Home Hearing parents learning American Sign Language with their deaf children: a mixed-methods survey
Article
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Hearing parents learning American Sign Language with their deaf children: a mixed-methods survey

  • Amy M. Lieberman ORCID logo EMAIL logo , Julie Mitchiner and Elana Pontecorvo
Published/Copyright: May 23, 2022
Become an author with De Gruyter Brill
Submit Manuscript Author Information
Applied Linguistics Review
From the journal Applied Linguistics Review Volume 15 Issue 1

Abstract

Hearing parents with deaf children face difficult decisions about what language(s) to use with their child. Sign languages such as American Sign Language (ASL) are fully accessible to deaf children, yet most hearing parents are not proficient in ASL prior to having a deaf child. Parents are often discouraged from learning ASL based in part on an assumption that it will be too difficult, yet there is little evidence supporting this claim. In this mixed-methods study, we surveyed hearing parents of deaf children (n = 100) who had learned ASL to learn more about their experiences. In their survey responses, parents identified a range of resources that supported their ASL learning as well as frequent barriers. Parents identified strongly with belief statements indicating the importance of ASL and affirmed that learning ASL is attainable for hearing parents. We discuss the implications of this study for parents who are considering ASL as a language choice and for the professionals who guide them.

Keywords: American Sign Language; deaf children; hearing parents; mixed-methods survey; second language learning
Corresponding author: Amy M. Lieberman, Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, Boston University, 2 Silber Way, Boston, MA 02215, USA, E-mail:

Funding source: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Award Identifier / Grant number: DC015272

Acknowledgments

We are extremely grateful to Kerianna Chamberlain, Hannah Goldblatt, and Erin Spurgeon for help with data collection and coding. We thank Dr. Marilyn Sass-Lehrer for her helpful comments on this manuscript. We express gratitude to the parents who participated in this study.

  1. Research funding: This work was supported by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders [DC015272] to AML.

References

ASL at Home. ASL at Home. https://aslathome.org/ (last access 07 May 2021).Search in Google Scholar

ASL Connect. 2019. Gallaudet University. https://www.gallaudet.edu (last access 12 April 2021e).Search in Google Scholar

ASL Nook. 2017. ASL Nook. https://aslnook.com/ (last access 12 April 2021d).Search in Google Scholar

Batamula, Christi, Bobbie Jo Kite Herbold & Julie Mitchiner. 2020. family language planning with deaf and hard of hearing children: Fostering multilingual development. ERIC 21. 8–13.Search in Google Scholar

Caselli, Naomi, Jennie Pyers & Amy M. Lieberman. 2021. Deaf children of hearing parents have age-level vocabulary growth when exposed to American Sign Language by 6 months of age. The Journal of Pediatrics 232. 229–236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2021.01.029.Search in Google Scholar

Chen Pichler, Deborah. 2021. Constructing a profile of successful L2 signer hearing parents of deaf children. Senri Ethnological Studies 107. 115–131.Search in Google Scholar

Chen Pichler, Deborah & DianeLillo-Martin. 2019. Motivation for L2 ASL learning by hearing parents with deaf children. Poster presented at the 44th Boston University conference on language development. Boston, MA.Search in Google Scholar

Crisfield, Eowyn. 2021. Bilingual families: A practical language planning guide. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.10.21832/9781788929356Search in Google Scholar

Crowe, Kathryn, Sharynne McLeod, David H. McKinnon & Teresa Y. C. Ching. 2014. Speech, sign, or multilingualism for children with hearing loss: Quantitative insights into caregivers’ decision making. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools 45(3). 234–247. https://doi.org/10.1044/2014_lshss-12-0106.Search in Google Scholar

Davidson, Kate, Diane Lillo-Martin & Deborah Chen Pichler. 2014. Spoken English language development among native signing children with cochlear implants. The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education 19(2). 238–250. https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/ent045.Search in Google Scholar

Decker, Kalli B., Claire D. Vallotton & Harold A. Johnson. 2012. Parents’ communication decision for children with hearing loss: Sources of information and influence. American Annals of the Deaf 157(4). 326–339. https://doi.org/10.1353/aad.2012.1631.Search in Google Scholar

DesGeorges, Janet. 2016. Avoiding assumptions: Communication decisions made by hearing parents of deaf children. AMA Journal of Ethics 18(4). 442–446. https://doi.org/10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.4.sect1-1604.Search in Google Scholar

Eleweke, Jonah & Michael Rodda. 2000. Factors contributing to parents’ selection of a communication mode to use with their deaf children. American Annals of the Deaf 145(4). 375–383. https://doi.org/10.1353/aad.2012.0087.Search in Google Scholar

Flaherty, Mary. 2015. What we can learn from hearing parents of deaf children. Australasian Journal of Special Education 39. 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1017/jse.2014.19.Search in Google Scholar

Geers, Ann E., Christine M. Mitchell, Andrea Warner-Czyz, Nae-Yuh Wang & Laurie S. Eisenberg. 2017. Early sign language exposure and cochlear implantation benefits. Pediatrics 140(1). e20163489. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2016-3489.Search in Google Scholar

