NUMBER OF THE DEAF TAUGHT SPEECH, NUMBER TAUGHT WHOLLY OR CHIEFLY BY ORAL METHOD, AND NUMBER TAUGHT WHOLLY OR CHIEFLY BY AURICULAR METHOD, IN DIFFERENT YEARS
| Year | Total Number of Pupils | Number Taught Speech | Per cent | Number Taught Wholly or Chiefly by Oral Method | Per cent | Number Taught Wholly or Chiefly by Auricular Method | Per cent |
| 1884 | 7,482 | 2,041 | 27.2 | ||||
| 1890 | 8,901 | 3,682 | 41.3 | ||||
| 1892 | 7,940 | 3,924 | 49.4 | 1,581 | 19.9 | ||
| 1893 | 8,304 | 4,485 | 54.0 | 2,056 | 24.7 | 80 | 0.9 |
| 1895 | 9,252 | 5,084 | 54.9 | 2,570 | 27.7 | 149 | 1.6 |
| 1900 | 10,608 | 6,887 | 63.0 | 4,538 | 42.8 | 108 | 1.0 |
| 1905 | 11,344 | 7,700 | 67.8 | 5,733 | 50.5 | 149 | 1.3 |
| 1910 | 12,332 | 8,868 | 71.9 | 7,562 | 61.3 | 134 | 1.1 |
| 1913 | 13,459 | 10,138 | 75.3 | 8,791 | 65.3 | 135 | 1.1 |
It thus appears that in a little over a quarter of a century the proportion of pupils in the schools taught speech has nearly trebled; and that in a score of years the proportion taught chiefly or wholly by the oral method has more than trebled. The proportion of the pupils taught wholly or chiefly by the auricular method never rises above two per cent.
It should be stated, however, that these figures are not to be taken as meaning that all the pupils thus enumerated have become proficient in the employment of speech, or have become able to speak clearly and intelligibly, and well enough for general practical use. It would be nearest the truth to say that they are "taught articulation," or that they are instructed by the use of speech and speech-reading. Oftentimes the greatest success lies in the preservation in fair shape of the speech of those who have once had it. The speech acquired by the deaf is of varying degrees, as we have seen; but in some it may be such as to be of distinct service, as well as the lip-reading which may be said to go with it.[556]
Present Methods of Instruction
The methods of instruction at present employed in American schools for the deaf are known as the manual, the manual alphabet, the oral, the auricular and the combined. They are thus described in the Annals:[557]
I. The Manual Method.—Signs, the manual alphabet, and writing are the chief means used in the instruction of the pupils, and the principal objects aimed at are mental development and facility in the comprehension and use of written language. The degree of relative importance given to these three means varies in different schools; but it is a difference only in degree, and the end aimed at is the same in all.
II. The Manual Alphabet Method.—The manual alphabet and writing are the chief means used in the instruction of the pupils, and the principal objects aimed at are mental development and facility in the comprehension and use of written language. Speech and speech-reading are taught to all of the pupils in the school (the Western New York Institution) recorded as following this method.
III. The Oral Method.—Speech and speech-reading, together with writing, are made the chief means of instruction, and facility in speech and speech-reading, as well as mental development and written language, is aimed at. There is a difference in the different schools in the extent to which the use of natural signs is allowed in the early part of the course, and also in the prominence given to writing as an auxiliary to speech and speech-reading in the course of instruction; but they are differences only in degree, and the end aimed at is the same in all.