PLE post #10

Theories in educational psychology promote the idea that language plays a critical role in cognitive development. Examine Table 2.2 (p. 51), in what ways might children who use sign language differ in development from those who communicate with spoken language?

A child who uses sign language to communicate will most likely differ quite a bit in their abilities to understand and utilize English. This will greatly effect their cognitive development. Much of what is learned in schools is done through listening and reading. A child who is deaf is going to have problems, especially with reading. Most likely this child will be behind for a while. Because they will only be learning English from what they see, and not also what they hear, it likely that this child's word knowledge will be less than what is expected at their grade level. These children will also have more trouble producing English because it is not the language they are used to using, or get as much practice with naturally. For these reasons, it is imperative that this child have access to various resources and one-on-one time in order to cultivate English learning. This type of intervention would be most effective in the k-5 grades, where the foundational rules of language are established.

This blog is from a teacher in Israel who teaches deaf and hard of hearing students there. Each of the students is at different level and this blog briefly explains how accommodations are made for each student.