Data_Sheet_2_Sign learning of hearing children in inclusive day care centers—does iconicity matter?.pdf

An increasing number of experimental studies suggest that signs and gestures can scaffold vocabulary learning for children with and without special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). However, little research has been done on the extent to which iconicity plays a role in sign learning, particularly in inclusive day care centers. This current study investigated the role of iconicity in the sign learning of 145 hearing children (2;1 to 6;3 years) from inclusive day care centers with educators who started using sign-supported speech after a training module. Children’s sign use was assessed via a questionnaire completed by their educators. We found that older children were more likely to learn signs with a higher degree of iconicity, whereas the learning of signs by younger children was less affected by iconicity. Children with SEND did not benefit more from iconicity than children without SEND. These results suggest that whether iconicity plays a role in sign learning depends on the age of the children.

越来越多的实验研究表明，手势语与肢体动作可为普通儿童及有特殊教育需求和/或残疾（Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities，简称SEND）的儿童提供词汇学习的支架式支持。然而，目前针对象似性在手势语学习中发挥作用的程度的研究仍较为匮乏，尤其是在融合式日托中心场景下。本研究针对来自融合式日托中心的145名听力正常儿童（年龄区间为2岁1个月至6岁3个月），探究了象似性在其手势语学习中的作用。这些日托中心的保教人员在完成专项培训模块后，开始采用手势辅助言语的教学方式。研究通过保教人员填写的问卷对儿童的手势语使用情况进行评估。结果显示，年龄较大的儿童更易掌握象似性程度更高的手势语，而年龄较小的儿童的手势语学习受象似性的影响相对更小。有特殊教育需求和/或残疾的儿童并未比普通儿童从象似性中获得更多收益。上述结果表明，象似性是否会对儿童的手势语学习产生影响，取决于儿童的年龄。