ERIC Number: EJ855501
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Aug
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0269-9206
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Interactions between a Deaf Child for Whom English Is an Additional Language and His Specialist Teacher in the First Year at School: Combining Words and Gestures
Mahon, Merle
Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics, v23 n8 p611-629 Aug 2009
This paper provides a description of the interactions between a nursery-aged prelingually deaf child and his specialist teacher recorded at four consecutive time points during the first year at school. The child comes from a hearing, Somali-speaking family where English is an additional language (EAL). Using Conversation Analysis procedures, findings show how, with the teacher's support, the deaf child accomplishes "multi-element" turns (that is, turns in which semantic referents are combined using words and gestures-"elements") within and across time points. Gestures remain an essential feature of the child's communication at all times. The teacher's prior and next turns create and support language learning opportunities for the child, and this support is continually adjusted in response to the child's turns. It is suggested that these sequences of talk are an important mechanism driving the child's learning of spoken English. (Contains 6 notes, 1 table, and 2 figures.)
Descriptors: Deafness, Preschool Children, Males, Specialists, Teacher Student Relationship, Nonverbal Communication, Verbal Communication, English (Second Language), Afro Asiatic Languages, Semantics, Oral Communication Method, Foreign Countries
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A