There are so many aspects of the Early Childhood field that are of interest to myself. The most difficult aspect of the research process for me is to find a topic and narrow it down to one simple issue. Even within topic there are many different directions you can take. The biggest issue many researchers encounter is deciding on a subject to focus their study. (Mac Naughton, Rolfe and Siraj-Blatchford ,2010)
For example, I originally was going to focus on play and its effects on cognition. This subject was of interest to myself and also I felt it was a subject that would benefit the field. However, just recently at my center an issue arose. In our infant and toddler rooms we teach Sign Language to the babies. A parent, who is newly enrolled at our center, voiced some concern about the use of sign language. She felt if her child learned sign language, he might substitute signs and gestures for oral speaking.
My topic of focus would be in the cognitive domain of language development.
Subtopics:
-Will the use of sign language impair a child's verbal and oral speaking skills?
-How can the implementation of sign language positively impact a developing child?
-What are the benefits of teaching a non-deaf child sign language before they are able to speak?
My topic of focus would be in the cognitive domain of language development.
Subtopics:
-Will the use of sign language impair a child's verbal and oral speaking skills?
-How can the implementation of sign language positively impact a developing child?
-What are the benefits of teaching a non-deaf child sign language before they are able to speak?
I would like to research this issue, with my question being "Will teaching sign language to an infant or toddler cause an impairment in verbal and oral skills?" "What are the benefits of teaching a child, who is not yet ready to speak, sign language?"
My personal feeling is that Sign Language is beneficial to the child's language development. I do not feel it hinders their verbal development. We use some signs in my class, and many of the children do use both sign and spoken language when communicating in the classroom. For example, at lunchtime, children will verbally ask for more while doing the sign language for the word. I would love to teach the children more then the simple signs I know, and through this research I hope to learn more and interesting ways to involve the children with learning. One article I read described the feasibility of a busy teacher to introduce sign language into a classroom that is already rather regimented. They findings showed that it was feasible and did not increase any costs or time in the classroom. The teachers in the study taught the sign letters while doing the alphabet, including fun dances such as dancing around for the letter D, while making the sign with their hand. (Brereton, 2010)
Do any other centers teach sign language, or do any parents share this parents concern? I myself am not a parent, so I can not see her perspective.
Resources
Brereton, A. E. (2010). Is Teaching Sign Langauge in Early Childhood Classrooms Feasible for Busy Teachers and Beneficial for Children? Young Children, 92-97.
Brereton, A. E. (2010). Is Teaching Sign Langauge in Early Childhood Classrooms Feasible for Busy Teachers and Beneficial for Children? Young Children, 92-97.
Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing early childhood research: International perspectives on theory and practice (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Another resource I found interesting for my Application:
Another resource I found interesting for my Application:
Toth, A. (2009). Bridge of Signs: Can Sign Langauge Empower Non-Deaf Children to Triumph over Their Communication Disabilities? American Annals of the Deaf, 85-95.
5 comments:
Cassie,
What an interesting topic! I have to wonder with the parent you refered to that had concerns that her son might use gestures and sign language rather than speaking. I think its a wonderful idea that sign lanuage is being implemented but I have to say that I would also have the same feelings as the parent. You didnt specifically say how you felt about the sign lanuage being implemented in the infant/toodler room, so how do you feel about it?
Betty,
Thank you for your response. I added to my origonal post to answer your question, but I will respond here as well.
I feel it is beneficial in my room and it helps the language development of my children. For example, children will use both the sign language gesture and the spoken word during lunch when asking for more. They also will sign for all done and please while verbalizing these needs as well.
I believe sign language is an interesting topic. I remember when I worked in a infant and toddler room and we taught sign language too. As a parent I had concerns but I have an aunt who is deaf and use sign language and she taught me sign language. I do not know it as well as my daughter because she learned it from my aunt when she was a toddler and she can speak sign language to my aunt better than I do. I believe it is valuable to children, just like a second language. I would love to see what your research will produce. Very good topic!
Cassie,
I enjoyed your post. I do understand the parent concern but at the same time I donot think it will hinder the use of language abilities of the children. I recall a program that did the same as yours in infant, toddler room. (I used to volunteer there). No parent had any concern or no child got delayed in their language use. But I am very interested to learn what you will find out in the future on this great topic. Wish you the best.
Hi Cassie You picked a good topic I always wanted to learn sign language I don't know about teaching it to all children because I would not see the purpose for them learning if you don't have a child in your classroom that could not talk.
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