The Use of Multimedia Courseware in Teaching Sign Language to Hearing Impaired Students

Abstract

This quasi-experimental study was aimed to see the effect of using interactive multimedia software in teaching the Kod Tangan Bahasa Melayu (KTBM) to students with hearing impairments. In this study two types of software developed by the researcher have been used as teaching materials. The built-in multimedia is called Koswer Multimedia Interaktif Bahasa Melayu (KoMIBM) and Koswer Multimedia Bahasa Melayu (KoMBM). The respondents of the study consisted 60 students of year three and four from Sekolah Kebangsaan Pendidikan Khas program for hearing impairment in Malaysia. The data were collected through pre and posttest and analyzed using MANCOVA statistics. The results of the data analysis show that there is a significant difference in the correct hand code usage score between experimental group and control group. The MANCOVA analysis results show the following results [F (1, 49) = 5.996, p <0.05]. The findings show that students using KoMIBM demonstrate better score than students who use KoMBM in proper use of the KTBM. Based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that the use of interactive multimedia software can increase the mastery of KTBM among the hearing impairment students.