Speakers monitor their speech output by listening to their own voice. However, signers do not look directly at their hands and cannot see their own face. We investigated the importance of a visual perceptual loop for sign language monitoring by examining whether changes in visual input alter sign production. Deaf signers produced American Sign…

We tested the hypothesis that syntactic and narrative comprehension of a natural sign language can serve as the linguistic basis for skilled reading. Thirty-one adults who were deaf from birth and used American Sign Language (ASL) were classified as skilled or less skilled readers using an eighth-grade criterion. Proficiency with ASL syntax, and…

Reports research which investigated the effects of microcomputer technology on the acquisition of writing and reading skills in 32 deaf children. The learning mechanism underlying the instructional system used is responsive, interactional and exploratory, reflective of the way most children acquire a first language. (SED)

The relationship between sign language rehearsal and written free recall was examined by having deaf college students rehearse the sign language equivalents of printed English words. Studies of both immediate and delayed memory suggested that word recall increased as a function of total rehearsal frequency and frequency of appearance in rehearsal…

Using a video sign-monitoring task in American Sign Language, this study investigated the effects of late exposure to a primary language on adult linguistic processing. Native signers were sensitive to errors in both verb agreement and aspect; early and late signers were only sensitive to errors in aspect morphology. Late exposure was found to…