The Student Room Group

"Languages?! But you're deaf!!!" the long road to Arabic&Spanish at Durham...

Helloooo :nyan:

Ok so i'm making this blog for 2 main reasons:
1) To raise awareness/answer any and all questions related to being deaf/hearing loss/lip reading/hearing aids etc :smile: I honestly don't mind no matter how weird the question may be!
2) after 2.5 weeks of intense easter revision i'm lacking motivation and need a place to keep track...

Languages have been my 'thing' for as long as I can remember, just one slight catch....
I'm totally deaf in my right ear and have mild-moderate hearing loss in my left ear, and throw in tinnitus for good measure too...
I use CROS hearing aids and a roger pen (like a portable loop system) at school, but rely heavily on lip reading- which can be fun in Spanish and French....
I'm totally blessed to have an amazing group of friends who have been supportive throughout my entire high school time- letting me copy notes when I don't hear, repeating things constantly etc would be lost without them tbh :smile:

So a bit about my studies:
A2 Subjects, exam board, mock grade, predicted/target grade:
Spanish, AQA, A, A*
English lit, AQA(love through the ages), A, A*
French, AQA, A, A

Uni offers (all beginners Arabic and Spanish):
Durham: AAA (firm :biggrin: )
Edinburgh: ABB (insurance :smile: )
Exeter: AAB (declined)
St Andrews: AAB (declined)

Other stuff I do and may feature....
-Generally wasting as much time as possible with my horse- i've been riding for 15 years and my horse keeps me sane as sad as it sounds....
-Playing the tenor horn (don't worry no-one has ever heard of it...) working on my grade 6 and also play in the county concert band
-Army cadets: I was a cadet for 5 years, having been the youngest ever senior female, I'm now in the process of joining as an adult instructor so I can give something back!
-Learning new languages: I'm determined to self teach sign language and also Maltease, Hindi, German and Italian :smile:

No idea how successful this will be- i've probably bored everyone already... Post soon! :biggrin:

Scroll to see replies

Original post by eleanor27
Helloooo :nyan:

Ok so i'm making this blog for 2 main reasons:
1) To raise awareness/answer any and all questions related to being deaf/hearing loss/lip reading/hearing aids etc :smile: I honestly don't mind no matter how weird the question may be!
2) after 2.5 weeks of intense easter revision i'm lacking motivation and need a place to keep track...

Languages have been my 'thing' for as long as I can remember, just one slight catch....
I'm totally deaf in my right ear and have mild-moderate hearing loss in my left ear, and throw in tinnitus for good measure too...
I use CROS hearing aids and a roger pen (like a portable loop system) at school, but rely heavily on lip reading- which can be fun in Spanish and French....
I'm totally blessed to have an amazing group of friends who have been supportive throughout my entire high school time- letting me copy notes when I don't hear, repeating things constantly etc would be lost without them tbh :smile:

So a bit about my studies:
A2 Subjects, exam board, mock grade, predicted/target grade:
Spanish, AQA, A, A*
English lit, AQA(love through the ages), A, A*
French, AQA, A, A

Uni offers (all beginners Arabic and Spanish):
Durham: AAA (firm :biggrin: )
Edinburgh: ABB (insurance :smile: )
Exeter: AAB (declined)
St Andrews: AAB (declined)

Other stuff I do and may feature....
-Generally wasting as much time as possible with my horse- i've been riding for 15 years and my horse keeps me sane as sad as it sounds....
-Playing the tenor horn (don't worry no-one has ever heard of it...) working on my grade 6 and also play in the county concert band
-Army cadets: I was a cadet for 5 years, having been the youngest ever senior female, I'm now in the process of joining as an adult instructor so I can give something back!
-Learning new languages: I'm determined to self teach sign language and also Maltease, Hindi, German and Italian :smile:

No idea how successful this will be- i've probably bored everyone already... Post soon! :biggrin:


Those are some amazing grades!

