A Metalinguistic Awareness Test for ASL/English Bilingual Deaf Children: The TASLA-R

Abstract

Abstract-In this study, the researchers examined how deaf children could demonstrate their awareness of ASL by evaluating the correctness of ASL signs, sentences and discourse presented in stories in American Sign Language (ASL) signed by deaf native signers. To this end, a metalinguistic awareness test--the Test of American Sign Language-Receptive (TASLA-R), was created with eight short stories. The test consisted of 40 items presented in a multiple choice format test. Each of the 40 test items presented correct and incorrect statements about ASL formation using phonology, semantics, morphology, syntax and pragmatic aspects. One hundred and forty deaf children between the ages of 5 and 21 from four state schools for the deaf were administered the TASLA-R. Significant findings were as follows: 1) As the children got older, there was an increase in their ASL metalinguistic awareness and ability to identify incorrect ASL structures; 2) the deaf children of deaf parents group outperformed the deaf children of hearing group on the TASLA-R; 3) comparisons of TASLA-R scores between the junior high group and the high school were not significant; 4) scores on the TASLA-R showed moderate correlation to the English language, vocabulary and reading comprehension subtests on the Stanford Achievement test, 9 th Hearing Impaired edition. These findings were discussed in relation to Ellen Bialystok's (2001) theories of metalinguistic uses of language in cognition and language development and in relation to the learning of ASL of bilingual deaf children.

The Assessment of Written Phrasal Constructs and Grammar of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students with Varying Expressive Language Abilities

“…Deaf and hard of hearing (d/hh) students have unique language histories that can impact literacy achievement [40]. Some d/hh children learn English via listening and spoken language approaches while others acquire ASL naturally in the early years of life; however, many d/hh children, for a number of reasons, experience delays in developing either speech or sign as their first language [1]. A portion of these children experience extreme language deprivation and arrive at school with limited or unintelligible language through which to communicate and learn.…”

“…While each child differs in the severity of hearing loss, type of amplification, modality, and communication philosophy, overall, children with hearing loss will face challenges in acquiring language. When a child with hearing loss has limited access to language, deficits in linguistic competence can directly influence areas of reading and writing development [1]. While the purpose of this paper is to examine d/hh middle school students' use of incoherent structures and agrammatical elements in written expression, it is important to first explore the relationship between language acquisition, linguistic competence, and literacy skills.…”

“…When assessing the writing skills of d/hh students with varying language abilities, (1) . Lastly, students whose signed or spoken expressions were unintelligible due to the use of fragmented and nonsensical productions were considered to be language delayed learners (LDL) in both English and ASL (N � 7).…”

Deaf Students as a Linguistic and Cultural Minority: Shifting Perspectives and Implications for Teaching and Learning

“…Metalinnuistic awareness. During the preschool years, metalinguistic awareness is a key ability to foster (Smith, Andrews, Ausbrooks, Gentry, & Jacobowitz, 2013). This can be done through a variety oflanguage games, as well as creating connections between the ASL alphabet and the written English alphabet.…”