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pISSN: 2343-6662 ISSN-L: 2343-6662 VOL. 22, No.22 (2), July, 2015

A Self-Instructional Desktop Application for Learning Ghanaian Sign Language.

Rashid Azutiga1, Mubashir-Ahmed Iddrisu Bamie2 and Solomon Ali Dansieh3

1Wa School for Deaf, P. O. Box 345.Wa, Upper West Region.

2ICT Department, Wa Polytechnic, P. O. Box 553, Wa, Upper West Region.

Email: [email protected]

3Liberal studies Department, Wa Polytechnic, P.O.Box 553, Wa, Upper West Region.

2Correspondence: [email protected]

Received: 4th May, 2015 Revised: 21st July, 2015 Published Online: 31st July, 2015 URL: http://www.journals.adrri.org/ http://www.journals.adrri.com

[To Cite this Article: Azutiga, R., Bamie, M.A. I and Dansieh, S. A. (2015). A Self-Instructional Desktop Application for Learning Ghanaian Sign Language. Africa Development and Resources Research Institute Journal, Ghana: Vol. 22, No. 22(2). Pp. 1-16, ISSN: 2343-6662, 31st July, 2015.]

Abstract

Ghanaian Sign Language is used as an effective mode of communication for deaf people in Ghana. In pursuing their day to day activities with their hearing acquaintances, deaf people face communication problems of various kinds. Therefore, this study seeks to bridge the communication gap that exists between the deaf and hearing people in Ghana. Teaching sign language to hearing people has been considered as one of the ways of bridging the communication gaps between the hearing and the deaf community. This study examined the development of a prototype of a Ghanaian Sign Language Dictionary as a desktop application for learning Ghanaian Sign Language (GSL) using the prototype approach of software development. The tool is developed using the Visual Basic (VB 6) programming language, and Microsoft Office Access 2007 which holds the database for the system.

Keywords: Ghanaian Sign Language, Learning, deaf, computer assisted instructions

Each day, we communicate-at home, in the car, in the classroom, in the workplace, or in public venues. Those of us who can speak and hear normally have little trouble asking or answering questions, supplying vital information, or engaging in effective two-way communication. However, these simple acts can be a struggle for persons, who are hearing impaired. Access to acoustic information and communication with the hearing people are challenges these individuals face daily.

Statistics show that hearing people get about 75% of their information through aural means such as radio, television and other people’s conversations, while about 25% of information acquired is through other methods. Of the 25% receivable information through other methods, hearing impaired people acquire only half and sometimes even less (NIDCD, 2015). One way to increase information flow between the hearing impaired or deaf people and the hearing is to use sign language as their primary medium of communication (Kisch, 2008).

In Ghana, even though there is little variation among sign languages used in different parts of the country, there is what is known as Ghanaian Sign Language (GSL). GSL, as any other sign languages, although different in form, serves the same function as a spoken language for the deaf community.

More than 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents who have had no prior experience with deafness and the use of signing (NIDCD, 2015). Bornstein (1990) noted that parents must communicate with their children, but lack of awareness and understanding of sign language on the part of family members, employers and service providers have created a huge communication gap between hearing people and the deaf.

Moreover, there exists a very limited, pool/stick of personnel with appropriate linguistic skills, education and qualifications: these include sign language interpreters, tutors of sign language, and bilingual/multi-lingual professionals with fluency in sign language as well as the relevant spoken language(s). Lack of resources and materials, such as GSL learning tools, signed and subtitled public information videos and TV programs, signed and subtitled curriculum and assessment materials is also another factor that maximizes the gap.

This communication gap has made the deaf people to have a very much restricted knowledge about the basic information of their day-to-day lives and surroundings and have inadequate knowledge, unfavorable attitude and undesirable behaviour towards so many social aspects like sexual and health issues (Tesfaye, 2004).

