Factors Affecting Sign Language Acquisition in Hearing Impaired Learners During Primary Education

The purpose of this research was to identify the factors that affect the acquisition of sign language in hearing-impaired learners during early childhood. The study has undertaken the qualitative approach, a case study in which a triangulation method of collecting data was used. The research was carried out in the state of Perak, were three sign language teachers and eight learners in the early childhood phase were purposively selected for the study. After an inductive analysis approach of the data from interviews, observations and document analysis, the study found that the factors that affect the acquisition of sign language during early childhood, are the very factors that are supposed to enhance, support and nature the same acquisition of sign language in hearing-impaired learners during early childhood that they hinder. At the end of the day, this study intended to equip educators, parents and the society at large with knowledge on factors hindering the acquisition of sign language