Reading Methodology for Deaf Children
Supalla
knowledge to help with the reading process ( Paul & Quigley , 1987 ; see Paul , 1994 for further discussion on the reading complications that arise for deaf children with English ). In a typical classroom with deaf children in a school for the deaf , the print has been strictly limited to English . Yet these children know ASL , and thus written English is foreign and inaccessible .
With the provision of ASL text , deaf children integrate their knowledge with linguistic concepts , which is the most important principle for reading instruction . Reading then has the potential to become effective along a trajectory of teachable skills . Equally important is the prospect for deaf children to experience a transition to English literacy at the same time . Goldin- Meadow and Mayberry ( 2001 ) proposed that an intermediary system be developed for deaf children so that they could map ASL onto English literacy for optimal learning outcomes . While the intermediary system idea is novel and intriguing , details on what it might look like are lacking . This paper intends to detail an innovative reading instruction approach called glossing . Glossing is identified in this paper as the intermediary system that was implemented in a charter school in Arizona . ASL text is part of this framework along with other tools and procedures .
This represents an important difference from hearing children , as they normally learn to read in just one language . If they had to learn another language , they would repeat the reading process in ways similar to the first language . This reinforces the idea that “[ second language or L2 ] proficiency is a vital prerequisite to efficient L2 reading ,” a statement by the L2 reading theorist , Keiko Koda ( 2005 , p . 23 ). What this suggests is that deaf children must learn spoken English in order to read it effectively . This is clearly unfair due to their disability . It is clear that the established reading theories account for one language mapping only for monolingualism and bilingualism ( e . g ., Adams , 1990 ; Grabe , 2009 ; Hoover & Gough , 1990 ; Koda , 2005 ; Snow , Burns , & Griffin , 1998 ). As discussed in S . Supalla and Cripps ( 2011 ), hearing children do not use one language to decode another language ( based on current reading methodologies ), but this is precisely what deaf children are required to do . Glossing , a cross-linguistic reading instruction approach , provides insights and methodological details for improving this situation .
A review of research literature on glossing will follow , emphasizing a variety of ASL reading behaviors that deaf children at the Arizona charter school modeled , and a comparison to what is known for spoken language reading . To help create a strong sense of background on signed language reading , the paper will begin with a discussion of efforts occurring in the early nineteenth century . Perhaps a surprise to many in the field of deaf education , signed language reading was actively pursued at that time . However , readers will learn that a different signed language reading model was pursued instead of glossing . Coverage of previous efforts will point to the strengths of glossing as a reading methodology for deaf children .
Early Attempts with Signed Language Reading
At the time of writing this paper , American deaf education has reached its 200-year mark , but the field has a longer history , considering that the world ’ s first public school for the deaf was founded in Paris , France . This school served as a model for many nations worldwide , including the United States ( Van Cleve & Crouch , 1989 ). At the Paris school for the deaf , the concept of signed language reading was first explored . However , the French educators were largely occupied with language issues before shifting their attention to reading issues . This is understandable as reading is contingent on language . The important question raised at the time was whether signing should approximate the structure of French or best stood as a distinctive language . When the school was opened , a signed version of French was developed and used with
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