Barriers and interventions to Sign Language learning

People want to learn language (e.g. GSL) because they want to communicate, to gain understanding of another culture and to build and/or maintain friendships, but the opportunity to learn GSL is not readily available due to various reasons. Among the reasons is shortage or

AFRICA DEVELOPMENT AND RESOURCES RESEARCH INSTITUTE (ADRRI) JOURNAL pISSN: 2343-6662 ISSN-L: 2343-6662 VOL. 22, No. 22 (2), July, 2015 Published by Africa Development and Resources Research Institute absence of schools offering such courses in the country and also, the numbers of schools specifically for the deaf are very limited and only restricted in towns. Therefore, those who need to learn sign language, including the deaf children in rural areas have no chance to do so. Even in the towns, the conditions of most people, especially parents and other care-givers of the deaf, are not convenient to attend the formal GSL classes. Moreover, since GSL has no way to take lecture notes (writing system), learning GSL has been a great challenge. That is sign language writing system is not in use in Ghana.

In some countries, different options have been suggested and used to bridge the communication gap between the deaf and hearing people. Among these options, training the hearing people to be aware of and learn sign language is considered appropriate in Ghana. It is clear that the nature of deafness restricts deaf people to learn spoken languages, but it is not as difficult for hearing people to learn sign language so that they can communicate with the deaf easily. This can be achieved using either the traditional way of sign language learning in formal classes or using self-learning methods aided by software programs.

Teaching sign language to hearing people has been considered as one of the ways of bridging the communication gaps between the hearing and the deaf people. Examples of such efforts included The Signtel Interpreter, Hyper Sign, PC-Fingers, The American Sign Language Dictionary, and Personal Communicator. These teaching aids have achieved success and improvements and are being made on a continuous basis. Such tools are relatively cheaper to design, fast to develop, and revise, and easy to deploy.

Need For Learner centered Software

Literature shows that, self-learning computer aided applications can help overcome the problems with formal sign language learning methods. Such learning tools also can help formal sign language students for revision and supplementary home study (Drigas A. S. et al, 2004). Also, we know that people learn language best by watching and doing. Therefore learner- centered software learning tools would make it possible for parents, students, and individuals interested in learning sign language to see GSL in action in their own homes – something which an ordinary textbook can never hope to do.

The potential contributions, which deaf people can make to Ghanaian live, are currently being wasted or diminished because of the communication gap between the deaf and the other members of the society. People who are deaf find it very difficult to communicate with most people including their own family members who have not learned their language. Their written communication is often limited by educational difficulties, not from lack of intelligence but, they may need skilled interpreters to cope with the problems of everyday life such as filling in forms, or simply communicating with their doctor or when out shopping. But, these services are limited and very expensive. If appropriate systems were in place, deaf people would be able to access information and thus participate more fully in the society.

AFRICA DEVELOPMENT AND RESOURCES RESEARCH INSTITUTE (ADRRI) JOURNAL pISSN: 2343-6662 ISSN-L: 2343-6662 VOL. 22, No. 22 (2), July, 2015 Published by Africa Development and Resources Research Institute This study was therefore aimed at designing and developing software for Ghanaian Sign Language learning for hearing people who can read and write English Language and have basic knowledge of computer usage, so that the communication gap between the deaf and hearing people can be bridged.

The objective of this study is to enhance communication between the hearing people and the deaf.

The following research questions were raised to guide the study:

What is Deafness and Sign Language?

What is Computer Aided Instruction?

What are existing software that help the learning of Sign Language?

A great number of programs and websites are available which are intended to teach various sign languages around the world. There is no similar program or website on GSL. The output of this study therefore will help learning basic GSL at one’s own pace and convenience. It can also help formal sign language students for revision and supplementary home study. Apart from teaching GSL the software may also be used by linguistic researchers.

LITERATURE REVIEW

A Brief Historical Background to Deafness and Sign Language

Deafness is part of the human condition and exists throughout the world. It is probably as old as humanity itself. Deafness is present in all races, in both genders and from preliterate hunter/gatherer tribes to the most highly industrialized societies. Information about deafness and deaf people was extremely limited well into modern times. The earliest recorded history of the communication and education of deaf people was in the sixteenth century (Storbeck, et al 2009).

