A comparative study of how teachers communicate in deaf education classrooms.

This study examines the communication strategies of four U.S.-based teachers instructing nine deaf emergent writers in grades 3–6 who lack proficiency in both signed and spoken language, likely due to language deprivation. Teachers using American Sign Language (ASL) employed student-centered, visually accessible approaches with more directives, responsive utterances, and varied repair strategies, fostering greater engagement and clearer understanding among students. In contrast, teachers relying primarily on spoken English used teacher-centered communication with more general comments, fewer responsive interactions, and limited repair efforts, which corresponded with reduced participation from emergent writers. The findings underscore disparities in classroom communication linked to teachers' language modalities and highlight the need for teacher preparation programs to enhance skills in accessible, effective communication—particularly emphasizing ASL proficiency and visual strategies—to better support deaf students developing foundational language and writing abilities.