Learning to read and write in a speech-based language

The low literacy level displayed by deaf learners is also likely to be partly a result of the demands of reading a speech-based system whereas they do not use a spoken language system (Geers, 2006). For young hearing learners to be able to make sense out of any type of text, Mayer (2007) notes that they must be able to comfortably use a language which will facilitate reflection on what they see or read. In the case of deaf learners, the language of print bears little or no relationship with their face-to-face (signed) language since when one language uses written words that correspond to sounds, the other uses manual gestures and facial expressions that correspond to concepts. Any young learner, hearing or deaf, learning to read is faced by a task that requires him or her to understand the relationship between the language he or she already knows and the language used in print. For hearing learners, this relationship is found in the sounds (used in speech) of the letters used in the words in written texts and so they use that knowledge as ‘they talk their way into text’ (Mayer, 2007: 414). Mayer stresses the importance of the commonalities between speech (sign) and print in literacy-learning since the learners use them to ‘encode and decode’ print, i.e. to read and understand what is written. Mayer (2007) conducted a study in America aimed to understand how learners, both hearing and deaf, sort out the relationship between their face-to-face language and print and how they are able to talk or sign their way into text. While hearing learners exploited the sound-symbol correspondences and invented spellings of words by making connections between spoken and written language (e.g. ‘ons abon atim’ for ‘once upon a time’), deaf learners also invented spellings based on the relationship between hand-shape and the manual alphabet (e.g. ‘gouse’ for ‘green’). It is easier to associate what the hearing learner has written with the correct meaning of the original text despite the use of wrong spelling than what has been written by the deaf learner although both spellings are invented with the use of the knowledge of their face-to-face languages. While the former used their point of articulation to make a sound-symbol connection, the latter mapped a hand-shape onto the word ‘green’ (‘green’ is signed with a ‘g’ hand-shape – the ASL manual alphabet for ‘g’). Mayer’s study showed that as well as mapping hand-shapes onto words, deaf learners learning how to write a written language link finger spelling to text and use lip patterns as hints to the beginning

sounds of words followed by randomly selected letters , such as ‘o-u-s-e’ in the word for ‘green’. This is an indication that in learning a new language, skills learnt in a previously acquired language play a big role and it also illustrates the argument that cognitive potential of deaf children should not be solely judged based on their ability to read and write.

Reading difficulties that deaf pupils face have been associated with issues regarding processing of text and the use of knowledge to understand and interpret the text in sentences, phrases and paragraphs (Paul, 2003). Paul notes that there exists a breakdown in this reciprocal relation between processing and knowledge amongst most readers with hearing impairment. This has been linked to their poor phonological awareness (Spencer & Marschark, 2010) since the reciprocal relation between spoken and written language is activated by the association between phonology and orthography. The reading proficiency in hearing readers is a result of the reading process being driven by phonology. The fact that they are not able to associate a word with the sounds of the letters used in it is likely to make it difficult for them to read those words and understand their meanings. While many hearing learners in Kenya are likely to encounter similar difficulties while learning English, there are some who can read or write a word that is spoken to them without major difficulties even if they are encountering it for the first time. This hardship is likely to slow down and complicate decoding and comprehension of what is read (Spencer & Marschark, 2010).

Since written languages follow a spoken language system, deaf learners, whose first language is a gestural language, encounter difficulties in learning to read and to write in them. Mayer summarises:

As has been argued via the examples presented, deaf children have a sense of the task and attempt to make relationships between language and text, but it appears that they often lack the necessary knowledge and strategies to do so effectively. The challenge for educators and researchers is to acknowledge and identify what is lacking and then to think about ways in which these gaps can be addressed (2007: 422).

Mayer (2010) concludes that deaf learners face difficulties in the process of generating texts and have ultimately over time produced texts that are well below the level of their hearing age peers. This appears to be the case among deaf learners in Kenya that has resulted in their being labelled as ‘slow learners’ and as a group that is hard to offer effective intervention. Is it really a case of being slow, and if it is, how can the slow

pace be addressed? Could we be demanding too much by expecting them to produce grammatically correct English texts yet their language seems to have little or no relationship with the written language?

Studies of both hearing learners and deaf learners have indicated that ‘vocabulary development is a critical foundational element in the growth of language comprehension and, in turn, in the development of literacy skills’ (Spencer & Marschark, 2010: 70). A study conducted in the Netherlands by Hermans et al. (2008) observed that sign vocabulary size predicted knowledge of vocabulary in written form. Deaf learners encounter delays in acquisition of vocabulary due to the fact that they lack sufficient exposure to the words of the written language or to the signs for particular concepts in sign language. This is likely to be caused by the nature of sign language which uses signs rather than words and some signs which are sometimes represented by more than one word or idea in a sentence. For example, a single sign is likely to encompass about three or more ideas that are represented by three or more words in English, a feature that is common in some African languages, such as Kiswahili. They are also likely to have limited signed vocabulary if they do not have the opportunity to interact with fluent users of sign language. This poor vocabulary development in the written language can be linked to the fact that these learners think and communicate to a larger extent in a sign-based language rather than in a speech-based language that entails the use of words/vocabulary. Mastery of many words through conversation prior to a learner confronting them in text facilitates the development of reading and writing skills (Spencer & Marschark, 2010). Written English uses articles such as ‘the’, ‘a’ and ‘an’ which do not exist in sign languages and therefore they are not used in signed communication. This could be linked to deaf learners’ tendency to write simpler and shorter sentences that used fewer adjectives, adverbs, prepositions and conjunctions as noted by Spencer and Marschark. Limited vocabulary and the encounter with words whose concepts they are not familiar with hinder the understanding and use of words that they read and write thus becoming a contributing factor to poor literacy skills. Learning in a language that is structurally different from their first language, English in the case of Kenya, seems to have a negative impact on the learning of deaf learners. What are the implications of this with regard to teaching and learning in the classrooms? How can this phenomenon be dealt with to achieve effective teaching and learning?