In the early ages deaf people were cruelly shot of education and information for many centuries and their human rights were seriously violated by some unfair decisions over them. A case in point is during the age of Aristotle (384-322 BC), he thought that ‚language and speech are same things.‛ (Moores & Donald, 1996). He thought that those who cannot hear and speak could not have language and cannot learn.

In the sixteenth century, an Italian, Girolano Cardano started to question Aristotle’s reasoning. At the same time, Pedro Ponce de Le’on used finger spelling and signs to teach reading to the deaf children in Spain monasteries. The philosophical and practical foundations for education of the deaf were further developed by individuals such as Bonet of Spain, Dalgarno of Great Britain, and Amman of Holand, who set the stage for the latter establishment of schools for the deaf (Moores & Donald, 1996).

AFRICA DEVELOPMENT AND RESOURCES RESEARCH INSTITUTE (ADRRI) JOURNAL pISSN: 2343-6662 ISSN-L: 2343-6662 VOL. 22, No. 22 (2), July, 2015 Published by Africa Development and Resources Research Institute In 1620, Juan Pablo Bonet published his book Reduccio’n de las letras y Arte para ense~nar a hablar los Mudos (Reduction of letters and art for teaching mute people to speak) in Madrid. This is considered as the first modern treatise of phonetics and logopedia, setting out a method of oral education for deaf people by means of the use of manual signs in the form of manual alphabet to Improve their communication, (Asefa, 2005). The Manual alphabet by Juan Pablo Bonet are shown in the figure below:

Figure 1: Manual alphabet by Juan Pablo Bonet

In 1960 Professor William Stoke made a breakthrough scientific research on American Sign Language (ASL) which showed that sign language was a natural human language with its own grammar, independent of any spoken language.

Professor Stoke published the monograph Sign Language Structure, where he proposed that signs can be analyzed as the composition of three different elements without meaning: shape of the hand, motion of the hand, and position occupied by the hand. This assumption permitted him to consider sign language as a natural language (Asefa, 2010). This fact played an important role in motivating him to publish the first American Sign Language dictionary based on linguistic principles.

History of Ghanaian Sign Language

A Sign Language is a visual-gesture language that uses hand, arm, body, and face to convey thoughts and meanings. Despite common misconceptions, sign languages are complete natural languages, with their own syntax and grammar. However, sign languages are not universal. As is the case in spoken language, every country has got its own sign language with a high degree of grammatical variations.

Most African countries have imported ASL. As a result it has been observed that majority of African deaf people use ASL. The birth of Ghanaian Sign Language (GSL) could be attributed to the late American educator, Rev. Jackson Andrew Foster (Oppong, 2006). The late Rev. Foster was himself deaf and was recognized as belonging to the American Deaf Cultural Community (Oppong, 2006).

AFRICA DEVELOPMENT AND RESOURCES RESEARCH INSTITUTE (ADRRI) JOURNAL pISSN: 2343-6662 ISSN-L: 2343-6662 VOL. 22, No. 22 (2), July, 2015 Published by Africa Development and Resources Research Institute Like American Sign Language (ASL), Ghanaian Sign Language (GSL) is the gestural non-voiced language used by individuals in Ghana who belong to the Ghanaian Deaf Culture, and is based on concepts. The syntax, morphology, pragmatics, phonology, and semantics of GSL are similar to those of ASL. GSL was modified and adapted in the 1980s to conform to English Language structure (Oppong, 1998). Educators of the deaf took advantage of the multilingual situation in Ghana and gave instructions in ‚Signed English‛ (Oppong, 1997).

Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI)

Computer assisted instruction is concerned with the use of computers not only as a choice but to mediate the flow of information in the instruction process and the complementary means (Rushby, 1989; Usun, 2000). CAI was utilized in education as an educational medium which delivers instructional activities in the late 1950s. Although the technology has been changing rapidly over the last twenty years, computer assisted instruction is still utilized in education. Drill-and practice, Tutorial, Games, and Simulation are commonly used in CAI applications for educational purposes.

