User:Elanajp/Language acquisition by deaf children

Note to Peer editors: this is a re-do of the article Language acquisition by deaf children. Joshua and I both contributed to different sections of this re-do. The main purpose of re-drafting this article is to make the writing clear and the content relevant and accurate. Some sections we have not edited yet, and are considering removing or editing later. Those sections are included in this draft (copy and pasted from the current article) and they are italicized here in the sandbox. Also, citations are not finished yet. Feedback about the both the parts of the article that we've edited and the parts that we haven't is appreciated. Particularly if there are pieces of information you expected to see on the topic of language acquisition but we didn't include, let us know!

= Language acquisition by deaf children[ edit] = Language acquisition is a natural process in which infants and children develop proficiency in the language or languages that they are exposed to. Language acquisition of spoken languages and signed languages follow remarkably similar patterns cross-linguistically: babies acquire the language(s) of their home, and progress through developmental milestones such as producing their first word or sign at similar ages in both signed and spoken languages (CITE)[8][9]. Children with typical hearing and vision acquire the spoken or signed language(s) of their home from birth[8][9] [6][10][11]  Deaf children are in a unique position because they cannot fully access the spoken languages of their home due to hearing loss. For this reason, there is much more variety in the processes of language acquisition for deaf children than for hearing children. When exposed to a natural sign language from birth such as American Sign Language or British Sign Language, deaf children acquire that sign language in the same fashion as children with typical hearing acquire a spoken language (CITE), meeting developmental milestones at ages very similar to the norms for spoken languages. Some deaf children acquire spoken language through the use of auditory technology such as hearing aids or cochlear implants coupled with speech-language intervention (CITE). Many deaf children do not acquire either a signed or spoken language from birth, and experience a delayed language acquisition process beginning at the age that they are exposed to a natural signed language or at the age that they begin to use auditory technology and speech-language services auditory-verbal therapy? (CITE). End paragraph here?]  Because of this frequent delay in exposure to language which is extremely rare among children with typical hearing, linguists and cognitive scientists have studied the language acquisition of deaf people to understand the effects of delayed exposure to language (CITE).

Deaf children's acquisition of language[ edit]
The process of language acquisition is varied among deaf children. Deaf children born to deaf signing parents or parents who use a natural sign language at home, are able to access their home language, and thus their acquisition of that signed language follows a typical timeline.[10][12][13][14]  However, many deaf children are born into the unique position of being unable to access the language of their home. At least 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents who use a spoken language at home (CITE).[15][16] Since their home language is auditorily inaccessible, their language acquisition process is delayed until the age at which they have sufficient auditory or visual access to a spoken or signed language. Delayed exposure to an accessible language, known as language deprivation, can lead to variable outcomes in spoken or signed languages (CITE) with longer delays in the start of language acquisition leading to poorer language outcomes (CITE).

In addition to variation in the ages at which the language acquisition process begins, there is variation in what language(s) deaf children acquire. Some deaf children acquire a spoken language with the use of auditory technologies such as hearing aids or cochlear implants and auditory-verbal therapy. Some deaf children acquire a signed language from the home, or through an educational setting. Some deaf children acquire both a sign language and a spoken language-- these children are called bimodal-bilinguals.

Spoken Language Acquisition[ edit]
''Around 90-95% of deaf children are born to hearing parents and often lacked direct exposure full conversational language in either the vocal or gestural modality. The majority of these children receive hearing aids and/or cochlear implants, and are taught to listen and to use spoken language using these devices.[ citation needed]''

''The very earliest linguistic tasks facing newborns are perceptual. Babies need to determine what basic linguistic elements are used in their native language to create words (their phonetic inventory). They also need to determine how to segment the continuous stream of language input into phrases and eventually words. From birth, they have an attraction to patterned linguistic input, which is evident whether the input is spoken or signed. They use their sensitive perceptual skills to acquire information about the structure of their native language, particularly prosodic and phonological features.''

Cochlear implants[ edit][ edit]
''A cochlear implant is placed surgically inside the cochlea, which is the part of the inner ear that converts sound to neural signals. There is much debate regarding the linguistic conditions under which deaf children acquire spoken language via cochlear implantation. Some studies have concluded that long-term use of sign language impedes the development of spoken language and reading ability in deaf and hard of hearing children, and that using sign language is not at all advantageous, and can be detrimental to language development. However, studies have found that sign language exposure actually facilitates the development of spoken language of deaf children of deaf parents who had exposure to sign language from birth. These children outperformed their deaf peers who were born to hearing parents following cochlear implantation.''

