Deaf native signers are better readers than nonnative signers: myth or truth?

P Miller,B Guldenoglu,T Kargin

doi:10.1093/deafed/enu044

P Miller, B Guldenoglu + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/enu044

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Abstract

The central aim of this study was to clarify whether sign language (SL) nativeness is a significant factor in determining prelingually deaf individuals' reading skills and whether its contribution is modified by the reader's orthographic background. A second aim was to elucidate similarities and differences between native and nonnative signers in processing written information at different processing levels in order to understand how SL nativeness sustains the reading process, if at all. Participants were 176 students with prelingual deafness recruited from two education levels (6th-7th graders and 9th-10th graders) and three orthographic backgrounds (Hebrew, German, and Turkish). Sixty-six students were native and the remainder nonnative signers. They were tested with a battery of eight experimental paradigms, each assessing their information processing skills in a specific reading-related or reading-unrelated domain. Findings corroborate SL nativeness enhancing the reading process in some regard. However, its contribution was not found to scaffold the structural processing of a written text to turn reading into a tool for learning. Rather, gains were restricted to facilitating processing written words from a perceptual to a conceptual level. Evidence suggests that compared with other determining factors, the contribution of SL nativeness to proficient reading may be rather marginal.

Highlights

The ability to read fluently is undoubtedly key for proper adjustment to modern society, in which recent technological developments cause crucial information to be increasingly communicated in writing
Data analysis were conducted in four steps: (a) comparison of native and nonnative signers’ overall sentence comprehension (RC) and the way it was biased by level of education and orthographic background; (b) comparison of the two study groups’ processing skills on each of the different word processing paradigms; (c) comparison of their nonverbal processing skills; and (d) a detailed analysis of their syntactic and semantic reading comprehension (RC) skills
The research hypotheses were driven by Language Coding Deficit Hypothesis (LCDH) (Sparks et al, 2012), which suggests that level of competence in the first language contributes to acquisition and use of a second language, whether spoken or written

Summary

Introduction

The ability to read fluently is undoubtedly key for proper adjustment to modern society, in which recent technological developments cause crucial information to be increasingly communicated in writing. Research over the last 50 years on prelingually deaf individuals’ reading comprehension (RC) and their mastery of other reading-related skills suggests that the majority remain seriously underdeveloped in this regard, even after 12 years of formal schooling (Allen, 1986; Center for Assessment and Demographic Studies, 1993; Conrad, 1979; Gallaudet Research Institute, 2005; Holt, 1993; Holt, Traxler, & Allen, 1996; Miller, 2000, 2005a, 2010; Miller et al, 2012; Monreal & Hernandez, 2005; Padden & Hanson, 2000; Perfetti & Sandak, 2000; Traxler, 2000; Wauters, Van Bon, & Telling, 2006) This apparent failure is puzzling given the notable progress in amplification technologies in this period, in conjunction with improved conceptualization of the reading process in general, and hypothesized causes underlying reading failure in particular.

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