Literacy Development

in Bilingual Deaf
Education
Charlotte Enns
University of Manitoba, CANADA
Mexico City, May 30 – June 3, 2016
 Workshop Overview
O Day 1 – The Relationship Between
Language and Literacy
O Day 2 – Literacy Development
O Day 3 – Teaching Words and
Vocabulary
O Day 4 – Teaching Reading
O Day 5 – Teaching Writing
May 30,
2016
 Introduction:
The Relationship Between
Language and Literacy

Charlotte Enns, Ph.D.

University of Manitoba, CANADA
Mexico City – May 30, 2016
 Objectives
O Clarify the differences between
speech, language, and
communication
O Review language acquisition (spoken
and signed languages)
O Introduce broad definition of literacy
O Emphasize how meaning drives
language and literacy learning
May 30,
2016
 Why Study Language?
O An inability to hear is not what
makes reading and writing difficult
for deaf children to learn, but a lack
of early language development
might very well be
O Teachers need to understand the
relationship between language and
literacy to teach deaf children
effectively
May 30,
2016
 Speech vs. Language
O Speech is a mode of O Language is a
expression conventional system
O Speech involves the for symbolic
communication
neuromuscular
O Language involves
movements of the
articulators (tongue, vocabulary, grammar
and conversational
teeth, lips, soft rules
palate)
O Language allows us to
O Speech is the ability express our ideas and
to produce sounds feelings May 30,
2016
 Visual vs. Auditory Learning
O Visual information is
processed spatially (we
remember where things are
located)
O Visual information is
processed simultaneously
(we can see two things at
the same time)
O Signed languages capitalize
on these processes and use
space and movement to
incorporate grammatical
information
O Auditory information is
processed sequentially
(we cannot hear two
sounds at the same time -
the louder sound will
block out the other sound)
O Spoken languages are
organized sequentially
(sounds are added to
words or words are added
to sentences to change
and add to the meaning)
May 30,
2016
 Definitions
O Speech
- neuromuscular movements involved
in producing sounds
O Language
- a code whereby ideas about the
world are represented through a
conventional system of arbitrary
symbols (Bloom & Lahey, 1978)
O Communication
- process of exchanging information
and ideas between participants
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2016
 Components of Language
O FORM
Phonology (sound system – parts of words)
Morphology (units of meaning - words or
inflections)
Syntax (grammar rules for sentences)
O CONTENT
Semantics (meaning of words and word
combinations)
O USE
Pragmatics (rules related to language use
in conversation)
May 30,
2016
 Principles of
Language Development
O Dan Slobin initiated a study in 1967
to investigate cross cultural
similarities in language development
O Data from 30 languages were
gathered by 1976
O Findings indicated many similarities
in language learning and general
principles were established

May 30,
2016
 Language is learned…
O Language is not “taught”
O Input is essential, but grammatical
constructs are not selectively
reinforced
O Process is not a conscious
instructional process for caregivers
or children

May 30,
2016
Language is rule-governed
O Children combine words using
certain rules
O Even when they are not “our rules”
they are still “possible rules” in our
language system
O Language play also reflects
children’s knowledge of the rules

May 30,
2016
 Child language is
generative
O Generative = creative, not imitative
O Some can be explained (reducing
adult form; rejection) others cannot
O Children create combinations of words
that they never hear adults say
O E.g., Mommy sock; More read; No dirty
O Not finite – generate new sentences

May 30,
2016
Language input is necessary
but not sufficient…
O Child must have exposure and access to
language in order to develop
O Amount needed is uncertain – cultures vary
in early years
O Source can vary (parents, children,
babysitter) but must be live/interactive

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2016
Rate of acquisition varies…
O Individual children can vary greatly
in their language development
during the preschool years
O Particularly when children first begin
to combine two words can range
from 18 to 32 months
O Children the same age can be using
single words or 6-7 word sentences

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2016
 Children mean what
they say
O Utterances are meaningful, but often
may not be grammatical
O E.g., light on vs. on light

O Meaning drives development – more

sophisticated structures develop when
they are needed to express more
sophisticated ideas
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2016
 Some aspects are
universal…
O Children talk about the same things
O Children go through similar stages
O Overgeneralization/Undergeneralizatio
n
O Syntactic and semantic complexity
combined determine sequence of
acquisition
O Basic operations of grammar are
acquired by age 5 years
May 30,
2016
 Universal Principles of
Language Development
O Language is learned, not taught.
O Language is rule-governed.
O Child language is a generative system.
O Language input is necessary but not
sufficient for language learning.
O Rate of acquisition varies across
individuals.
O Children mean what they say.
O Some aspects of acquisition are
universal.
May 30,
2016
 Factors Contributing to
Language Learning
O Cognition