One of my best friends has been riding most her life and I know she feels the same way so it's definitely not sad, just something that is a passion! I would love to learn sign language :biggrin:
Original post by eleanor27
Helloooo :nyan:

Ok so i'm making this blog for 2 main reasons:
1) To raise awareness/answer any and all questions related to being deaf/hearing loss/lip reading/hearing aids etc :smile: I honestly don't mind no matter how weird the question may be!
2) after 2.5 weeks of intense easter revision i'm lacking motivation and need a place to keep track...

Languages have been my 'thing' for as long as I can remember, just one slight catch....
I'm totally deaf in my right ear and have mild-moderate hearing loss in my left ear, and throw in tinnitus for good measure too...
I use CROS hearing aids and a roger pen (like a portable loop system) at school, but rely heavily on lip reading- which can be fun in Spanish and French....
I'm totally blessed to have an amazing group of friends who have been supportive throughout my entire high school time- letting me copy notes when I don't hear, repeating things constantly etc would be lost without them tbh :smile:

So a bit about my studies:
A2 Subjects, exam board, mock grade, predicted/target grade:
Spanish, AQA, A, A*
English lit, AQA(love through the ages), A, A*
French, AQA, A, A

Uni offers (all beginners Arabic and Spanish):
Durham: AAA (firm :biggrin: )
Edinburgh: ABB (insurance :smile: )
Exeter: AAB (declined)
St Andrews: AAB (declined)

Other stuff I do and may feature....
-Generally wasting as much time as possible with my horse- i've been riding for 15 years and my horse keeps me sane as sad as it sounds....
-Playing the tenor horn (don't worry no-one has ever heard of it...) working on my grade 6 and also play in the county concert band
-Army cadets: I was a cadet for 5 years, having been the youngest ever senior female, I'm now in the process of joining as an adult instructor so I can give something back!
-Learning new languages: I'm determined to self teach sign language and also Maltease, Hindi, German and Italian :smile:

No idea how successful this will be- i've probably bored everyone already... Post soon! :biggrin:


Just to say how impressed I am at the amount of languages you're learning and for not letting your hearing difficulties to hold you back.
Reply 3
Original post by eleanor27
Helloooo :nyan:

Ok so i'm making this blog for 2 main reasons:
1) To raise awareness/answer any and all questions related to being deaf/hearing loss/lip reading/hearing aids etc :smile: I honestly don't mind no matter how weird the question may be!
2) after 2.5 weeks of intense easter revision i'm lacking motivation and need a place to keep track...

Languages have been my 'thing' for as long as I can remember, just one slight catch....
I'm totally deaf in my right ear and have mild-moderate hearing loss in my left ear, and throw in tinnitus for good measure too...
I use CROS hearing aids and a roger pen (like a portable loop system) at school, but rely heavily on lip reading- which can be fun in Spanish and French....
I'm totally blessed to have an amazing group of friends who have been supportive throughout my entire high school time- letting me copy notes when I don't hear, repeating things constantly etc would be lost without them tbh :smile:

So a bit about my studies:
A2 Subjects, exam board, mock grade, predicted/target grade:
Spanish, AQA, A, A*
English lit, AQA(love through the ages), A, A*
French, AQA, A, A

Uni offers (all beginners Arabic and Spanish):
Durham: AAA (firm :biggrin: )
Edinburgh: ABB (insurance :smile: )
Exeter: AAB (declined)
St Andrews: AAB (declined)

Other stuff I do and may feature....
-Generally wasting as much time as possible with my horse- i've been riding for 15 years and my horse keeps me sane as sad as it sounds....
-Playing the tenor horn (don't worry no-one has ever heard of it...) working on my grade 6 and also play in the county concert band
-Army cadets: I was a cadet for 5 years, having been the youngest ever senior female, I'm now in the process of joining as an adult instructor so I can give something back!
-Learning new languages: I'm determined to self teach sign language and also Maltease, Hindi, German and Italian :smile:

No idea how successful this will be- i've probably bored everyone already... Post soon! :biggrin:


really cool thread x

I wish I knew how to ride a horse I can ride a camel with some help tho :smile:
Original post by eleanor27
Helloooo :nyan:

Ok so i'm making this blog for 2 main reasons:
1) To raise awareness/answer any and all questions related to being deaf/hearing loss/lip reading/hearing aids etc :smile: I honestly don't mind no matter how weird the question may be!
2) after 2.5 weeks of intense easter revision i'm lacking motivation and need a place to keep track...

