This article provides a narrative review of journal articles on the use of fingerspelling to support the vocabulary and literacy development of deaf students. The role of fingerspelling in decoding written English and supporting vocabulary development has become an increasingly relevant topic in the bilingual education of deaf students. Search limiters included written English, full-text articles that were published in peer-reviewed journals after 2005. A total of eleven articles were reviewed. The findings from the review indicated that the use of fingerspelling could support vocabulary and literacy development among bilingual deaf students. The current review discusses the finding s and offers recommendations for future research.
KeywordsDeafFingerspellingVocabularyLiteracy
Alawad, H. (2011). Effectiveness of Applying the Strategy (Preview-View-Review) in Developing Direct Literal Reading Comprehension Skills for the Deaf Female Students, Fifth Grade Primary School at Al-amal Institute in the West of Riyadh (Unpublished master’s thesis). Riyadh: King Saud University.
Allen, T. E. (2015). ASL Skills, Fingerspelling Ability, Home Communication Context and Early Alphabetic Knowledge of Preschool-Aged Deaf Children. Sign Language Studies, 15, 233-265. https://doi.org/10.1353/sls.2015.0006
Alnagi, S. (2010). Teaching methods of reading prevailing among teachers of the deaf students in primary stage in Riyadh (Unpublished master’s thesis). King Saud University, Riyadh.
Berent, G. P. (2001). English for Deaf Students: Assessing and Addressing Learners’ Grammar Development. In D. Janáková (Ed.), International Seminar on Teaching English to Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students at Secondary and Tertiary Levels of Education: Proceedings (pp. 124-134). Prague, Czech Republic: Charles University, The Karolinum Press.
Emmorey, K., & Petrich, J. F. (2012). Processing Orthographic Structure: Associations between Print and Fingerspelling. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 17, 194-204. https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/enr051
Fayad, H. (2004). Develop Some Reading Comprehension Skills for Deaf and Hard of hearing Students in Secondary Level (Unpublished Master’s Thesis). Cairo: Ain Shams University.
Gaston, S. H. (2009). Supporting Deaf Students’ Development of English Spelling Skills Creating ASL Fingerspelling Stories. (Unpublished Master’s Thesis). San Diego, CA: University of California.
Goldin-Meadow, S., & Mayberry, R. I. (2001). How Do Profoundly Deaf Children Learn to Read? Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 16, 222-229. https://doi.org/10.1111/0938-8982.00022
Golos, D. B., & Moses, A. M. (2013). Developing Preschool Deaf Children’s Language and
Literacy Learning from an Educational Media Series. American Annals of the Deaf, 158, 411-425. https://doi.org/10.1353/aad.2013.0039
Grushkin, D. A. (1998). Lexidactylophobia: The (Irrational) Fear of Fingerspelling. American Annals of the Deaf, 143, 404-415. https://doi.org/10.1353/aad.2012.0192
Haptonstall-Nykaza, T. S., & Schick, B. (2007). The Transition from Fingerspelling to English Print: Facilitating English Decoding. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 12, 172-183. https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/enm003
Hile, A. (2009). Deaf Children’s Acquisition of Novel Fingerspelled Words (Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation). Boulder, CO: University of Colorado.
Humphries, T., & MacDougall, F. (1999). “Chaining” and Other Links: Making Connections between American Sign Language and English in Two Types of School Settings. Visual Anthropology Review, 15, 84.94. https://doi.org/10.1525/var.2000.15.2.84
Kim, S., Im, H., & Kwon, K. (2015). The Role of Home Literacy Environment in Toddlerhood in Development of Vocabulary and Decoding Skills. Child & Youth Care Forum, 44, 835-852. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-015-9309-y
Padden, C., & Ramsey, C. (2000). American Sign Language and Reading Ability in Deaf Children. In C. Chamberlain, J. Morford, & R. Mayberry (Eds.), Language Acquisition by Eye (pp. 65-90). London: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Prinz, P., & Strong, M. (1997). A Study of the Relationship between American Sign Language and English Literacy. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 2, 37-46. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.deafed.a014308
Prinz, P. M., & Strong, M. (1998). ASL Proficiency and English Literacy within a Bilingual Deaf Education Model of Instruction. Topics in Language Disorders, 18, 47-60. https://doi.org/10.1097/00011363-199808000-00006
Puente, A., Alvarado, J., & Herrera, V. (2006). Fingerspelling and Sign Language as Alternative Codes for Reading and Writing Words for Chilean Deaf Signers. American Annals of the Deaf, 151, 299-310. https://doi.org/10.1353/aad.2006.0039
Quinto-Pozos, D., & Reynolds, W. (2012). ASL Discourse Strategies: Chaining and Connecting: Explaining across Audiences. Sign Language Studies, 12, 41-65. https://doi.org/10.1353/sls.2011.0021
Roos, C. (2013). Young Deaf Children’s Fingerspelling in Learning to Read and Write: An Ethnographic Study in a Signing Setting. Deafness & Education International, 15, 149-178. https://doi.org/10.1179/1557069X13Y.0000000020
Sarchet, T., Marschark, M., Borgna, G., Convertino, C., Sapere, P., & Dirmyer, R. (2014). Vocabulary Knowledge of Deaf and Hearing Postsecondary Students. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 27, 161-178.
Schwartz, L. (2011). Fingerspelling as a Phonological Code for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students (Unpublished Master’s Thesis). Boulder, CO: Colorado University.
Staden, A., & Roux, N. (2010). The Efficacy of Fingerspell Coding and Visual Imaging Techniques in Improving the Spelling Proficiency of Deaf Signing Elementary-Phase Children: A South African Case Study. Journal of Developmental & Physical Disabilities, 22, 581-594. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-010-9196-y
Stone, A., Kartheiser, G., Hauser, P. C., Petitto, L.-A., & Allen, T. E. (2015). Fingerspelling as a Novel Gateway into Reading Fluency in Deaf Bilinguals. PLoS ONE, 10, e0139610. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0139610
Trussell, J. W., & Easterbrooks, S. R. (2014). The Effect of Enhanced Storybook Interaction on Signing Deaf Children’s Vocabulary. Journal of Deaf Studies & Deaf Education, 19, 319-332. https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/ent055
Visual Language and Visual Learning Science of Learning Center (2010). The Importance of Fingerspelling for Reading (Research Brief No. 1). Washington, DC: Sharon Baker.
Williams, C. (2012). Promoting Vocabulary Learning in Young Children Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing: Translating Research into Practice. American Annals of the Deaf, 156, 501-508. https://doi.org/10.1353/aad.2012.1597
Williams, J., Darcy, I., & Newman, S. (2015). Fingerspelling and Print Processing Similarities in Deaf and Hearing Readers. Journal of Language and Literature, 6, 56-65.