Teaching deaf, deafblind and hard-of-hearing students is often framed as a matter of adjustments: turning on captions; using a microphone; speaking clearly while facing students, providing slides in advance and sending preparation materials to interpreters. These steps matter but accessibility in higher education goes beyond checking boxes. It concerns how knowledge is structured, delivered and shared in the classroom. In fact, many of these adjustments ultimately benefit non-deaf students as well.
Deaf, deafblind and hard-of-hearing students are not a single group. Some use sign language as their primary language. Some use spoken language supported by hearing aids or cochlear implants. Some lip-read. Others follow via captions or assistive listening technology. In practice, many deaf, deafblind and hard-of-hearing students use a combination of several of these. When students are deafblind, this does not necessarily mean they have no vision, as many deafblind people have some remaining sight.
One practical way to respond to this diversity is to design communication in ways that work across different modes.
Think multimodally from the start
University teaching is often heavily based on spoken explanation. For students who participate in the class through sign language interpretation, captions or lip-reading, this can create gaps or delays in accessing information. Interpreters need time to process what is said before producing the signed message, and captions – particularly automatic captions – may appear a few seconds later or contain errors. Lip-reading is also an uncertain process that relies heavily on context. When complex ideas or unfamiliar terminology are introduced quickly, this can increase cognitive load.
Planning teaching so that key information appears in several ways helps reduce this burden. Slides can play an important role but their design matters. Visualisations such as diagrams or illustrations can support understanding. However, if slides contain very little text, they provide limited support for students who need textual anchors while following interpretation, captions or lip-reading. If they contain too much text, there is not enough time to read them while also lip-reading the lecturer or watching the interpreter.
A useful balance is to include concise points while highlighting key terms or concepts (for example in bold or colour) and avoiding redundant words or repetition. This allows students to quickly locate the most important information without needing to read large amounts of text. These practices support many learners.
For deafblind students, slides with a dark background (such as dark blue or black) and light text (white or yellow) are often easier to perceive than slides with bright white backgrounds. Some deafblind students also benefit from image descriptions when images are used.
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Manage pace and turn-taking
Rapid exchanges and overlapping speech can make discussions difficult to follow. When several students speak at once, interpreters, captioning systems, lip-readers and students using hearing aids all struggle to keep up. It can also be difficult for deaf, deafblind and hard-of-hearing students to identify who is speaking. By the time this becomes clear, they may already be behind in following the discussion.
Simple adjustments can make discussions far more accessible. Ask participants to raise their hand before speaking and ensure that only one person speaks at a time. Clearly indicate the next speaker by pointing to them. Ask speakers to wait briefly before speaking until the deaf, deafblind or hard-of-hearing student has identified who is talking or is facing them to lip-read. Repeat or briefly summarise student contributions and signal clearly when a new topic is introduced. These practices allow interpreters to complete the signed message and give students using captions or lip-reading time to stay with the conversation. In practice, they also lead to clearer and more inclusive seminar discussions for all students.
Seminars and group work can be particularly challenging when communication relies heavily on rapid interaction. Some instructors encourage written or online contributions during seminar activities. These can complement spoken discussion and allow different communication styles to emerge. Not all deaf, deafblind and hard-of hearing students are equally comfortable writing, however. Some have not had enough opportunities or support to develop written language skills, while for others, writing is their preferred mode of expression.
It can therefore be helpful to have a brief conversation with deaf, deafblind and hard-of hearing students about which communication modes they feel most comfortable using in the classroom, and to include different options in classroom activities.
Move beyond deficit thinking
Visual attention, clear turn-taking, multimodal communication and conceptual clarity are valuable skills in many learning contexts. When teaching embraces multiple modes of communication, it becomes more flexible and more inclusive.
Accessible teaching is a way of designing learning environments that prioritise clarity, structure and participation. When courses are organised with multimodal communication in mind, they typically become more effective for the majority – not only for deaf, deafblind and hard-of-hearing students.
Annelies Kusters is professor of sociolinguistics at Heriot-Watt University.
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