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…

Summarizes characteristics of Hispanic students at the Texas School for the Deaf. It discusses trilingual (American Sign Language, English, Spanish) situations and problems related to multilingual home and school environments. A model is proposed for language instruction and support-services programs. (DB)

A study investigated whether the use of American Sign Language as an accommodation affected the validity of standards-based assessments given in 12 classrooms of students with hearing impairments. Findings indicate sign language translation can result in the omission of pertinent information required to answer test items correctly. Suggestions are…

The purpose of the study was to assess the relative effectiveness of print, sign, and pictures in the transfer of reading-related information to children who are deaf. By means of personal computers, deaf children were presented CD-ROM-generated stories in four different formats: print only, print plus pictures, print plus sign language, and print…

Australia and New Zealand are two South Pacific nations with a shared history of British colonisation and close links maintained through kinship, travel, shared media and business relationships. Our public education systems also reflect a shared history of educational ideas and responses to the challenges of increasingly heterogeneous populations.…

This booklet presents basic issues and recommendations of a Nevada legislative task force on the establishment of courses in American Sign Language (ASL) for credit as a foreign language in the public schools and institutions of higher education. An introductory section, "American Sign Language and Deaf Culture Issues and Answers: A Basic…

This study examined the expressive communication and language of seven hearing mothers and their deaf infants. Total communication intervention programming was begun before 9 months of age, and communication behaviors were observed during free play when infants were 12 and 18 months old. Other data were obtained in structured interviews with…

A review of literature addresses two main issues: (1) how the acquisition of English by deaf signing children has been understood as an instance of second language learning; and (2) how deaf children learn to read English, given this understanding. The first chapter chronicles the history of language use in deaf education and reviews research on…

This guide is designed to help teachers and parents help handicapped children to acquire the mechanics of language and develop ways of communicating with others. The text covers: (1) establishing objectives for language mastery; (2) birth and development of language; (3) contributions and limitations of the child's environmental context; (4)…

The book summarizes the current state of knowledge concerning language development in children with Down Syndrome (DS). The first chapter reviews language development in normal children, noting such stages as gestures, first sounds, development of understanding, first spoken words, and the two-word stage. The next chapter examines language skills…

This sign language manual, intended to help St. Lucia parents teach language to and communicate with their deaf or hard-of-hearing children, is prefaced by a child's description of living with a deaf sibling. An introduction discusses symptoms of hearing loss, defines speech and language, traces general expectations at school, and touches briefly…

Gallaudet College provides education for preschool age through adult hearing impaired persons. Because of the lack of clear and continuous communication during their developing years, students who come to the school have not learned the English language well and have had communication problems most of their lives. To address these problems,…

The articles in this collection approach the theme of "Reading in the Age of the Computer" in a variety of ways. Topics covered in the 26 articles include the following: (1) children, school, and computers; (2) new kinds of electronic learning environments; (3) the personal computer for creative learning and thinking; (4) going beyond…

While all languages use shape to classify unfamiliar objects, some languages as diverse as Mandarin, Thai, Japanese, Mohawk, and American Sign Language lexicalize these and other types of description as noun classifiers. Classification does not develop from a fixed set of features in the object, but is discourse-sensitive and invoked when it would…

This paper describes the linguistic development of two hearing sons of deaf parents. Both were exposed to an early language environment different from that of the average hearing child. At the start of the study, the boys were aged 3 years, 9 months, and 1 year, 8 months, respectively. When first observed, the older child performed well below age…