Computer-Assisted Vocabulary Learning for Thai Deaf Students: A Case Study of Sot Suksa School for the Deaf

Abstract

In a world without sound, learning to communicate, read, write, and expand one’s vocabulary requires a community of expert communicators in sign language. For many deaf individuals in Thailand who are born into hearing-abled families, access to the expert assistance they need to learn communication skills does not begin until their first years of compulsory education. By that time, academically, they are already many years behind their hearing-abled peers. The present study employed an experimental research design to investigate the influence of computer-assisted language learning technology, DeafReader, on the vocabulary skills of deaf students in Thailand. After a six-week intervention, one-way ANOVA analysis showed no significant difference in pre-test and post-test scores between the treatment and control groups. Additional analysis found a significant difference in performance between male and female students. Age differences in the acquisition of foundation language skills between genders were considered to be an influencing factor in the results of this study. The author concludes that students may have lacked the basic language skills needed for technology intervention to be effective. The author recommends examining the effects on an older age group and exploring the use of DeafReader as a learning tool for fingerspelling, sign language, and mapping text to sign.