In the tutorial mode, computers act as the teacher by presenting information in small units to the students and then reinforcing it with questions or tasks. Then a computer analyzes the student’s responses and gives feedback or remedial instruction based on his or her response. For example Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing is a tutorial program which guides students to learn touch-typing skills (Smaldino, Russell, Heinich, & Molenda, 2005).

Benefits of CAI

Although the research studies on the effectiveness of computers in the field of education reveals contradictory results, majority of the research studies indicates that CAI brings several possible advantages as a teaching/learning tool. The main strength of the computer as a learning medium is its ability to process information quickly. This makes it possible for the computer to accept and act upon a variety of different kinds of response from the learner and to provide information in textual, graphical, and animated form (Rushby, 1989). According to Kaput (1992), there are three advantages of usage of technology in teaching and learning; interactivity, connectivity and controlling of learning environments. Ertmer, (1999), cited in Day (2006) stated that ‚CAI benefits most students when compared with traditional instruction because it increases student interest, reduces anxiety, provides more time on task, and provides instant feedback for the student‛.

Analysis of existing software that help the learning of Sign Language

Many projects exist that help with the learning of Sign Language. Some of them are discussed in the literature below:

Yang & Peng (2008) designed a Basic Sign Language Recognition system that is able to translate a sequence of signs into the commonly used speech language and vice versa. The system was

AFRICA DEVELOPMENT AND RESOURCES RESEARCH INSTITUTE (ADRRI) JOURNAL pISSN: 2343-6662 ISSN-L: 2343-6662 VOL. 22, No. 22 (2), July, 2015 Published by Africa Development and Resources Research Institute thought to be installed in public places such as airports and hospitals and the dictionary of words contains specific signs that allow the deaf user to transmit what he/she needs. This sign language/speech is bidirectional translation (from signs to speech and from speech to signs) focused on the Chinese Manual Alphabet where every single sign belongs to a single letter from the alphabet. Two kinds of data were used: vector of hand gestures and vector of lip actions. In order to characterize these vectors, they used the Normalized Moment of Inertia (NMI) algorithm and Hu moments. By using a multi-futures SVMs classifier trained with a linear kernel, the 30 letters from the Chinese manual alphabet were recognized with an average accuracy of 95.55%.

Tirthankar, Sambit, Sandeep, Synny, and Anupam (2008) developed A Multilingual Multimedia Indian Sign Language Dictionary Tool. The primary objective of the SL-dictionary tool by Tirthankar, et al (2008) is to provide an easy to use GUI to create a multilingual multimedia SL dictionary by which a user can associate signs as well as the parameters defining a sign, corresponding to a given text.

Buttussi, Chittaro, & Coppo, (2007) propose an Italian Sign Language dictionary tool. This tool uses H animator to generate signing avatar. This tool provides multiple search functionality like word-sign, sign-word, and sign-sign search. This tool also facilitates association of one or more SL for a given input word.

The Signtel Interpreter, (http://www.acadcom.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=380) is a product of Signtel Inc. Signtel Inc. specializes in assistive technology and assistive devices that facilitate communication between the deaf and hearing and allows the deaf to use their native language, Sign Language. Signtel Interpreter translates 30000 words into Sign Language/voice recognition seamlessly connects each word into Sign Language video. At the heart of the Signtel Interpreter is a database of more than 30,000 different recognizable words and phrases and their equivalent captured on video and digitized.

Several works have been done on building multimedia-based foreign SL dictionaries as discussed in the above literature. However no such system is currently available for GSL. Moreover, most of the current systems suffer from the following limitations:

 Native language specific and hence, cannot be used for GSL.  Systems provide a word-sign search but do not include a detail word description of how the signs are performed.  Lack sophisticated phonological information like hand-shape, orientations, movements, and non-manual signs.  Systems do not facilitate search options.

