AUTHOR=Caldwell-Harris Catherine L. , Hoffmeister Robert J. 

TITLE=Learning a second language via print: On the logical necessity of a fluent first language

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Communication

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/communication/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2022.900399

DOI=10.3389/fcomm.2022.900399

ISSN=2297-900X

ABSTRACT=<p>How Deaf children should be taught to read has long been debated. Severely or profoundly Deaf children, who face challenges in acquiring language from its spoken forms, must learn to read a language they do not speak. We refer to this as learning a language <italic>via</italic> print. How children can learn language <italic>via</italic> print is not a topic regularly studied by educators, psychologists, or language acquisition theorists. Nonetheless, Deaf children can do this. We discuss how Deaf children can learn a written language <italic>via</italic> print by mapping print words and phrases to sign language sequences. However, established, time-tested curricula for using a signed language to teach the print forms of spoken languages do not exist. We describe general principles for approaching this task, how it differs from acquiring a spoken language naturalistically, and empirical evidence that Deaf children's knowledge of a signed language facilitates and advances learning a printed language.</p>