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The production of sign language structural elements in narratives by children acquiring Finnish Sign Language

ORCiD logo with link | University of Jyväskylä
ORCiD logo with link | University of Jyväskylä
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Abstract
Storytelling is an excellent way to assess children’s language skills because it allows for a comprehensive assessment of their linguistic and cognitive skills. Narrative skills reflect both grammatical language skills and the ability to use language in situationally appropriate ways. In this study, we examined the narrative skills of 94, deaf and hearing children, aged 4–11 years, who were acquiring Finnish Sign Language (FinSL), with a focus on their ability to produce various FinSL structural elements. The data collection and analysis were performed using the FinSL Narrative Skills Production Test (FinSL-PT), which is used to evaluate the production of depicting signs, indicating signs, modification of aspect and manner, and constructed action. The results revealed a clear correlation between age and the production of FinSL structures, with no individual structural element developing first. Instead, the different structures emerged at a similar pace. This study provides the first reference for understanding FinSL narrative development in children.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Microstructures from the FinSL-PT perspective
  • 3.Development of sign language
  • 4.Assessing children’s sign language skills
  • 5.The present study
  • 6.Methods
    • 6.1Participants
    • 6.2Data collection
    • 6.3Annotation
    • 6.4Scoring
    • 6.5Statistical analyses
  • 7.Results
    • 7.1FinSL structure total score
    • 7.2Results for the different FinSL structures
    • 7.3Results between the different age groups
    • 7.4Connection between the production of microstructures and macrostructures
  • 8.Discussion
    • 8.1Methodological remarks and implications
    • 8.2Study limitations
  • 9.Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Author queries
  • References
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