Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, South African health workers and global governments advocated using prevention strategies, including wearing facemasks to reduce the spread of the Coronavirus. This led to the South African Government imposing mask-wearing mandates. For deaf instructors, who rely on sign language and observations of non-verbal signals such as reading lips to communicate, these strategies had far-reaching implications. This study examined the communication adaptation and message design logic of deaf instructors in hearing spaces during the mandated mask-wearing period after the lockdown. Message design logic and communication accommodation theories framed the study. Through an online survey distributed to respondents, I explored how deaf instructors in South Africa adapted the way they communicated with hearing- abled students in classrooms. It was found that deaf instructors adapted their usual communication style to mitigate challenges with mask-wearing and mostly incorporated technology to accomplish this. However, wearing masks in hearing spaces caused virtually insurmountable barriers for the deaf instructors surveyed. Based on the study findings, this article argues that for deaf instructors navigating hearing spaces where the ability to read lips is removed, relevant technological solutions, particularly voice-to-text media, should be made available; the mode of lectures should be reconsidered, with online platforms made available.