Background: Language interventions are complex behavioural interventions, making it difficult to distinguish the specific factors contributing to efficacy. The efficacy of oral language comprehension interventions varies greatly, but the reasons for this have received little attention. Aims: The aim of this meta-analysis was to examine which…

Despite a strong theoretical foundation, teachers' pedagogical practices that represent the principles of democratic educational theory are not holistically understood. This qualitative integrative literature review provides a more complete view of the practices used by those who define themselves as democratic educators. By analyzing and…

George Veditz's "The Preservation of the Sign Language" was a popular film about the deaf language. Sixty five years later, in 1977, Veditz's film was retrieved and screened at the opening of a conference on the research and teaching of American Sign Language. Despite the age and the condition of the film, the screening held the audience…

It is argued that Oralism and Total Communication underestimate the profound nature of deafness and the potential value of fundamental research. The evolution of these philosophies is described, and changes in philosophy are discussed. (Author)

A review of research on conversational competencies of hearing impaired students who rely on oral language as their predominant means of communication suggests that while much remains unknown, similarities exist in the ways learning disabled and hearing impaired children cope with the conversational demands of the classroom. (CL)

The article focuses on the various dimensions of the auditory-oral track which features the auditory-oral method of instruction for hearing impaired children. The author stresses the Alexander Graham Bell Association's commitment to auditory-oral options for deaf children and youth. (SB)

Discusses the implications of deafness for cognition and describes communicative systems (the oral method and sign language) for the deaf. Holds that parents of deaf children should teach them both signing and speaking. (GC)

Tracking as a technique for training and evaluating speechreaders' reception of connected discourse is redefined, and some of its modifications are presented. Also noted are issues in the use of tracking, such as verbatim response, talker learning, and material selection, and recommendations for preparing speechreaders for the tracking task. (JDD)

Research is reviewed on bilingual education and its application to the education of hearing-impaired students. Assessment procedures for obtaining valid samples of language behavior, distinguishing between competence and performance, and considering language variation are emphasized. (CL)

The chapter describes developments in the use of residual hearing in educating hearing impaired children from ancient times to the present and raises questions concerning the usefulness of auditory training, the age at which amplification should be provided, hearing and lipreading in combination, and effects of powerful hearing aids on residual…

Talkers vary widely in the ease or difficulty with which they can be speechread. Examined are variables contributing to visual intelligibility, comparisons with auditory intelligibility, the range of talker differences, characteristics accounting for these differences (facial cues, extrafacial gestures, rate, and rhythm), and implications for…

The question of whether the exclusive use of spoken English (i.e., oralism) causes brain atrophy for the hearing impaired child is examined in light of data presented by R. Conrad and other researchers. It is concluded that deafness itself is the fundamental cause of performance deficits. (SEW)

Hearing-impaired speechreaders use linguistic context to compensate for the poor visibility of some speech movements. Constraints on spoken language enhance speechreading performance and help compensate for the paucity of sensory data. The largest effects come from linguistic constraints imposed by sentence context--syntactic, semantic, and…

This paper reviews the historical development of Auditory-Verbal International, which was established as a nonprofit organization to achieve the goal of increasing availability and effectiveness of the auditory-verbal approach for individuals with hearing impairments. The group's position statement is presented, along with principles of…

Principles of using Cued Speech with deaf children are discussed. Review of the literature suggests that Cued Speech has been unjustly criticized. Cued speech should be seen not as a method of communication, but rather as an intervention tool with application for both aural-oral and Total Communication programs. (Author/DB)