SASL Newsletter - Spring 2017 Issue Issue 5 - Spring 2017 | Page 9

By Samuel J. Supalla
Citation
Hoffmeister, R. J., & Caldwell-Harris, C. L. (2014). Acquiring English as a second language via print: The
task for deaf children. Cognition, 132(2), 229-242.
Abstract
Only a minority of profoundly deaf children read at age-level. We contend this reflects cognitive
and linguistic impediments from lack of exposure to a natural language in early childhood, as well as the
inherent difficulty of learning English only through the written modality. Yet some deaf children do acquire
English via print. The current paper describes a theoretical model of how children could, in principle,
acquire a language via reading and writing. The model describes stages of learning which represent
successive, conceptual insights necessary for second/foreign language learning via print. Our model
highlights the logical difficulties present when one cannot practice a language outside of reading/writing,
such as the necessity of translating to a first language, the need for explicit instruction, and difficulty that
many deaf children experience in understanding figurative language. Our model explains why learning to
read is often a protracted process for deaf children and why many fail to make progress after some initial
success. Because language acquisition is thought to require social interaction, with meaning cued by
extralinguistic context, the ability of some deaf individuals to acquire language through print represents an
overlooked human achievement worthy of greater attention by cognitive scientists.
(8 ½ minutes long)
The Power of ASL
9
Spring 2017 – Issue 5