In order to overcome the above mentioned crisis, and based on the limitations of the current systems,

AFRICA DEVELOPMENT AND RESOURCES RESEARCH INSTITUTE (ADRRI) JOURNAL pISSN: 2343-6662 ISSN-L: 2343-6662 VOL. 22, No. 22 (2), July, 2015 Published by Africa Development and Resources Research Institute  The input text (word, phrase, or a sentence) may be in English or any local Ghanaian language and the associated sign can be in any standard sign language (ASL or GSL).  There is a detailed description of how the sign associated with each word is performed.  This tool can also be used to associate complex SL phonological features like hand shape, palm orientation, locations, movements, and non-manual expressions.  Facilitate search options where a word can easily be searched out from the database.

METHODOLOGY

Deaf people in different parts of the world are facing challenges to communicate with hearing people. The situation in Ghana is not different. The main aim of this study was to solve or minimize the existing communication gap between deaf and hearing people, by creating application software that can be used to learn and teach Ghanaian Sign Language for the hearing people. To achieve this purpose the study adopted different research methodologies.

System development methodology in software engineering is a framework that is used to structure, plan, and control the process of developing an information system, (Wikipedia online). Several methods are available for the development of software but for the purpose of this study a prototype method was deemed fit.

Prototyping as a methodology is a software development process which allows developers to create portions of the solution to demonstrate functionality and make needed refinements before developing the final solution, (Bowman, 2009). In other words, a prototype is the sample implementation of the system that shows limited and main functional capabilities of the proposed system.

Design and Implementation of the System

The most creative and challenging phase of systems development life cycle is system design. The term design describes both a final system and a process by which it is developed. It refers to the technical specifications that will be applied in implementing the candidate system. This study adopted the structured approach in the design of the GSL software. Structured design technique was adopted because it allowed separate programs to be combined into a complex information system. Structured vdesign technique provide guidelines for deciding what the set of programs in an information systems should be, what each program should accomplish and how the program should be organized into a hierarchy (Satzinger, 2004). This technique focused on the use of design productivity tools to design the user interface such as the start-up form, the main form as the front-end and access database as the back-end

A model is a graphical representation of important detail. The flow chart was used as a model to depict the important details of the GSL software. It also indicates information flow in the system from beginning to the end.

INPUT TEXT/WORD

NO TEXT/WORD PROMPT FOUND

YES

SELECT TEXT/WORD

VIDEO/DESCRIPTION

END Figure 1: The flow chart of the system

The flowchart in figure 1 indicates how the system is designed to operate. When the system starts, the user is required to input a text or a word into the search box. If the text or word is found, it appears in the list box at the left hand side of the system for the user to select for the corresponding video and its description to be displayed. On the other hand, if the text or word is not found, a prompt pops up telling the user ‘word not found’. The system closes by clicking on the exit button.

The start-up form is what appears the moment the application is started. It prepares the user for the main program and displays a bit of information about the program and its developers. It looks exactly like the image shown below.

Figure 2: The start-up form

The Main Form

The main form consists of a list box which displays the word/phrases contained in the database; the search box where the user types in the word/phrase to be looked for; the player which plays the corresponding video of the word/phrase; and then the description, which displays a detailed description of how the word/phrase is signed. There is also the exit button which is used to exit the program. On top of the form is the marquee sign that displays the name of the software ‘The Ghanaian Sign Language Dictionary’. Below is how the main form looks like:

AFRICA DEVELOPMENT AND RESOURCES RESEARCH INSTITUTE (ADRRI) JOURNAL pISSN: 2343-6662 ISSN-L: 2343-6662 VOL. 22, No. 22 (2), July, 2015 Published by Africa Development and Resources Research Institute

Figure 3: The main form

The Database

The database contains about nine hundred and twenty (920) words and phrases, eleven numbers-starting from zero to ten (0-10), and the twenty six (26) letters of the alphabet. Each table appears with a description of how the concepts are signed. Below is a pictorial view of the database:

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Figure 4: The database

Database Schema

The schematic description of the database is as follows:

Aphabets (Alphabet Var Text (30) Unique, Description Memo (500)).

Numbers (Number Real Unique, Description Memo (500)).

CONCLUSIONS

In pursuing their day to day activities with their hearing acquaintances, deaf people face communication problems of various kinds. This communication gap has made them to have a very much restricted knowledge about the basic information of their daily lives and surroundings. For instance, in public areas such as hospitals, when a hospital fails to provide a qualified interpreter, or other means of effective communication, a deaf person who has no Sign Language translator may have to make critical health decisions without being able to adequately communicate with his or her doctor. This communication gap could place some deaf patients at risk.