Greene, Jennifer C. 2007. Mixed methods in social inquiry. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.Search in Google Scholar

Hakuta, Kenji, Ellen Bialystok & Edward Wiley. 2003. Critical evidence: A test of the critical-period hypothesis for second-language acquisition. Psychological science 14(1). 31–38. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9280.01415.Search in Google Scholar

Hall, Matthew L., Wyatte C. Hall & Naomi K. Caselli. 2019. Deaf children need language, not (just) speech. First Language 39. 367–395. https://doi.org/10.1177/0142723719834102.Search in Google Scholar

Hamilton, Beth & Diane M. Clark. 2020. The deaf mentor program: Benefits to families. Psychology 11(5). 713–736. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2020.115049.Search in Google Scholar

Humphries, Tom, Poorna Kushalnagar, Gaurav Mathur, Donna Jo Napoli, Carol Padden, Christian Rathmann & Scott R. Smith. 2012. Language acquisition for deaf children: Reducing the harms of zero tolerance to the use of alternative approaches. Harm Reduction Journal 9(1). 16. https://doi.org/10.1186/1477-7517-9-16.Search in Google Scholar

Humphries, Tom, Poorna Kushalnagar, Gaurav Mathur, Donna Jo Napoli, Carol Padden, Christian Rathmann & Smith Scott. 2017. Discourses of prejudice in the professions: The case of sign languages. Journal of Medical Ethics 43(9). 648–652. https://doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2015-103242.Search in Google Scholar

Jacobs, Rhonda. 1996. Just how hard is it to learn ASL: The case for ASL as a truly foreign language. In Ceil Lucas (ed.), Multicultural aspects of sociolinguistics in deaf communities, 183–226. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press.10.2307/j.ctv3006zdp.13Search in Google Scholar

Johnson, Jacqueline S. & Elissa L. Newport. 1989. Critical period effects in second language learning: The influence of maturational state on the acquisition of English as a second language. Cognitive Psychology 21(1). 60–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-0285(89)90003-0.Search in Google Scholar

Li, Yuelin, Lisa Bain & Annie G. Steinberg. 2004. Parental decision-making in considering cochlear implant technology for a deaf child. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology 68(8). 1027–1038. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2004.03.010.Search in Google Scholar

Lillo-Martin, Diane C., Elaine Gale & Deborah Chen Pichler. 2021. Family ASL: An early start to equitable education for deaf children. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/02711214211031307.Search in Google Scholar

Madell, Jane. 2016. The spoken language versus ASL debate is back. Hearing and kids. https://hearinghealthmatters.org/hearingandkids/2016/spoken-language-vs-asl-debate-back/ (last access 06 April 2021).Search in Google Scholar

Mauldin, Laura. 2016. Made to hear: Cochlear implants and raising deaf children. Minneapolis, MN: U of Minnesota Press.10.5749/minnesota/9780816697243.001.0001Search in Google Scholar

Mitchiner, Julie & Christi Batamula. 2021. Family language policy and planning with deaf children. In Kristin Snoddon & Joanne Weber (eds.), Critical perspectives on plurilingualism in deaf education, 195–216. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.10.21832/9781800410756-012Search in Google Scholar

Napier, Jemima. 2001. Auslan for the family. Sydney: Deaf Education Network.Search in Google Scholar

Napier, Jemima, Greg Leigh & Sharon Nann. 2007. Teaching sign language to hearing parents of deaf children: An action research process. Deafness and Educational International 9(2). 83–100. https://doi.org/10.1179/146431507790560020.Search in Google Scholar

National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management. 2021. EI snapshot: Early intervention for children who are deaf or hard of hearing: Systematic nationwide analysis of program strengths, hurdles, opportunities, and trends. National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management. Available at: https://www.infanthearing.org/ei-snapshot/.Search in Google Scholar

Office of Research Support and International Affairs. 2014. Regional and national summary report of data from the 2013–14 annual survey of deaf and hard of hearing children and youth. Washington, DC: RSIA, Gallaudet University.Search in Google Scholar

Olivos, Edward M. 2004. Tensions, contradictions, and resistance: An activist’s reflection of the struggles of Latino parents in the public school system. High School Journal 87. 25–35. https://doi.org/10.1353/hsj.2004.0012.Search in Google Scholar

Pire, Nicolette. 2018. Signs for change: Analyzing biases in online resources for parents of deaf and hard of hearing children. – DRS. Northeastern University.Search in Google Scholar

Porter, Ann, Peter Creed, Michelle Hood & Teresa Y. C. Ching. 2018. Parental decision-making and deaf children: A systematic literature review. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education 23(4). 295–306. https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/eny019.Search in Google Scholar

ASL Pro. 2005. http://aslpro.cc./ (last access 12 April 2021b).Search in Google Scholar

Quinto-Pozos, David. 2011. Teaching American Sign Language to hearing adult learners. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 31. 137–158. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0267190511000195.Search in Google Scholar

Reagan, Timothy. 2011. Ideological barriers to American Sign Language: Unpacking linguistic resistance. Sign Language Studies 11(4). 606–636. https://doi.org/10.1353/sls.2011.0006.Search in Google Scholar

