An analysis of maternal questions to young deaf children during storybook reading

An examination of the frequency and types of questions that five mothers used during storybook reading sessions with their three and four-year-old deaf daughters was conducted. Relationships between frequency and type of questions and child Mean Length of Utterance (MLU) measurements, between questions and maternal signing skill, and between questions and child responding, were also explored. Results indicated that the mothers used fewer questions than that used by mothers of hearing children, but the types of questions used were similar to those used by mothers of hearing children. Four mothers used Text-related Indirect Commands, a question type not examined frequently in previous research. Child MLU measurements appeared to influence the amount and types of maternal questions used, although MLU, as measured in this study, may not have been a valid descriptor of the children's expressive language. Maternal sign skill appeared to be related to the total amount of questions used. Mothers rated as very good signers used more questions than mothers rated as average or poor signers. Child responding appeared to vary across the types of maternal questions used. Test questions, Requests for Information, and Text-related Indirect Commands were responded to more frequently than other question types. Differences in maternal directiveness and child participation levels during the reading sessions were also noted. Implications for the quality of language during joint bookreading with young deaf children are discussed.U of I OnlyETDs are only available to UIUC Users without author permissio