Design of an English E-book for Deaf Fifth-Graders from the Metropolitan Area of Bucaramanga

Through this design-based research, an e-book to teach elementary English vocabulary to deaf fifth-graders in the metropolitan area of Bucaramanga was designed and validated. In order to create this material, de Benito´s three-stage methodological design was adopted (2006). First, contextualization and documentation were carried out, where concepts such as the definition of deafness, features of linguistic and cognitive development, features of didactic material, and the acquisition of English and its vocabulary were addressed considering the target population. Second, for the data collection and analysis, a group of five teachers with experience teaching deaf learners was surveyed to determine the lexical content of the e-book. The third stage corresponds to the design and validation of the prototype. The e-book was designed using Adobe InDesign and Adobe Illustrator and it was subsequently submitted to a content validation procedure by a multidisciplinary panel of experts. The results indicate that two main sets of characteristics emerged. One set aligned with Second Language Acquisition Theories: from this perspective the e-book needs to be flexible, technology-based, visual, and concrete. A second set responds to the needs of deaf fifth-graders: from this perspective, the e-book should include strategies such as vocabulary personalization, emotionalization, and visualization.本研究采用设计型研究范式，为布卡拉曼加都会区的五年级听障学生设计并验证了一款用于教授基础英语词汇的电子书。为开发该教学材料，本研究采用了德·贝尼托（de Benito）2006年提出的三阶段方法论框架。第一阶段为情境化调研与文献梳理，结合目标受众的特点，对听障定义、语言与认知发展特征、教学材料的属性以及英语词汇习得等核心概念进行了阐释。第二阶段为数据采集与分析：本研究邀请5名具备听障学生教学经验的教师参与调研，以此确定该电子书的词汇内容范畴。第三阶段为原型设计与效度验证环节。本研究采用Adobe InDesign与Adobe Illustrator完成该电子书的制作，随后邀请多学科专家组成评审团开展内容效度验证流程。研究结果显示，该电子书需具备两大核心特征体系：其一契合第二语言习得（Second Language Acquisition, SLA）理论框架，据此要求电子书需具备灵活性、技术依托性、可视化与具象化特征；其二贴合五年级听障学生的实际需求，据此要求电子书应融入词汇个性化定制、情感化设计与可视化呈现等教学策略。