Languages have been my 'thing' for as long as I can remember, just one slight catch....
I'm totally deaf in my right ear and have mild-moderate hearing loss in my left ear, and throw in tinnitus for good measure too...
I use CROS hearing aids and a roger pen (like a portable loop system) at school, but rely heavily on lip reading- which can be fun in Spanish and French....
I'm totally blessed to have an amazing group of friends who have been supportive throughout my entire high school time- letting me copy notes when I don't hear, repeating things constantly etc would be lost without them tbh :smile:

So a bit about my studies:
A2 Subjects, exam board, mock grade, predicted/target grade:
Spanish, AQA, A, A*
English lit, AQA(love through the ages), A, A*
French, AQA, A, A

Uni offers (all beginners Arabic and Spanish):
Durham: AAA (firm :biggrin: )
Edinburgh: ABB (insurance :smile: )
Exeter: AAB (declined)
St Andrews: AAB (declined)

Other stuff I do and may feature....
-Generally wasting as much time as possible with my horse- i've been riding for 15 years and my horse keeps me sane as sad as it sounds....
-Playing the tenor horn (don't worry no-one has ever heard of it...) working on my grade 6 and also play in the county concert band
-Army cadets: I was a cadet for 5 years, having been the youngest ever senior female, I'm now in the process of joining as an adult instructor so I can give something back!
-Learning new languages: I'm determined to self teach sign language and also Maltease, Hindi, German and Italian :smile:

No idea how successful this will be- i've probably bored everyone already... Post soon! :biggrin:


Good for you - I have almost total loss of hearing in one ear and reduced hearing in the other - so I have sympathy.

Good luck with the languages - I am always reminded of the brilliant percussionist - Evelyn Glennie - totally deaf yet able to play as if she wasn't.
Original post by Queen Cersei
Those are some amazing grades!

One of my best friends has been riding most her life and I know she feels the same way so it's definitely not sad, just something that is a passion! I would love to learn sign language :biggrin:

ahah thank you :smile: it's just a case of none stop revision to hit them now... Sign language is quite fun to learn as it's really logical! Youtube videos are great :smile:

Original post by claireestelle
Just to say how impressed I am at the amount of languages you're learning and for not letting your hearing difficulties to hold you back.

Aww thank you so much- that means a lot :smile: I have friends fluent in Maltese and Hindi already so they're a massive help! Ultimately, I'd like to be able to be fluent in at least all the official languages of the UN :smile:

Original post by MJlover
really cool thread x

I wish I knew how to ride a horse I can ride a camel with some help tho :smile:

ahaha camels are awesome- wish I could ride them :wink:

Original post by squeakysquirrel
Good for you - I have almost total loss of hearing in one ear and reduced hearing in the other - so I have sympathy.

Good luck with the languages - I am always reminded of the brilliant percussionist - Evelyn Glennie - totally deaf yet able to play as if she wasn't.

woo fellow deaf friend! :biggrin:
You are AMAZING.
Original post by MrsSheldonCooper
You are AMAZING.


I disagree ahaha but thank you so much that means a lot :blush:
16th APRIL 2016....
Just a relatively short and hopefully not too cheesy post on just why I love languages....
So with 2 of my 3 A2 options being modern foreign languages, I was told my teaching staff to expect to be buried under mountains of grammar, translations, essays and cultural work- fair to say they were true to their word! A friend in my Spanish class says she gets more work from Spanish than her other 2 subjects combined!

Anywayyyy I digress..

I guess the main reason I don't mind doing the mountains of homework is because I actually find it enjoyable! With languages, you know that every bit of work you do is making you just that bit more fluent and it's the most amazing feeling when you can hear yourself talking more and more fluently and spontaneously! I've always thought that's not something you get as much from other subjects....

However, for me, the best thing about languages is that when I'm talking in them, I can adopt an alternative persona as such. In real life I'm not exactly the most confident of people; although I can put on a strong front and shout thanks to cadets (will do a post on this at a later date). However, when I speak Spanish, I let myself take on the personality of someone who's really bubbly and confident and loves a good debate! I've found that the more I've adopted this as I've been speaking Spanish more and more that it's been having a really positive effect on me as a person!

