The Literacy Beliefs of Deaf and Hearing Parents and Their Interactions with Deaf and Hearing Preschool Children

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Bibliographic Details
Title: The Literacy Beliefs of Deaf and Hearing Parents and Their Interactions with Deaf and Hearing Preschool Children
Language: English
Authors: Ali Hamad Albalhareth (ORCID 0000-0002-8313-6864)
Source: Applied Linguistics. 2025 46(2):248-264.
Availability: Oxford University Press. Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, UK. Tel: +44-1865-353907; Fax: +44-1865-353485; e-mail: jnls.cust.serv@oxfordjournals.org; Web site: http://applij.oxfordjournals.org/
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 17
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Deafness, Literacy, Parent Child Relationship, Preschool Children, Play, Sign Language, Language Fluency, Whole Language Approach, Parent Attitudes, Teaching Methods
Geographic Terms: Saudi Arabia
DOI: 10.1093/applin/amae026
ISSN: 0142-6001
1477-450X
Abstract: This study aimed to explore the literacy interactions of deaf and hearing parents with their preschool children in Saudi Arabia. The participants were three sets of parents (six individuals) of preschoolers. Data were collected through home literacy observation, experience sampling method, and interviews. All participants endorsed learning through play, and in the interviews, they highlighted the importance of learning sign language for literacy development. They emphasized fluency in sign language and acknowledged its importance for supporting deaf children's language and early literacy development. The deaf parents emphasized the importance of the whole-language approach when first teaching literacy at home and consciously exposed their hearing children to subtitles when watching TV, whereas hearing parents believed that working on phonics was a more effective approach for teaching children new words. Hearing parents chose to focus on teaching their deaf children phonics and phonemic awareness to prepare them for school and relied on dialogue to support vocabulary development.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1476588
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:This study aimed to explore the literacy interactions of deaf and hearing parents with their preschool children in Saudi Arabia. The participants were three sets of parents (six individuals) of preschoolers. Data were collected through home literacy observation, experience sampling method, and interviews. All participants endorsed learning through play, and in the interviews, they highlighted the importance of learning sign language for literacy development. They emphasized fluency in sign language and acknowledged its importance for supporting deaf children's language and early literacy development. The deaf parents emphasized the importance of the whole-language approach when first teaching literacy at home and consciously exposed their hearing children to subtitles when watching TV, whereas hearing parents believed that working on phonics was a more effective approach for teaching children new words. Hearing parents chose to focus on teaching their deaf children phonics and phonemic awareness to prepare them for school and relied on dialogue to support vocabulary development.
ISSN:0142-6001
1477-450X
DOI:10.1093/applin/amae026