This article is based on data from an empirical research project on the multilingual situation of... more This article is based on data from an empirical research project on the multilingual situation of deaf migrants in Sweden. Deaf migrants attending folk high schools are a heterogeneous group with various language and educational backgrounds. Some of them have grown up with limited or no access to a spoken or signed language while others have grown up learning multiple languages. In those schools, the migrants learn Swedish Sign Language (STS) and Swedish as well as about Swedish society. The study uses an ethnographic approach, and data has been created through participant observations and interviews with teachers and migrants in three folk high schools in different municipalities in Sweden. The analysis reveals that language ideologies are present in these schools, such as what constitutes a language and what status different languages and other repertoires have. In addition, STS appears to be the only acceptable language for communication within the schools. Another finding is tha...
International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching
This article highlight and discuss the complex situation when deaf adults who are emergent reader... more This article highlight and discuss the complex situation when deaf adults who are emergent readers learn Swedish Sign Language (STS) and Swedish in parallel. As Swedish appears primarily in its written form, they also have to develop reading and writing skills. Study data comes from ethnographically created video recordings of classroom interaction and interviews with teachers and participants. The analysis reveals that while the migrants successively learn basic STS for interacting with other deaf people, learning Swedish takes a different path. The migrants struggle with learning basic reading and writing skills, vocabulary, and grammar. Furthermore, the instruction is highly repetitive, but unstructured and sprawled, using STS to explain and connect signs with written equivalents. The teachers testify in interviews that it seems very difficult for the emergent readers to learn Swedish on a level good enough to cope in Swedish society, which, in turn, puts them in a vulnerable pos...
The project aims to generate knowledge about deaf adult refugees' language situation. The int... more The project aims to generate knowledge about deaf adult refugees' language situation. The integration of this group is strongly linked to their varied linguistic background, which is further complicated by the fact that many of these refugees are language delayed due to having had no or limited access to any language during childhood, seriously affecting their communicative abilities. The project will be the first to describe the linguistic background of deaf refugees in Sweden, and what consequences their background may have for their language learning and socialization into Swedish society. Also, the project will be the first to examine the current language instruction in educational institutions aimed at deaf learners. The outcomes of the project will contribute significantly to our understanding of language acquisition among deaf refugees and what levels of language proficiency that can be expected after the first years of Swedish Sign Language and Swedish instruction and in...
In second language research, the concept of cross-linguistic influence or transfer has frequently... more In second language research, the concept of cross-linguistic influence or transfer has frequently been used to describe the interaction between the first language (L1) and second language (L2) in the L2 acquisition process. However, less is known about the L2 acquisition of a sign language in general and specifically the differences in the acquisition process of L2M2 learners (learners learning a sign language for the first time) and L2M1 learners (signers learning another sign language) from a multimodal perspective. Our study explores the influence of modality knowledge on learning Swedish Sign Language through a descriptive analysis of the sign lexicon in narratives produced by L2M1 and L2M2 learners, respectively. A descriptive mixed-methods framework was used to analyze narratives of adult L2M1 (n = 9) and L2M2 learners (n = 15), with a focus on sign lexicon, i.e., use and distribution of the sign types such as lexical signs, depicting signs (classifier predicates), fingerspell...
When considering deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) population, research recognizes that fatigue due ... more When considering deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) population, research recognizes that fatigue due to communication challenges and multi-focal attention allocation is a significant concern. Given the putative heightened demands of distance learning on deaf and hard of hearing students, we investigate how an online environment might differently affect deaf and hard of hearing participants, compared to hearing participants, Portuguese Sign Language (PSL) users and non-users. Our findings show that the deaf and hard of hearing group present higher values in the post-task fatigue rates with significant differences from the hearing group (non-PSL users). Furthermore, our results revealed an association between post-task fatigue rates and lower performance scores for the deaf and hard of hearing group, and the gap is significantly bigger when compared with the hearing group (non-PSL users). We also found evidence for high levels of post-task fatigue and lower performance scores in the heari...
