Assessing Language and/or System Preferences of Spanish-Deaf Preschoolers

Three Spanish deaf children were taught receptive vocabulary in oral English, English sign-mix, oral Spanish, Spanish sign-mix, and sign alone. Subject 1 learned best using sign alone. Subject 2 performed best using oral Spanish or sign alone. Subject 3 seemed to profit from sign, Spanish sign-mix, or oral English. These results were discussed relative to bilingual models of education. Conclusions drawn were that neither heritage nor etiological classification should dictate the language used to educate Spanish deaf children. Rather, a combination of factors should be considered. These include: (a) the language and/or system of the caretaker, (b) the amount of exposure to sign language and/or systems, (c) the degree of usable aided hearing ability, and (d) the language and/or system demonstrated to be the most effective for learning.