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Using Sign Language to Promote Reading Comprehension for Deaf Students

Using Sign Language to Promote Reading Comprehension for Deaf Students. Jean F. Andrews, Ph.D. Lamar University Jean.andrews@lamar.edu March 9, 2010: Taichung Deaf School March 10, 2010: Tainan Deaf School. Topics. Definitions Reading achievement levels of US deaf

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Using Sign Language to Promote Reading Comprehension for Deaf Students

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  1. Using Sign Language to Promote Reading Comprehension for Deaf Students Jean F. Andrews, Ph.D. Lamar University Jean.andrews@lamar.edu March 9, 2010: Taichung Deaf School March 10, 2010: Tainan Deaf School

  2. Topics • Definitions • Reading achievement levels of US deaf • Case studies and importance of Background variables • ASL and English structures differ • Research showing correlation btwn ASL and English reading • Instructional Practices • ASL/English bilingual strategies • Summary and conclusions

  3. Terms Language experiences Phonological coding Sign coding Orthography Visual Phonics Phonemic awareness Alphabetic principle Schema theory graphemes Phonics Fluency Vocabulary Reading Comprehension Prior knowledge Metacognition Syntax Morphology Inferences Phonological awareness Phonemic awareness

  4. Reading achievement & deafness 1. average18 to 19 yr old student with severe to profound HL leave school at the 3rd or 4th grade reading level (Traxler, 2000). 2. Annual growth rate of less than a half grade per year with leveling off or plateau effect occuring at 3rd to 4th grade level for most students (Trezek & al., 2010).

  5. What is reading achievement? • A measure of reading comprehension • A number that compares proficiency across different age groups • Criterion-references or standardized

  6. What is the simple view of reading comprehension? (Trezek et al., 2010) • Emphasis on… • Decoding • comprehension of single passage • Passage-specific information

  7. What is the broader view of reading comprehension? • Emphasis on • Prior knowledge • Metacognition • Attitude • Engagement • Use of several passages on comprehension tests

  8. Shortcomings of comprehension tests • Use of one short passage for assessment purposes • Overuse of literal questions • Need for inferential questions • Need for reader to make evaluative comments • Overuse of multiple choice formats 6. Overuse of passage format, what abt newspaper and magazine formats

  9. Background variables • Age hearing loss • Extent/type hearing loss • IQ • Ethnicity • Gender • Etiology • Additional disabilities 8. Age of early education 9. Mode(s) of communication 10. Language(s) 11. Family language use 12. Family sign/speech skill 13. Books in home 14. Type education 15. Quality of language/reading instruction

  10. Case studies & background variables Cases QUESTION How do each of these case studies illustrate the importance of background variables in understanding language and reading development? • Alicia • Jake • Ellen • Matt • Lola • Natalie • Larry

  11. ASL & English ASL English Language status: World’s most prestigious language (economy, government, research) Linear sequential grammar Based on auditory language (written form) Morpho-grammar information redundant Acquired easily and naturally by young babies • Language status: historically suppressed and oppressed • Does not have a written form • Linguistically described by William Stokoe in 1960 • Used by 2 million Deaf Americans • Visual, gestural modality • Facial grammar, Body movement • Use of space • Acquired easily by babies of deaf parents • Deaf children learn ASL at different times in their lives depending on access

  12. Linguistically congruent or linguistically distant? • Chinese – English? • ASL – English? • Tawainese sign language –Chinese? • Spanish-English? • Hebrew-English? • Arabic-English? • HOW does this affect the teaching of reading?

  13. Correlations studies: ASL & English Read Comp relationships • Moores (1987, 1990) • Mayberry (1989, 1994, 1999) • Strong & Prinz (1997) • Hoffmeister (2002) • Padden & Ramsey (2002) • Smith (2006) • Rusher (2007)

  14. Instructional Practices • Balanced reading approach • Reading theory • Whole language • Interactionist • Dual coding theory • Schema theory

  15. Taiwan folk tale: Instructional example • How to implement a balanced reading lesson: whole to part and part to whole

  16. Other instructional strategies using sign language to teach reading • ASL summary technique • PVR (preview-view-review) • Free writing using story books (signed) • Sign-meaning-print connections to build vocabulary • Using comic books (visual pictures) to teach reading comprehension

  17. ASL/English reading strategies in the classroom • Codeswitching • Translation • ASL summary technique • PVR • Sandwiching, chaining (Padden, 2002)

  18. Using ASL and visual diagrams • Semantic mapping • Story maps • Venn Diagram • Timelines • Graphic organizers

  19. How to assess? • Sign fluency rubric (Easterbrooks & ) • French’s ASL and reading checklists • Smith (2006) Test of American Sign Language-Receptive (TASLA-R).

  20. Deaf students reading errors using sign language • What kinds of errors to deaf children make when reading in sign language? • Are these errors phonologically based? • Visually based? • How does this impede the learning to decode? • Is decoding necessary?

  21. Use of technology • Captioned TV • Pages • Video games • Videophones • Video relay • Remote interpreting • E-books • U-Tube • DVD technology

  22. Summary and Conclusions • Sign and English are linguistically distant • Semantic-based transfers can be made from signing (through the air) and print • Specific sign to meaning to print strategies are provided • How reading is assessed? • How sign is assessed? • Role of technology

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