Den här rapporten handlar om döva och hörselskadade skolelevers tvåspråkighet med svenskt teckens... more Den här rapporten handlar om döva och hörselskadade skolelevers tvåspråkighet med svenskt teckenspråk och svenska. Till grund för rapporten ligger projektet Döva och hörselskadade barns tvåspråkighet (DHT) som initierades 2016 vid Institutionen för lingvistik. Inom ramen för projektet har språkliga data samlats in från 55 döva och hörselskadade elever som gick på en specialskola och tre hörselklassskolor. Dessa data består av elevernas skriftliga produktion på svenska och berättelser på svenskt teckenspråk. Dessutom fick eleverna genomföra språkliga test för båda språken. Den skriftliga produktionen analyserades kvantitativt med fokus på det lexikala innehållet. Bland annat undersöktes texternas lexikala densitet och diversitet. Analysen visade att de döva och hörselskadade elevernas resultat på ett övergripande plan motsvarar hörande svenska elevers, i samma ålder, när det gäller lexikal densitet, men inte lexikal diversitet. De språkliga testen visade också stor variation mellan e...
Vision is considered a privileged sensory channel for deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students to ... more Vision is considered a privileged sensory channel for deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students to learn, and, naturally, they recognize themselves as visual learners. This assumption also seems widespread among schoolteachers, which led us to analyse the intersection between teachers’ beliefs on deaf and hard of hearing students’ academic achievement, visual skills, attentional difficulties, and the perceived importance of image display in class. An online survey was designed to analyse the beliefs of the schoolteachers about the deaf and hard of hearing students learning in educational settings from Portugal and Sweden. Participated 133 teachers, 70 Portuguese and 63 Swedish, from the preschool to the end of mandatory education (ages 3–18) with several years of experience. The content analysis and the computed SPSS statistical significance tests reveal that surveyed teachers believe that deaf and hard of hearing students have better visual skills when compared with their hearing pee...
Förstudiens övergripande syfte var att undersöka hur den språkliga situationen ser ut för döva ny... more Förstudiens övergripande syfte var att undersöka hur den språkliga situationen ser ut för döva nyanlända över 18 år i Sverige. Mer specifikt undersöktes hur döva nyanlända identifieras och emottas, hur de placeras inom olika utbildningsinstanser och vad syftet är med olika placeringar. Dessutom undersöktes vilken tidigare forskning som genomförts med fokus på målgruppen och vilka kunskaper det finns om deras språkliga situation. - Vilka särskilda svårigheter/problemområden kan identifieras för framtida forskning
A ‘sign bilingual’ education was implemented across Sweden for deaf children in 1983, entailing a... more A ‘sign bilingual’ education was implemented across Sweden for deaf children in 1983, entailing a visually-oriented bilingual modal wherein the languages of instruction were Swedish Sign Language ( ...
This article is based on data from an empirical research project on the multilingual situation of... more This article is based on data from an empirical research project on the multilingual situation of deaf migrants in Sweden. Deaf migrants attending folk high schools are a heterogeneous group with various language and educational backgrounds. Some of them have grown up with limited or no access to a spoken or signed language while others have grown up learning multiple languages. In those schools, the migrants learn Swedish Sign Language (STS) and Swedish as well as about Swedish society. The study uses an ethnographic approach, and data has been created through participant observations and interviews with teachers and migrants in three folk high schools in different municipalities in Sweden. The analysis reveals that language ideologies are present in these schools, such as what constitutes a language and what status different languages and other repertoires have. In addition, STS appears to be the only acceptable language for communication within the schools. Another finding is tha...
International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching
This article highlight and discuss the complex situation when deaf adults who are emergent reader... more This article highlight and discuss the complex situation when deaf adults who are emergent readers learn Swedish Sign Language (STS) and Swedish in parallel. As Swedish appears primarily in its written form, they also have to develop reading and writing skills. Study data comes from ethnographically created video recordings of classroom interaction and interviews with teachers and participants. The analysis reveals that while the migrants successively learn basic STS for interacting with other deaf people, learning Swedish takes a different path. The migrants struggle with learning basic reading and writing skills, vocabulary, and grammar. Furthermore, the instruction is highly repetitive, but unstructured and sprawled, using STS to explain and connect signs with written equivalents. The teachers testify in interviews that it seems very difficult for the emergent readers to learn Swedish on a level good enough to cope in Swedish society, which, in turn, puts them in a vulnerable pos...
The project aims to generate knowledge about deaf adult refugees' language situation. The int... more The project aims to generate knowledge about deaf adult refugees' language situation. The integration of this group is strongly linked to their varied linguistic background, which is further complicated by the fact that many of these refugees are language delayed due to having had no or limited access to any language during childhood, seriously affecting their communicative abilities. The project will be the first to describe the linguistic background of deaf refugees in Sweden, and what consequences their background may have for their language learning and socialization into Swedish society. Also, the project will be the first to examine the current language instruction in educational institutions aimed at deaf learners. The outcomes of the project will contribute significantly to our understanding of language acquisition among deaf refugees and what levels of language proficiency that can be expected after the first years of Swedish Sign Language and Swedish instruction and in...