The specific challenges that come with learning languages with hearing loss have certainly made me more resilient (I'll have to do a separate post on the challenges and overcoming them- there's quite a few ahaha :wink: )

As cheesy as it may sound, I like to think that due to languages I've become a much more confident, strong person and honestly I can't encourage people enough to take them up

Ellie x
late night ramblings:
practise oral cards are boring me to tears but my Spanish oral is in 11 days!!!!! :dumbells:
Got an ENT (ear specialist) appointment tomorrow to try and figure out why I appear to be losing my hearing in my 'good' ear... Really quite worried but hoping to get an answer....
Not back in school until Tuesday (3.5 week Easter breaks rock :thrasher: ) so hoping to finish all the oral cards for Spanish (there was 30) by tomorrow- just 7 left to go!

Anywayy

:goodnight: Ellie x
Original post by eleanor27
late night ramblings:
practise oral cards are boring me to tears but my Spanish oral is in 11 days!!!!! :dumbells:
Got an ENT (ear specialist) appointment tomorrow to try and figure out why I appear to be losing my hearing in my 'good' ear... Really quite worried but hoping to get an answer....
Not back in school until Tuesday (3.5 week Easter breaks rock :thrasher: ) so hoping to finish all the oral cards for Spanish (there was 30) by tomorrow- just 7 left to go!

Anywayy

:goodnight: Ellie x


All thirty oral cards! What! Why :O
Im soing aqa spanish, aiming for an A* (totally happy with an A) - how else are you revising? I always find it hard to revise for span both the paper and oral
Im doing vocab revision, and im gonna mske notes/arguments for the topics in the textbook and for my cultural topics. What to do about reading and listening tho? :colondollar:

Hope you dont mind me asking for advice
Original post by timelizard
All thirty oral cards! What! Why :O
Im soing aqa spanish, aiming for an A* (totally happy with an A) - how else are you revising? I always find it hard to revise for span both the paper and oral
Im doing vocab revision, and im gonna mske notes/arguments for the topics in the textbook and for my cultural topics. What to do about reading and listening tho? :colondollar:

Hope you dont mind me asking for advice


haha yeah! doing the oral cards as I see it as grammar practise but also I'm very good at rambling on an on and on so working on making my opening 1 minute argument only a minute long!! And actually getting straight to the point....

for listening I listen to a lot of Spanish radio to sharpen my skills and get used to different tones of voices and accents- also they speak a lot quicker than in the exam so it makes the exam a lot easier if you get used to the fast native speed!

For the reading, again I think vocab is key and you're doing the right thing :smile: I also do grammar practise to make sure I get the reading passage gap fill right with agreements etc!

I can't recommend highlighters enough! In the reading I always read the questions first and then read the passage all the way through then I re read it again highlighting anything that may be relevant to the questions and only then do I begin to answer the actual questions! The same goes for the listening- I read all the questions and highlight the key words- tenses, time phrases etc before i listen to the recording :smile:

what cultural topics do you do? I do La Casa de Bernarda Alba and El Laberinto del Fauno :smile:

I don't mind giving advice at all! If I haven't answered in enough detail or you have more questions feel free to ask! :biggrin:
An unexpected bombshell... :frown: :bricks:

Ok, so I just got back from seeing my ear specialist about the fact that I feel my hearing in my "good" has gotten worse and the constant need to pop my ears due to the muffled sound....

It turns out my ear drum is retracted. What this means is that the ear drum is bent inwards and stretching towards the tube connecting the ear to something else (I was too shocked to be listening to what).

The specialist said this also means I have a problem with that tube, which was why my hearing has been getting worse. He said the only real long term solution may be to try and put another grommet down there but that they were very unwilling to do this as it's too risky to mess around with my good ear- and I agree with them.

So the truth is I'm a bit of a mess now. Was really hoping (rather naively albeit) for a solution meaning I could get my normal "good side" level of hearing back so I don't have to lip read as much as it's so exhausting idk how I can carry on coping with that and all the extra work and revision.

