German deaf children’s understanding ofreferential distinctionin written German and German Sign Language

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between German deaf learners’ understanding of referential distinction (i.e. the semantic role of referents) in German sign language (GSL) and in written German (WG). Subjects included 117 German deaf students, ages 6–18 years, from five German schools for deaf students with bilingual classrooms. The underlying motivation for this study was the question whether German deaf students’ understanding of referential distinction in GSL and WG can be measured and compared across participants from different groups (i.e. students with German parents and those from diverse linguistic backgrounds). All subjects completed two self-generated, computerized tests for GSL and WG. Each test incorporated three comprehension tasks including: (a) pictures, (b) narratives, and (c) translations between GSL and WG. Findings indicate that students in both participant groups who score high on the test to measuring referential distinction in GSL perform similarly on the test of written German. The data strongly suggest that deaf students’ literacy skills in written German co-vary significantly with their proficiency in GSL.