In second language research, the concept of cross-linguistic influence or transfer has frequently... more In second language research, the concept of cross-linguistic influence or transfer has frequently been used to describe the interaction between the first language (L1) and second language (L2) in the L2 acquisition process. However, less is known about the L2 acquisition of a sign language in general and specifically the differences in the acquisition process of L2M2 learners (learners learning a sign language for the first time) and L2M1 learners (signers learning another sign language) from a multimodal perspective. Our study explores the influence of modality knowledge on learning Swedish Sign Language through a descriptive analysis of the sign lexicon in narratives produced by L2M1 and L2M2 learners, respectively. A descriptive mixed-methods framework was used to analyze narratives of adult L2M1 (n = 9) and L2M2 learners (n = 15), with a focus on sign lexicon, i.e., use and distribution of the sign types such as lexical signs, depicting signs (classifier predicates), fingerspell...
When considering deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) population, research recognizes that fatigue due ... more When considering deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) population, research recognizes that fatigue due to communication challenges and multi-focal attention allocation is a significant concern. Given the putative heightened demands of distance learning on deaf and hard of hearing students, we investigate how an online environment might differently affect deaf and hard of hearing participants, compared to hearing participants, Portuguese Sign Language (PSL) users and non-users. Our findings show that the deaf and hard of hearing group present higher values in the post-task fatigue rates with significant differences from the hearing group (non-PSL users). Furthermore, our results revealed an association between post-task fatigue rates and lower performance scores for the deaf and hard of hearing group, and the gap is significantly bigger when compared with the hearing group (non-PSL users). We also found evidence for high levels of post-task fatigue and lower performance scores in the heari...
Den här rapporten handlar om döva och hörselskadade skolelevers tvåspråkighet med svenskt teckens... more Den här rapporten handlar om döva och hörselskadade skolelevers tvåspråkighet med svenskt teckenspråk och svenska. Till grund för rapporten ligger projektet Döva och hörselskadade barns tvåspråkighet (DHT) som initierades 2016 vid Institutionen för lingvistik. Inom ramen för projektet har språkliga data samlats in från 55 döva och hörselskadade elever som gick på en specialskola och tre hörselklassskolor. Dessa data består av elevernas skriftliga produktion på svenska och berättelser på svenskt teckenspråk. Dessutom fick eleverna genomföra språkliga test för båda språken. Den skriftliga produktionen analyserades kvantitativt med fokus på det lexikala innehållet. Bland annat undersöktes texternas lexikala densitet och diversitet. Analysen visade att de döva och hörselskadade elevernas resultat på ett övergripande plan motsvarar hörande svenska elevers, i samma ålder, när det gäller lexikal densitet, men inte lexikal diversitet. De språkliga testen visade också stor variation mellan e...
Vision is considered a privileged sensory channel for deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students to ... more Vision is considered a privileged sensory channel for deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students to learn, and, naturally, they recognize themselves as visual learners. This assumption also seems widespread among schoolteachers, which led us to analyse the intersection between teachers’ beliefs on deaf and hard of hearing students’ academic achievement, visual skills, attentional difficulties, and the perceived importance of image display in class. An online survey was designed to analyse the beliefs of the schoolteachers about the deaf and hard of hearing students learning in educational settings from Portugal and Sweden. Participated 133 teachers, 70 Portuguese and 63 Swedish, from the preschool to the end of mandatory education (ages 3–18) with several years of experience. The content analysis and the computed SPSS statistical significance tests reveal that surveyed teachers believe that deaf and hard of hearing students have better visual skills when compared with their hearing pee...
Förstudiens övergripande syfte var att undersöka hur den språkliga situationen ser ut för döva ny... more Förstudiens övergripande syfte var att undersöka hur den språkliga situationen ser ut för döva nyanlända över 18 år i Sverige. Mer specifikt undersöktes hur döva nyanlända identifieras och emottas, hur de placeras inom olika utbildningsinstanser och vad syftet är med olika placeringar. Dessutom undersöktes vilken tidigare forskning som genomförts med fokus på målgruppen och vilka kunskaper det finns om deras språkliga situation. - Vilka särskilda svårigheter/problemområden kan identifieras för framtida forskning
A ‘sign bilingual’ education was implemented across Sweden for deaf children in 1983, entailing a... more A ‘sign bilingual’ education was implemented across Sweden for deaf children in 1983, entailing a visually-oriented bilingual modal wherein the languages of instruction were Swedish Sign Language ( ...
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