A pilot study of recall of stories presented in signed English

This pilot study investigated the need for further research related to the reception and expression of signing skills by deaf students in total communication classrooms. A review of the literature revealed that an English sign system did not seem to be used by the adult language models for deaf students in the way that the system was designed—to make English completely visible to the deaf student. The users of an English sign system tended to sign in a pidgin English-like manner, and this signing tendency appeared to be more a result of possible biological constraints. There was also suggestion that deaf students themselves might be signing in a pidgin fashion despite the claims of some that American Sign Language (ASL) is the natural language of the deaf. This study specifically addressed itself to two questions: (a) how much story content does a deaf student retell of a short story received in Signed English, and (b) what is the preferred signing usage of the student in the retelling of this story? Three deaf students participated in the study. Each watched a videotape of a short story in Signed English, and then immediately retold the same story while being filmed. The students saw three stories over three consecutive days. The students' performances in the retelling of the stories were analyzed for recall of story content and for sign usage. The results revealed that the average percentage of the recall for the main events of the stories ranged from 60% to 66%, and that the students signed usage was Pidgin Sign Language (PSE). This pilot study demonstrated the need for more research related (a) to deaf students' reception of various school material delivered in an English sign system and (b) the differences and similarities between an English sign system, ASL, and PSE, as well as the educational implications of their respective usage.Education, Faculty ofEducational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department ofGraduat