O Perception (auditory, visual,

connections to meaning)

O Environment (parent-child
interactions, exposure to language
models)

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2016
 Relationship Between
Language and Cognition
O Cognition is necessary and sufficient
for language development.
O Cognition is necessary but not
sufficient for language development.
O Cognitive development and
language development are
occurring at approximately the
same time with cognitive
development not necessarily
preceding language development.
May 30,
2016
 Language Acquisition
in Deaf Children
O Language acquisition is about the
“mind” not the sensory organs (eyes,
ears, etc.)
O Early exposure to language is very
significant for later learning
O Language input builds ability to
further learn language
O Age of acquisition of signed language
(SL) and poor SL input can cause
problems in literacy learning
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2016
Caregiver-Child Interactions
O Predictable routines
O Assume infants are communicating
O Caregivers more flexible – adjust
interactions to needs of child
O Infants communicate relief,
discomfort, and initiate and terminate
interactions
O Infants biologically sensitive to human
voice and facial expressions (patterns
of natural language)
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2016
 Myths
O Deaf children won’t learn to speak if
you expose them to signed language
(SL)

O Deaf children can’t learn to read if they

don’t speak

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2016
 What is Literacy?
“It is important to keep in mind that literacy is not
just a basic set of mental skills, but rather the
competence to exploit a particular set of cultural
resources” (David Olson, 1993)
O Broadens the definition of literacy from simply reading and
writing to include the appropriate use of language in
context
O This definition includes the ideas of literacy in technology,
science, art, mathematics, and so on
O Literacy and the skills involved in achieving literacy must
act as tools - tools to create, construct, or complete
something
O The focus shifts from the skill itself to the function it
provides - this is the ultimate goal of literacy development
May 30,
2016
Language and Literacy
Hierarchy
OTHER CONTENT AREAS

WRITING

READING

TALKING/SIGNING

LISTENING/VIEWING
May 30,
Adapted from Robertson, 2006
2016
 Language Base is Critical

May 30, 2016

Differences Between Deaf Bilingual
Education and Spoken Language
Bilingual Programs
O Language Modality

O The First Language (a signed

language), has no Written Form

O Family Language Background of Deaf

Children is Not Consistent

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2016
 Second Language Literacy
Transfer
Language Skills Language Skills
(L1) (L2)

Literacy Skills Literacy Skills (L1)

(L2)
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2016
 Transfer between
SL and Written Language
If students are unable to:
- question
- critique
- debate
- hypothesize
- discuss, etc.
in SL, then they won’t be able to
do these things in written
language (English, Spanish, etc.)
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2016
 Metalinguistic and
Metacognitive Connections
O Metalinguistics - looking at language
from the inside and the outside
O Being bilingual fosters metalinguistic
awareness
O Explicit understanding of structures
in SL allows for comparisons to the
structure and grammar of written
language
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2016
 Metacognition is the knowledge we have
about how we learn – “Thinking about thinking”
O Correcting/revising
O Analysing
O Giving our opinion
O Disagreeing
O Reflecting
O Assessing/evaluating
O Sequencing the steps
O Creating a picture in our
mind
O Using words/signs to guide
us
O Asking questions
O Problem-solving

May 30, 2016

Why is metacognition often
missing in Deaf students?
O Limited language
skills
O Limited
opportunities for
interaction
requiring these
skills
O Dependence on
others (parents/
teachers, etc.)
May 30, 2016
Metacognitive Skills Must Be Learned -
How Do We Teach Them?

O Demonstrations
(role modeling)
O Strategies
O Incorporate cognitive
activities into daily
learning
O Emphasize self-
assessment
O Encourage self-
regulated learning

May 30, 2016

 Practice Activity
“Think Through”
O Think of a typical task
that you do with your
students
O Consider the things
that the students must
think about when
completing this task
O Demonstrate a “think
through” of this task -
say/sign what goes on
in your head

May 30, 2016

 Language - Literacy
Connection
O Language, not
speech, is the
foundation for
literacy learning
O Literacy involves
making and sharing
meaning
O The transition from
language to literacy
in deaf children has
some unique
features
May 30, 2016
 References
O Cummins, J. (1984). Bilingualism and special education: Issues in
assessment and pedagogy. San Diego, CA: College Hill Press.
O Olson, D. (1993). The world on paper: The conceptual and cognitive
implications of writing and reading. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge
University Press.
O Robertson, S. (2006). Read with me: Stress-free strategies for building
language and pre-literacy skills. Paper presented at the annual meeting of
the Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and
Audiologists, March, Winnipeg, MB.

charlotte.enns@umanitoba.ca
Website: www.charlottejenns.weebly.com
May 30,
2016