''New parents with a deaf infant are faced with a range of options for how to interact with their newborn, and may try several methods that include different amounts of sign language, oral/auditory language training, and communicative codes invented to facilitate acquisition of spoken language. In addition, parents may decide to use cochlear implants or hearing aids with their infants. According to one US-based study from 2008, approximately 55% of eligible deaf infants received cochlear implants. A study in Switzerland found that 80% of deaf infants were given cochlear implants as of 2006 and the numbers have been steadily increasing. While cochlear implants provide auditory stimulation, not all children succeed at acquiring spoken language completely. Children who received cochlear implants before twelve months old were found to be significantly more likely to perform at age-level standards for spoken language than children who received implants later.''

Research shows that deaf children who listen and speak to communicate, but do not use sign language have better communication outcomes and social well-being than Deaf children who use sign language.

Possible Redo: (maybe any of you with background in spoken language development in deaf children can help on this section)

Because 90-95% of deaf children are born to hearing parents who use a spoken language, many deaf children are encouraged to acquire a spoken language. For some deaf children, spoken language acquisition is possible with the use of hearing aids and/or cochlear implants (CITE). If hearing aids or cochlear implants provide sufficient auditory access to language, deaf children can acquire spoken language. Some deaf children achieve age appropriate language milestones in spoken language (CITE), but not all deaf children are able acquire spoken language completely even with the use of hearing aids or cochlear implants. Spoken language acquisition can happen alone or alongside sign language acquisition. Some research has suggested that deaf children’s spoken language development will be hindered by simultaneous acquisition of a sign language,  but studies of bilingually developing deaf children show that the acquisition of a sign language does not hinder spoken language development and may support it. For a detailed description of spoken language acquisition see: Language acquisition.

Sign Language Acquisition:[ edit]
''Sign languages have natural prosodic patterns and infants are sensitive to these prosodic boundaries even if they have no specific experience with sign languages. 6-month-old hearing infants with no sign experience also preferentially attend to sign language stimuli over complex gesture, indicating that they are perceiving sign language as meaningful linguistic input. Since infants attend to spoken and signed language in a similar manner, several researchers have concluded that much of language acquisition is universal, not tied to the modality of the language, and that sign languages are acquired and processed very similarly to spoken languages, given adequate exposure. At the same time, these and other researchers point out that there are many unknowns in terms of how a visual language might be processed differently than a spoken language, particularly given the unusual path of language transmission for most deaf infants.''

''Research shows that deaf parents with deaf infants are more successful than hearing parents at capturing moments of joint attention when signing, which are privileged language learning moments. Deaf mothers are more adept at ensuring that the infant is visually engaged prior to signing and use specific modifications to their signing, referred to as child-directed sign to gain and maintain their children's attention. Just as in child-directed speech (CDS), child-directed signing is characterized by slower production, exaggerated prosody, and repetition. Due to the unique demands of a visual language, child-directed signing also includes tactile strategies and relocation of language into the child's line of vision.''

About three percent of deaf children are born to two deaf parents, with one percent born to one hearing and one deaf parent.

Ideas for content of re-do:

-sign languages are natural human languages (more details here?)

-babies with exposure proceed through same milestones at same ages as spoken language (ex. manual babbling, first sign, two sign combinations)

-it is possible to acquire a signed and spoken language at the same time (ex. coda)

-signed languages don't harm and may support spoken language acquisition in deaf children (ex. deaf of deaf with CI)

-sign language acquisition in deaf children often follows atypical pattern or transmission: deaf of hearing may have delayed start, and their parents will be learning along side them.

-there are important paralinguistic features of sign language acquisition that differ from spoken language acquisition, such as joint attention (eye gaze)

Pedagogy[ edit][ edit]
''Language acquisition strategies for signing deaf children are different than those appropriate for hearing children, or for deaf children who successfully use hearing aids and/or cochlear implants. For parents with deaf children who do not use amplification (hearing aids or cochlear implants), joint attention (an important component to language development) can be problematic. Hearing children can watch their environment and listen to an adult comment on it. However, children who do not hear have to switch their visual attention back and forth between stimuli.''

''Strategies for nonverbal communication include using facial expressions and body language to show emotion and reinforce the child's attention to their caregiver. To attract and direct a deaf child's attention, caregivers can break his line of gaze using hand and body movements, touch, and pointing to allow language input. In order to make language salient,[ clarification needed] parents should use short, simple sentences so that the child's attention doesn’t have to be divided for too long. Finally, to reduce the need for divided attention, a caregiver can position themselves and objects within the child's visual field so that language and the object can be seen at the same time.''

