Learning a Sign Language Does Not Hinder Acquisition of a Spoken Language.
Elana Pontecorvo, Michael Higgins, Joshua Mora and 3 others
PMID 36972338WHAT IT FOUND
For deaf or hard-of-hearing children with hearing parents, learning sign language did not hinder spoken English.
Higher sign language scores predicted better spoken English vocabulary. Families should not be advised to avoid sign language to protect spoken language.
Key findings
01Sign language proficiency was a significant positive predictor of spoken English vocabulary, with no evidence that learning sign language hindered spoken language.
02Children with higher sign language percentiles were more likely to have spoken English vocabularies within the average range for hearing monolingual children.
03When combining sign language and spoken English skills, the total vocabulary of these bilingual deaf and hard-of-hearing children was comparable to that of hearing monolingual children.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study is correlational, so it cannot prove that learning sign language causes better spoken English outcomes. The sample was small (56 children) and recruited via snowball sampling and social media, which may not represent the broader population. The sample was overwhelmingly White (75%) and highly educated, limiting generalizability to other racial and socioeconomic groups. The study did not measure the quality or quantity of early intervention or the specific amount of time spent in each language, which are known factors in language development. Children were included regardless of additional diagnoses or visual impairments, which may introduce variability not fully accounted for.
Declared interests
The research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIDCD), the James S. McDonnell Foundation, and the National Science Foundation. No commercial conflicts of interest were reported.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the positive correlation as proof that sign language causes improved spoken English. The study did not measure key variables like the quality of early intervention or the exact amount of language exposure, so the link may be driven by other factors such as family engagement or access to services.