Developing Language and Writing Skills of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students: A Simultaneous Approach

AbstractIn school, deaf and hard of hearing students (d/hh) are often exposed to American Sign Language (ASL) while also developing literacy skills in English. ASL does not have a written form, but is a fully accessible language to the d/hh through which it is possible to mediate understanding, draw on prior experiences, and engage critical thinking and reasoning (Allington & Johnston, 2002; Vygotsky, 1987; Wertsch, 1991). This study investigates the impact of Strategic and Interactive Writing Instruction (SIWI) on the development of signed expressive language (ASL) and written English. Our analysis demonstrates that a focus on ASL did not detract from students' writing growth in English. Instead, a focus on building ASL and written English proficiency simultaneously resulted in significant gains in both language and writing.Keywords: ASLdeaflanguageliteracywriting AcknowledgmentPreliminary findings of this research were presented at the meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA.Notes1. 1In this article, the term expressive language is used to describe the language participants used to communicate outside of written expression. In this case, it is ASL.