decades, there has been a resurgence of interest in sign language and a move towards bilingual-bicultural education for deaf children, which recognizes sign language as a natural and effective language for deaf individuals and integrates it with spoken language instruction. While oralism is still practiced in some settings, its dominance has waned, and there is a greater acceptance of diverse communication methods for deaf learners.