Loes N. Wauters

Mode of acquisition of word meanings: The viability of a theoretical construct

This article examines the reliability and validity of the construct, mode of acquisition (MOA). The MOA of a word denotes the way in which the word’s meaning is learned. A word’s meaning can be acquired perceptually, linguistically, or by some combination of both. In Experiment 1, 26 student volunteers from third year special education courses rated 566 words, taken from reading texts in elementary school, on MOA. Our findings show that MOA ratings gradually change over grades, shifting from mainly perceptually acquired word meanings in Grade 1 texts to mainly linguistically acquired concepts in Grade 6 texts. In Experiment 2, 34 educational professionals completed a list on MOA, concreteness, or imageability. Judgments on the MOA proved to be different from judgments of concreteness and imageability. We suggest that the increasingly linguistic character of word meanings contribute to explaining some of the reading difficulties of deaf children.

Sign Facilitation in Word Recognition

The purpose of this article was a dual one: first, to provide a comprehensive literature review, and second, to report one study to extend that literature. That study investigated whether signs from the Sign Language of the Netherlands would facilitate word recognition by deaf children. Participants were 6-to 10-year-old deaf children who attended a school for the deaf at which they received bilingual education. The mean hearing loss was 104 dB. Participants attended a training in which they were taught to match written words with pictures. Before and after training, they were tested in word recognition by means of a computer-based test. Results indicated a significant increase in accuracy of word recognition after training. If words were learned through speech, accompanied by the relevant sign, accuracy of word recognition increased to a greater extent than if words were learned solely through speech.

In Search of Factors in Deaf and Hearing Children's Reading Comprehension

The present study examined whether specific item characteristics, such as mode of acquisition (MoA) of word meanings, make reading comprehension tests particularly difficult for deaf children. Reading comprehension data on nearly 13,000 hearing 7-to-12-year-olds and 253 deaf 7-to-20-year-olds were analyzed, divided across test levels from second to sixth grade (not necessarily corresponding to chronological age). Factor analyses across item scores suggested that, of the determinants studied, MoA—referring to the type of information (perceptual, linguistic, or both) used in word meaning acquisition—was the only factor that contributed significantly to deaf and hearing childrens reading comprehension. For hearing children, MoA influenced item scores at the third- and fourth-grade levels. For the deaf children, MoA influenced item scores through the sixth-grade level.

Interactive Reading with Young Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children in eBooks Versus Print Books

Interactive storybook reading is effective in enhancing deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) childrens emergent literacy skills. The current digital era gives parents more opportunities to read books with their child. From an early age on, interaction between parent and child during literacy activities is very important for the development of emergent literacy skills. The purpose of the present study was to explore the opportunities of eBooks on a tablet for interactive reading with young DHH children. Parent and child interactive behavior in reading print books was compared to eBooks in 18 parents and their 1- to 3-year-old DHH child. All parents followed an interactive reading program after which their interactive reading behaviors were observed while reading print books and eBooks with their child. Results mainly showed similar interactive reading behaviors in parents and children when reading print books or eBooks, except for a lower occurrence of pointing to pictures/objects in the parent behavior when reading the eBooks. These results give parents and professionals even more opportunities for interactive storybook reading with DHH children, and thus more opportunities to enhance their language and literacy skills. Tablets can be easily taken with you making eBooks accessible for interactive reading wherever you are.

Vocabulary Acquisition in Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children

Vocabulary knowledge is fundamental to communication, language learning, and acquiring knowledge of the world. Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children face considerable challenges in acquiring age-appropriate vocabulary knowledge. The enhancement of children’s vocabulary knowledge is therefore one of the cornerstones in early-intervention programs and schools for DHH children. In this chapter, the empirical evidence on DHH children’s vocabulary development in spoken language and sign language is reviewed. Next, the environmental and child variables (e.g., cognitive skills) that affect children’s vocabulary acquisition are described. We then discuss direct and indirect approaches to vocabulary instruction in raising and educating DHH children.