Speech and oral methods[ edit][ edit]
''For deaf children who use listening and spoken language as their primary mode of communication, their families will often participate in Auditory-verbal therapy, a means of enhancing the innate language and listening skills of deaf children. Most children who receive appropriate amplification before the age of 18 months and receive appropriate auditory-verbal instruction will follow language-learning trajectories of their peers who have typical hearing.''

''For deaf children who are born to parents who use spoken language in the home, who receive cochlear implants early in life, and who pursue spoken language proficiency, research demonstrates that L1 language and reading skills are consistently higher for those children who have not been exposed to a signed language as an L1 or L2, and have instead focused exclusively on listening and spoken language development. In fact, "Over 70% of children without sign language exposure achieved age-appropriate spoken language compared with only 39% of those exposed for 3 or more years." Children who focused primarily on spoken language also demonstrated greater social well-being when they did not use manual communication as a supplement.''

ASL (American sign language)[ edit][ edit]
''ASL employs signs made by moving one's hands along with one's facial expressions and body language. Some studies indicate that if a deaf child learns sign language, he or she will be less likely to learn spoken languages because they will lose motivation.[ citation needed] However, Humphries insists that there is no evidence for this.''

Manually coded English[ edit][ edit]
''Manually coded English is any one of a number of different representations of the English language that uses manual signs to encode English words visually. Although MCE uses signs, it is not a language like ASL; it is an encoding of English that uses hand gestures to make English visible in a visual mode. Most types of MCE use signs borrowed or adapted from American Sign Language, but use English sentence order and grammatical construction.''

''Numerous systems of manually encoded English have been proposed and used with greater or lesser success. Methods such as Signed English, Signing Exact English, Linguistics of Visual English, and others use signs borrowed from ASL along with various grammatical marker signs, to indicate whole words, or meaning-bearing morphemes like -ed or -ing.''

''Because MCE systems are encodings of English which follow English word order and sentence structure, it's possible to sign MCE and speak English at the same time. This is a technique that is used in order to teach deaf children the structure of the English language not only through the sound and lip-reading patterns of spoken English, but also through manual patterns of signed English. Because of the close connection between the two, it is easier for hearing people to learn MCE than ASL.[ citation needed]''

Cued speech[ edit][ edit]
''Cued Speech is a hybrid, oral/manual system of communication used by some deaf or hard-of-hearing people. It is a technique that uses handshapes near the mouth ("cues") to represent phonemes that can be challenging for some deaf or hard-of-hearing people to distinguish from one another through speechreading ("lipreading") alone. It is designed to help receptive communicators to observe and fully understand the speaker.''

''Cued speech is not a signed language, and it does not have any signs in common with ASL. It is a kind of augmented speechreading, making speechreading much more accurate and accessible to deaf people. The handshapes by themselves have no meaning; they only have meaning as a cue in combination with a mouth shape, so that the mouth shape 'two lips together' plus one handshape might mean an 'M' sound, the same shape with a different cue might represent a 'B' sound, and with a third cue might represent a 'P' sound.''

Some research shows a link between lack of phonological awareness and reading disorders, and indicate that teaching cued speech may be an aid to phonological awareness and literacy.

Fingerspelling[ edit][ edit]
''Another manual encoding system used by the deaf and which has been around for more than two centuries is fingerspelling. Fingerspelling is a system that encodes letters and not words or morphemes, so is not a manual encoding of English, but rather an encoding of the alphabet. As such, it is a method of spelling out words one letter at a time using 26 different handshapes. In the United States and many other countries, the letters are indicated on one hand and go back to the deaf school of the Abbe de l'Epee in Paris. Since fingerspelling is connected to the alphabet and not to entire words, it can be used to spell out words in any language that uses the same alphabet; so it is not tied to any one language in particular, and to that extent, it is analogous to other letter-encodings, such as Morse code, or Semaphore. The Rochester Method relies heavily on fingerspelling, but it is slow and has mostly fallen out of favor.[ citation needed]''

Hybrid methods[ edit][ edit]
Hybrid methods use a mixture of aural/oral methods as well as some visible indicators such as hand shapes in order to communicate in the standard spoken language by making parts of it visible to those with hearing loss.

Ethics and language acquisition[ edit][ edit]
''Cochlear implants have been the subject of a heated debate between those that believe deaf children should receive the implants and those that do not. Certain deaf activists believe this is an important ethical problem, claiming that sign language is their first or native language just as any other spoken language is for a hearing person. They do not see deafness as a deficiency in any way, but rather a normal human trait amongst a variety of different ones. One issue on the ethical perspective of implantation is the possible side effects that may present themselves after surgery. However, complications from cochlear implant surgery are rare, with some centers showing less than a three percent failure rate.''

