Three groups of teachers (10 regular teachers talking to 10 normally hearing students, 10 teachers of the deaf using oral communication to oral deaf children, and teachers of the deaf talking and signing with children taught through a manually coded English system) were videotaped in spontaneous conversation and a storytelling task. Children were…

The gap between oral and manual production of the 159 profoundly deaf children in total communication programs indicated that spoken English did not develop simultaneously with manually coded English and that Ss educated in programs using manually coded English did not develop competence with early developing English syntax faster than those not…

Fourteen deaf elementary children (eight from total communication and six from oral classes) and seven non-hearing-impaired peers were given tasks designed to elicit spontaneous language. Results favored hearing children on all measures. When comparing the two deaf groups, few differences emerged in measures of verbal output and communicativeness.…

The study compared effects of oral speech with total communication (speech plus sign language) training on the ability of mild mentally retarded children (four-eight years old) to repeat four-word sentences. Results pointed to the superiority of the total communication approach in facilitating sentence repetition. (Author)

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 paper describes the potential of cued speech to provide verbal language and intelligible speech to severely hearing impaired students. The approach, which combines auditory-visual-oral and manual cues, is designed as a visual supplement to normal speech. The paper traces the development of cued speech and discusses modifications made to the R.…

This study compared early pragmatic skill development in 76 children (ages 1-4) with severe or profound hearing loss enrolled in either a simultaneous communication (SC) or oral communication (OC) approach to language learning. Results indicated some advantages of the SC approach, although overall frequency of communication and breadth of…

The relative effectiveness of total communication and oral communication training in a parent-assisted, home-based language intervention program was studied with 15 Down's syndrome children, 18-36 months old. (Author/SEW)

Three Spanish deaf preschoolers were taught receptive vocabulary in oral English, English sign-mix, oral Spanish, Spanish sign-mix, and sign alone. Subject one learned best using sign alone. Subject two performed best using oral Spanish or sign alone. Subject three seemed to profit from sign, Spanish sign-mix, or oral English. (Author/SW)

The article analyzes the controversy over total communication vs. oralism in the education of hearing impaired students, notes the differences between speech and language, and suggests points to be considered by parents in deciding on one or the other approach. (CL)

This reprint of a 1970 article examines some emergent concepts of psycholinguistics and relates them to the development of a language-training program for children with deafness. It discusses the stages and process of language development, and the advantages and disadvantages of the total-communication approach, oral communication, and the…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the development of proto-imperative and proto-declarative utterances in normally developing, non-neonatally screened, profoundly deaf toddlers. Method: Both types of proto-declarative are considered to be the most basic prelinguistic and early linguistic communicative functions.…

A longitudinal study was conducted of 153 children (3-7 years old) with severe and profound hearing losses. Ss were tested three times over a 4-year period, including measures of linguistic and academic performance. In addition, information was collected on the background characteristics of Ss through parent interviews. Among findings were that,…

A 4-year study of 131 preschool children with severe/profound hearing losses found that children tended to be placed first in auditory/oral programs and later moved to total communication programs. Evaluated are the performance of children in both types of programs on measures of spoken language, receptive language, and mother-child communication.…

The study measured hearing-impaired (N=106) students' reception of language presented via five modes: oral, aural, manual, oral-aural;, and simultaneous manual and oral. The simultaneous manual and oral and the manual modes received the highest ratings. Results are discussed in terms of theories of cognitive processing and selective attention.…