In different countries, different options have been suggested and used to resolve the communication gap between the deaf and hearing people. Among these, some of the most effective, acceptable, and ethical solutions are: Using sign language translators; Creating the chance for and training the deaf to use Minicoms or Typetalk; Using software tools, which are capable of converting spoken language to sign language and vice versa; and, Training the hearing people to be aware of and learn sign languages.

Implementation of any solution to any problem depends on the place where it is going to be implemented, conditions and time. Accordingly, teaching sign language to hearing people may be the appropriate and timely solution in Ghana, bearing in mind the economic, awareness and other related factors. It will be possible to bridge the gap between hearing and deaf people of the country if those people who have close relationships to the deaf citizens learn the appropriate element(s) of GSL, which is the communication means for the deaf in the country. This study therefore designed and developed a user-centered self-learning software, dubbed: The Ghanaian Sign Language Dictionary.

Sign language is a visual language where Communication is done by means of hands, face, head and upper torso. Sign language is not international. Hence, different sign languages have been developed in different countries where deaf communities exist. Examples of such sign languages include American Sign Language (ASL), British Sign Language (BSL), and South African Sign Language (SASL). In Ghana, even though there is little variation among sign languages used in different parts of the country, there is what is known as Ghanaian Sign Language (GSL). GSL is used as an effective mode of communication for deaf people in the country.

In order to achieve its aim, the research has followed a user centered design methodology for developing the software. User research was done in order to have a good input to the design of appropriate tool. Based on the analysis of this user research, a prototype of the Ghanaian Sign Language learning tool was developed. The tool was developed using the Visual Basic programming language (VB 6), and Microsoft Office Access 2007 as the database. The processes

AFRICA DEVELOPMENT AND RESOURCES RESEARCH INSTITUTE (ADRRI) JOURNAL pISSN: 2343-6662 ISSN-L: 2343-6662 VOL. 22, No. 22 (2), July, 2015 Published by Africa Development and Resources Research Institute of doing the software using this method fulfilled the Decide, Design, Develop and Evaluate (DDD-E) way of designing an Instructional Software. Due to limitation of time and resource, a prototype of the system was developed.

RECOMMENDATIONS

An important recommendation is the inclusion of GSL as a course in the curriculum at all levels of the educational system of Ghana including, Colleges, Polytechnics and Universities. As indicated in Chapter One, students are very much interested to learn GSL to enhance communication with deaf acquaintances. Therefore the Ministry of Education must permit schools and other academic institutions to include GSL courses in their curriculum so that they can get knowledge of basic GSL to communicate with their deaf peers. Also, considering the shortage of GSL instructors in the country, ‚This self-Instructional Desktop Application‛ can be used in the teaching/learning of Ghanaian Sign Language.

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AFRICA DEVELOPMENT AND RESOURCES RESEARCH INSTITUTE (ADRRI) JOURNAL pISSN: 2343-6662 ISSN-L: 2343-6662 VOL. 22, No. 22 (2), July, 2015 Published by Africa Development and Resources Research Institute Kaput, J. (1992). Technology and mathematics education. In D.A. Grouws (Ed.) Handbook of research on mathematics and teaching and learning (515-556), New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. Kisch S.(2008) ‘Deaf discourse’: The social construction of deafness in a Bedouin community in the Negev. Medical Anthropology. 27:283–313.

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AFRICA DEVELOPMENT AND RESOURCES RESEARCH INSTITUTE (ADRRI) JOURNAL pISSN: 2343-6662 ISSN-L: 2343-6662 VOL. 22, No. 22 (2), July, 2015 Published by Africa Development and Resources Research Institute This academic research paper was published by the Africa Development and Resources Research Institute’s Journal (ADRRI JOURNAL). ADRRI JOURNAL is a double blinded peer review, open access international journal that aims to inspire Africa development through quality applied research.

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