jillio
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"Deaf children consistently demonstrate a superior knowledge of English spelling. Data going back to 1926 show that deaf children make half as many spelling errors as hearing children matched for age and IQ. A 1948 study found that deaf children spelled even difficult words better than hearing children; the investigator dismissed the proficiency as a 'concrete skill' probably learned through rote memory. A 1976 study that included six-year- olds found that even these younger children 'manifested clearly precocious performances.' The six-year-olds mastered the first and second grade word list; scored 75% correct onthe third-fourth grade word list, and were 20% correct on the fifth-sixth grade word list. The study was conducted with a group of children who were, in the author's description, a 'garden variety' of deaf children enrolled inthe state school in Florida. They were not selected for academic achievement, and the sample included chilren with multiple handicaps.
English--printed, spelled, written, and fingerspelled--is clearly a form of language which deaf persons of all ages demonstrate both interest and competence. Refusal to take advantage of written English is yet another monumental failure of deaf education. Books have always been inshort supply in schools for the deaf; reading and writing was considered a monor skill, trivial compared with speech. Oralism effectively deprived deaf children of two languages, signed ASL and written English." (pp.238-9).
Neisser, A. (1990). The other side of silence: sign language and the deaf community in America. Gallaudet University Press. Washington, D.C.
Any thoughts on this one?
English--printed, spelled, written, and fingerspelled--is clearly a form of language which deaf persons of all ages demonstrate both interest and competence. Refusal to take advantage of written English is yet another monumental failure of deaf education. Books have always been inshort supply in schools for the deaf; reading and writing was considered a monor skill, trivial compared with speech. Oralism effectively deprived deaf children of two languages, signed ASL and written English." (pp.238-9).
Neisser, A. (1990). The other side of silence: sign language and the deaf community in America. Gallaudet University Press. Washington, D.C.
Any thoughts on this one?
