Besides sign language, what skill are some deaf students taught to access spoken language?

• A. Reading Braille
• B. Listening to audio captions
• C. Writing extensively
• D. Reading lips

Answer: (D)

Accessing spoken language through visual speech cues is captured by lip reading (speechreading). Some deaf students learn to interpret the movements of the lips, teeth, tongue, and facial expressions to understand what someone is saying, even when there’s no audible sound. This skill fills in gaps when sign language isn’t used or when conversations involve spoken language alongside signs. It’s useful because it allows real-time understanding in interactions, though it’s imperfect—many sounds look similar on the lips—so it’s often paired with other methods like residual hearing or assistive devices. Reading Braille focuses on tactile reading of text, switching to written language, not decoding spoken language; listening to audio captions assumes some hearing capability; writing extensively doesn’t directly enable access to spoken language in real time.