Cognitive development[ edit]
Cognitive ability is defined as a general mental capability involving reasoning, problem solving, planning, abstract thinking, complex idea comprehension, and learning from experience (Gottfredson, 1997). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B978008097086822014X?via%3Dihub )   Language is a crucial component of a child’s cognitive development. (Vysgotsky).

Exposure to language during the critical period of language acquisition (look at the linked page) is vital for typical cognitive development. Children exposed to an accessible language acquire linguistic skills seamlessly. For deaf/hard of hearing children, the process and outcome of spoken language acquisition is much different because they cannot effortless access the spoken language in their environment. Their reduced ability to receive and comprehend aural information makes this process highly cumbersome and awkward. Some deaf/hard of hearing child go through intensive therapies, after which spoken language development is not guaranteed. The ability for a deaf person to speak may help deaf children assimilate into mainstream society, however, the ability to speak does not guarantee a child’s language and cognitive development (Humphires et al., 2015).

The current literature on language acquisition by deaf children indicates that incomplete first language acquisition has a permanent detrimental effect on deaf children’s cognitive development (check on citations) (Fellingter, Holzinger, & Pollard, 2012; M.L. Hall, W.c. Hall, & Caselli, 2019, Mayberry, 2019). This late exposure to language, or lack thereof, can be defined as language deprivation (see Language deprivation in deaf and hard of hearing children). This experience is the result of a lack of exposure to natural human language, whether that be spoken or signed language, during the critical language period. Early access to a language, whether signed or spoken, from birth supports the development of these cognitive skills and abilities in deaf and hard of hearing children, and supports their development in this area.

Social-emotional development[ edit][ edit]
Social-emotional development includes the child’s experience, expression, and management of emotions and the ability to establish positive and rewarding relationships with others (Cohen and others 2005). It encompasses both intra- and interpersonal processes.

The core features of emotional development include the ability to identify and understand one’s own feelings, to accurately read and comprehend emotional states in others, to manage strong emotions and their expression in a constructive manner, to regulate one’s own behavior, to develop empathy for others, and to establish and maintain relationships. (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child 2004, 2) https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/re/itf09socemodev.asp

Typically, if a child has had full access to language, he/she is on track for typical  social-emotional development. Studies have shown that the ability to communicate is a critical component for socio-emotional development (Fellingter, Holzinger, & Pollard, 2012; M.L. Hall, W.c. Hall, & Caselli, 2019, Mayberry, 2019 and Wy’s book).

90% of Deaf/hard of hearing children are born to hearing parents (WHO, 2020), the majority of which do not have sign language skills. This makes these children vulnerable to decreased social interaction. This lack of socialization can significantly impact a child’s social emotional development. A child’s first experience with social communication typically begins at home, but deaf and hard of hearing children tend to be left out of social interactions, due to the fact that they are a “minority in their own family". The problem is not with the deaf child, but instead, not giving a deaf or hard of hearing child the necessary language access from birth that other children receive.

Academic development[ edit][ edit]
In order to achieve academic success, deaf children need to have proficient knowledge of English. According to Hrastinski & Wilbur (2016), American Sign Language proficiency is the single most contributing factor to the academic achievement of Deaf students, particularly in the areas of reading literacy and math. Higher level of American Sign Language proficiency, generally achieved through early exposure to a sign language is predictive of the ability to acquire a second language (e.g., English).

Current research (cite something if you have it) supports a bilingual bicultural model for education deaf students. [Explain bi-bi model here.

Literacy[ edit]
Literacy skills are intimately tied to language skills (CITE). Deaf children with strong language skills in any language (spoken or signed) are stronger readers than those with weak language skills (CITE).

Proficiency in ASL supports English literacy despite grammatical differences between the two languages, and despite ASL having no formalized written form. A large body of research has shown that early exposure to ASL and level of ASL skills correlate with high English literacy skills (CITE Mayberry 2007, Strong and Prinz 1997). Neuro-linguistically, a foundation in a first language transfers to a second language, even a language in a different modality (CITE Cummins). Pre-school aged deaf children with ASL fluency can build pre-reading skills such as print awareness (CITE). Deaf children can use ASL to discuss similarities and differences between the two language; this is called meta-linguistic discussion (CITE). A strong language foundation in any language (signed or spoken) builds children's higher level reading comprehension skills such as narrative, genre, and inference making (CITE).

Several techniques are used to help bridge the gap between ASL and written English such as sandwiching and chaining. Sandwiching consists of alternating between saying or viewing the printed English word and signing the word in ASL. Chaining consists of fingerspelling a word, pointing to the printed English language version of the word and using pictorial support. Although chaining is not widely used, it creates an understanding between the printed spelling of a word and the sign language spelling of the word. (CITE CITE).