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COGNITIVE PROCESSING IN THE PRE-LINGUALLY DEAF AS A FUNCTION OF THE CONTEXT OF LANGUAGE ENCOUNTERS: A CONTEXTUALIST PERSPECTIVE
Abstract
This study applied a contextualist approach to language processing in determining the influence of language mode (print vs. sign) and syntax (English vs. ASL) on four measures. Since pre-lingual deaf individuals exhibit difficulty in acquiring proficient English language skills and often become nearly exclusive users of American Sign language (ASL) as adults, four combinations of the language mode and syntax levels were theorized to produce different influences on the encoding and retrieval of meaningful propositions embedded within coherent passages. The four contexts examined and the predicted ordering for the number of propositions recalled and the preference and comprehension ratings from each were: signed ASL > print English > signed English > print ASL. Reading time was measured for the print contexts only. Results of a previous study indicated there would be no significant difference in reading time. Thirty pre-lingual deaf high school students read six passages in print and viewed six passages in sign with English and ASL versions alternately intermixed. The stories were balanced on the number of sentences and propositions per passage. After encountering each set of six stories the subjects were asked to recall everything they could from the set just encountered. Subjects also rated each passage on preference and comprehension. The results did not fully confirm the proposed contextualist view of information processing. Post hoc tests showed that the factor exerting the most influence over the encoding and retrieval of propositions embedded within language contexts was syntax. The number of propositions recalled from ASL was greater than the number recalled from English for all contexts. Print ASL required more reading time than print English. No significant difference was found between preference and comprehension ratings of the stories from each context. This study demonstrates that language context plays a major role in facilitating pre-lingual deaf individuals' access to meaning. The fact that ASL provides a greater capacity for the encoding and retrieval of information over English, the typical language of instruction, suggests that perhaps ASL should be the primary language of these individuals. Further exploration of establishing a bilingual system of education for deaf learners is implied by the results of this study.
Subject Area
Educational psychology
Recommended Citation
MORARIU, JANIS ANN, "COGNITIVE PROCESSING IN THE PRE-LINGUALLY DEAF AS A FUNCTION OF THE CONTEXT OF LANGUAGE ENCOUNTERS: A CONTEXTUALIST PERSPECTIVE" (1982). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8227029.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8227029