Now especially worried about the prospect of my language oral exams- my Spanish one is next Friday and it's with an external examiner which means new lip patterns etc....

I'm back in school tomorrow so I will probably go and have a discussion with the head of languages about how we progress with the orals and the subsequent listening in the written papers now we know it's not getting better like we had all hoped...

Really sorry for the depressing post guys...
Ellie x
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 13
I played the tenor horn. :colone:
Original post by Airmed
I played the tenor horn. :colone:


Woo fellow horn player! :biggrin: :five:
The only other time I've met fellow players is when I was in a brass band! I've reached the stage where I just say "think of a tuba,, but smaller" to save the confusion ahaha :smile:
Reply 15
Original post by eleanor27
Woo fellow horn player! :biggrin: :five:
The only other time I've met fellow players is when I was in a brass band! I've reached the stage where I just say "think of a tuba,, but smaller" to save the confusion ahaha :smile:


That's what me and my best friend used to tell people. :laugh:
Original post by eleanor27
haha yeah! doing the oral cards as I see it as grammar practise but also I'm very good at rambling on an on and on so working on making my opening 1 minute argument only a minute long!! And actually getting straight to the point....

for listening I listen to a lot of Spanish radio to sharpen my skills and get used to different tones of voices and accents- also they speak a lot quicker than in the exam so it makes the exam a lot easier if you get used to the fast native speed!

For the reading, again I think vocab is key and you're doing the right thing :smile: I also do grammar practise to make sure I get the reading passage gap fill right with agreements etc!

I can't recommend highlighters enough! In the reading I always read the questions first and then read the passage all the way through then I re read it again highlighting anything that may be relevant to the questions and only then do I begin to answer the actual questions! The same goes for the listening- I read all the questions and highlight the key words- tenses, time phrases etc before i listen to the recording :smile:

what cultural topics do you do? I do La Casa de Bernarda Alba and El Laberinto del Fauno :smile:

I don't mind giving advice at all! If I haven't answered in enough detail or you have more questions feel free to ask! :biggrin:


for culturual topics, the book Cronica de una muerte Anunciada and the film, Cria Cuervos :biggrin:
I think theyre both really good but I havent revised for the book yet
im currently doing memrise and then im going to do some reading practice
you're so helpful! and im just v worried! aha
Original post by timelizard
for culturual topics, the book Cronica de una muerte Anunciada and the film, Cria Cuervos :biggrin:
I think theyre both really good but I havent revised for the book yet
im currently doing memrise and then im going to do some reading practice
you're so helpful! and im just v worried! aha

I love Cronica! I studied it loads for oxford interviews (rejected though lol) it's so interesting :smile: don't be worried if you're wanting an A* you're clearly doing something right! :smile:
Original post by eleanor27
An unexpected bombshell... :frown: :bricks:

Ok, so I just got back from seeing my ear specialist about the fact that I feel my hearing in my "good" has gotten worse and the constant need to pop my ears due to the muffled sound....

It turns out my ear drum is retracted. What this means is that the ear drum is bent inwards and stretching towards the tube connecting the ear to something else (I was too shocked to be listening to what).

The specialist said this also means I have a problem with that tube, which was why my hearing has been getting worse. He said the only real long term solution may be to try and put another grommet down there but that they were very unwilling to do this as it's too risky to mess around with my good ear- and I agree with them.

So the truth is I'm a bit of a mess now. Was really hoping (rather naively albeit) for a solution meaning I could get my normal "good side" level of hearing back so I don't have to lip read as much as it's so exhausting idk how I can carry on coping with that and all the extra work and revision.

Now especially worried about the prospect of my language oral exams- my Spanish one is next Friday and it's with an external examiner which means new lip patterns etc....

I'm back in school tomorrow so I will probably go and have a discussion with the head of languages about how we progress with the orals and the subsequent listening in the written papers now we know it's not getting better like we had all hoped...

Really sorry for the depressing post guys...
Ellie x


you don't have to apologise for the post, i'm v sorry to hear this and that its stressing you. perhaps the school can arrange you meeting the external examiner before or something?
i don't have any useful words to say i'm afraid xxxx
Subscribing :hugs:

Quick Reply

Latest