English is an international language that should be studied and mastered. In Indonesia, it becomes the first foreign language to be taught from the Junior High School up to University level. In accordance with the 1994 curriculum, English can be taught from the Elementary school as the local content subject. It includes in a special school for the students with many kinds of impairments and the students with mental retardation. In Indonesia it is commonly called SLB (Sekolah Luar Biasa), but right now it called Special Treatment Education (Pendidikan Layanan
Khusus). Generally, in the teaching and learning process of SMP LB/B, the teachers and the students always faced the problems which are caused by the differences in the system and technique of English teaching. As a result, the teaching of English for impaired students is not easy.
Based on the above reason, the writer tried to dig up and find out the problems and the ways to solve the problems faced by the teacher in using sign language in teaching English to hearing impaired students of SMP LB/B Dharma Wanita Madiun. This research focused on non linguistic problems. The subject of this study was the teacher who taught the first grade of hearing impaired class. This study used the descriptive qualitative research design. The
instruments used to collect the data were unstructured interview and observation.
The finding of the research showed that there were some problems faced by the teacher in using sign language to hearing impaired students in teaching English at SMP LB/B Dharma Wanita Madiun. They were concerned with the teaching technique, materials, media, students, and teachers’ skill. The ways to solve these problems were: the teacher asked the students directly by using their mother tongue; the teacher took a picture or magazine and asked the students to create something which can be used as media in English lesson; the teacher brought the students in articulation room and asked them to pronounce consonant (/k/, /g/, /p/, /b/) and repeated them in solving the students’ articulation problem; the teacher chosen the text book by himself and made the simple materials; the teacher hoped that the government gave English training for the impaired teachers. The most problems faced by the Teacher in SMP LB/B Dharma Wanita Madiun was materials which was not suitable with the students’ condition. Consequently, the
teacher solved the problems based on each problem encountered
