Mother-child storybook-telling to kindergartners with hearing impairment enrolled in two educational systems, in comparison with kindergartners with normal hearing.

Abstract

Introduction This study investigated the mediation nature of mother-child interaction during storybook-telling to kindergartners with hearing impairment.. It explored the differences between mothers' mediation profiles as expressed with children with hearing impairment and who were enrolled in two different educational settings: individual and group inclusion. Moreover, these mothers' methods of storybook-telling were compared to the one used by mothers of hearing children. Young children acquire literacy knowledge through interaction with adults. Keeping this perspective in mind when examining the realm of early literacy, shared book reading is considered to be a major context that promotes literacy (e.g., Bus, van IJzendoorn & Pellegrini, 1995; Neuman, 1996; Scarborough & Dobrich, 1994; Senechal, 1997, van Kleeck & Stahl, 2003). The evidence indicates that among hearing children, the frequency of storybook reading predicts a variety of early literacy features such as vocabulary, oral language complexity, narrative skills, familiarity with printed concepts, book orientation, phonological awareness (e.g., Aram & Levin, 2002; Frijters, Barron, & Brunello, 2000; Senechal, LeFevre, Thomas, & Daley, 1998; Sonnenschein & Munsterman, 2002; Whitehurst & Lonigan, 1998; Zevenbergen & Whitehurst, 2003). Adults differ in reading styles to children and certain styles are more productive than others in promoting language and literacy (Reese, Cox, Harte, & McAnally, 2003). Vygotsky (1978) claimed that the nature of adult mediation is crucial and optimal methods have to be sought to enable adults to interact with children within the children's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). The level of interactivity of shared reading in kindergartens has been linked to the children's concept of print in kindergarten and to their reading comprehension in first grade (DeBruin-Parecki, 1999). When adults give children an opportunity to be active participants in the reading experience by using evocative techniques of Dialogic Reading (prompting the child with questions, expanding the child's verbalization abilities and praising the child's efforts to cooperate), children show greater language gains than when adults simply read them a book (Arnold, Lonigan, Whitehurst. & Epstein, 1994); Reese & Cox, 1999; Whitehurst, et al., 1994). Rich interaction with a child during shared reading that includes questions (asking open-ended questions and encouraging inferences) lead to a more developed vocabulary (Senechal, 1997; Whitehurst et al., 1994). Discussions during book reading that extend beyond the immediate situation and that provoke processes such as inference-making and hypothesis-testing stimulate the development of oral language skills (Senechal et al., 1998; Snow, 1999) as well as print skills (Reese, 1995). Language delay does not prevent children with hearing impairment from participating in literacy activities and from gaining early literacy concepts (Rottenberg & Searfoss, 1992; Williams, 1994, 2004). Williams (1994) followed three profoundly deaf children (ages 3.11 to 5.10) and documented the emergent literacy activities in their homes. Williams indicated that their parents read to them or with them almost daily. While research regarding family literacy of hearing children is extensive and books have been written about it (for example see Wasik, 2004), there are only a handful of studies on the subject of family literacy of children with hearing impairments (Williams, 2004). The studies that focused upon storybook interaction with children with hearing impairment have shown that experience with storybook reading contributes to early literacy (Akamatsu & Andrews, 1993; Andrews & Gonzales, 1992) and has a lasting effect on literacy achievements (Ewoldt, 1990; Rottenberg, 2001). When examining the preferable method of storybook reading interaction with children with hearing impairment, it is clear that merely reading aloud is not efficient nor sufficient (Fung, Wing-Yin Chow & McBride-Chang, 2005). …