Schreier, Margrit. 2012. Qualitative content analysis in practice. London, UK: SAGE Publications.10.4135/9781529682571Search in Google Scholar

Secora, Kristen & David Smith. 2021. The benefit of the “and” for considerations of language modality for deaf and hard-of-hearing children. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups 6(2). 397–401. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_persp-20-00267.Search in Google Scholar

Signing Time. 2002. https://www.signingtime.com (last access 12 April 2021c).Search in Google Scholar

Snoddon, Kristin. 2014. Hearing parents as plurilingual learners of ASL. In David McKee, Russell S. Rosen & Rachel McKee (eds.), Teaching and learning signed languages: International perspectives and practices, 175–196. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK.10.1057/9781137312495_9Search in Google Scholar

Snoddon, Kristin. 2020. “It seemed like if you chose sign language you were going to be punished”: A narrative case study of participant experiences with supporting a deaf child in Ontario early childhood education and care. Deafness & Education International 23. 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/14643154.2020.1840763.Search in Google Scholar

Szarkowski, Amy & Patrick J. Brice. 2016. Hearing parents’ appraisals of parenting a deaf or hard-of-hearing child: Application of a positive psychology framework. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education 21(3). 249–258. https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/enw007.Search in Google Scholar

Weaver, Kimberly A. & Thad Starner. 2011. We need to communicate!: Helping hearing parents of deaf children learn American Sign Language. In The proceedings of the 13th international ACM SIGACCESS conference on computers and accessibility – ASSETS ’11, 91. Dundee, Scotland, UK: ACM Press.10.1145/2049536.2049554Search in Google Scholar

#Why I Sign. 2016. https://www.whyisign.com (last access 12 April 2021a).Search in Google Scholar

Supplementary Material

The online version of this article offers supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2021-0120).

Received: 2021-08-05
Accepted: 2022-04-27
Published Online: 2022-05-23
Published in Print: 2024-01-29

© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Research Articles
  3. Communicating across educational boundaries: accommodation patterns in adolescents’ online interactions
  4. Tracking telecollaborative tasks through design, feedback, implementation, and reflection processes in pre-service language teacher education
  5. Individual versus pair work on L2 speech acts: production and cognitive processes
  6. Self-identity construction and pragmatic compensation in a Chinese DAT elder’s discourse
  7. Verbal and nonverbal disagreement in an ELF academic discussion task
  8. Relationships between struggling EFL writers’ motivation, self-regulated learning (SRL), and writing competence in Hong Kong primary schools
  9. Chinese university students’ self-regulated writing strategy use and EFL writing performance: influences of self-efficacy, gender, and major
  10. Does one size fit all? The scope and type of error in direct feedback effectiveness
  11. Immersing learners in English listening classroom: does self-regulated learning instruction make a difference?
  12. The pedagogical potential of speech-language therapy materials for the teaching of idiomatic expressions in a foreign language
  13. “This topic was inconsiderate of our culture”: Jordanian students’ perceptions of intercultural clashes in IELTS writing tests
  14. Positioning of female marriage immigrants in South Korea: a multimodal textbook analysis
  15. Hearing parents learning American Sign Language with their deaf children: a mixed-methods survey
  16. Teacher resilience and triple crises: Confucius Institute teachers’ lived experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic
  17. Translanguaging in self-praise on Chinese social media
https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2021-0120
Keywords for this article
American Sign Language; deaf children; hearing parents; mixed-methods survey; second language learning

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Research Articles
  3. Communicating across educational boundaries: accommodation patterns in adolescents’ online interactions
  4. Tracking telecollaborative tasks through design, feedback, implementation, and reflection processes in pre-service language teacher education
  5. Individual versus pair work on L2 speech acts: production and cognitive processes
  6. Self-identity construction and pragmatic compensation in a Chinese DAT elder’s discourse
  7. Verbal and nonverbal disagreement in an ELF academic discussion task
  8. Relationships between struggling EFL writers’ motivation, self-regulated learning (SRL), and writing competence in Hong Kong primary schools
  9. Chinese university students’ self-regulated writing strategy use and EFL writing performance: influences of self-efficacy, gender, and major
  10. Does one size fit all? The scope and type of error in direct feedback effectiveness
  11. Immersing learners in English listening classroom: does self-regulated learning instruction make a difference?
  12. The pedagogical potential of speech-language therapy materials for the teaching of idiomatic expressions in a foreign language
  13. “This topic was inconsiderate of our culture”: Jordanian students’ perceptions of intercultural clashes in IELTS writing tests
  14. Positioning of female marriage immigrants in South Korea: a multimodal textbook analysis
  15. Hearing parents learning American Sign Language with their deaf children: a mixed-methods survey
  16. Teacher resilience and triple crises: Confucius Institute teachers’ lived experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic
  17. Translanguaging in self-praise on Chinese social media
Sign up now to receive a 20% welcome discount
Institutional Access
How does access work?
Have an idea on how to improve our website?
Please write us.
© 2025 De Gruyter Brill
Downloaded on 13.9.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/applirev-2021-0120/html
Scroll to top button