The development of language and cognition in oral bilingual deaf children

英国大约有50,000名聋哑儿童，其中12%到28%的儿童使用两种口语(口语和双语)。新生儿听力筛查计划和人工耳蜗(CI)技术的医学进步改善了聋儿的语言结果。关于使用一种口语(单语口语)的聋哑儿童的语言和其他认知技能如何发展的大量研究已经存在；然而，英国还没有进行过关于口语双语聋童的语言发展的研究。双语听力儿童在某些认知技能方面有优势，如心理理论(Tom)和执行功能(EF)，但在单语口语聋儿中，同一认知技能的劣势被报道。我们还不知道口语双语是否可以弥补聋儿在认知技能上的不足。这是相关的，因为它可能与父母给出的关于培养孩子说两种语言的建议有关。大多数聋儿出生在听力正常的父母那里，而他们对耳聋知之甚少或一无所知。因此，专业人士在有关儿童的决定中可以发挥很大的影响力。在英国以外进行的一项研究表明，父母经常被建议只和孩子说英语。然而，如果英语水平不足以提供丰富的语言模式，可能会对儿童的语言发展产生重大影响。尽管专业人士可能会产生影响，但在英国还没有明确的研究探索专业人士给父母提供的关于聋儿获得两种口语语言能力的建议。目的：该研究将调查口语双语聋童与年龄匹配的口头单语聋儿、单语听力聋人和双语听力障碍儿童在英语中接受和表达的词汇和语法能力。孩子的家庭语言将通过父母问卷间接评估。这项研究还将检验口语双语聋儿的Tom和EF技能，并将其与年龄匹配的口语单语聋人、单语听力障碍和双语听力同龄人进行比较。通过在2x2设计中跨越双语和耳聋两个维度，我们将评估每个维度对儿童语言和认知技能的贡献。我们目前知道，双语可能会在Tom和EF技能上带来优势，而耳聋会带来有害的影响。一个悬而未决的问题是，双语是否可能对聋儿有保护作用。作为补充，该项目将全面概述英国专业人士对聋儿双语父母的沟通选择的建议，以及他们对聋童能否获得一种以上口语的专业意见。为了确定英国的专业人士对在双语环境中养育聋儿有什么建议，将设计两项调查，一项针对聋童的双语父母，另一项针对从事聋童工作的专业人士。这项研究将至关重要地帮助我们了解口语双语聋童的语言和认知发展，这可能会影响目前给予父母的建议。

Approximately 50,000 deaf children live in the UK, and between 12 to 28% of these children use two spoken languages (oral bilingual). The newborn hearing screening programme and medical advances in Cochlear Implant (CI) technology have resulted in improved language outcomes for deaf children. Ample research exists on how language and other cognitive skills develop in deaf children who use one spoken language (oral monolingual); however no research conducted in the UK has investigated language development in oral bilingual deaf children. Advantages in some cognitive skills such as Theory of Mind (ToM) and Executive Function (EF) are reported in bilingual hearing children, but disadvantages in the same set of cognitive skills are reported in oral monolingual deaf children. We do not yet know if oral bilingualism might compensate for the disadvantage in cognitive skills in deaf children. This is relevant because it may be related to advice given to parents on raising their child to speak two languages. The majority of deaf children are born to hearing parents with little or no knowledge of deafness. Therefore, professionals can be highly influential in decisions regarding the child. Research conducted outside the UK reports that parents are often advised to only speak English with their child. However, insufficient proficiency in English to provide rich language models can have significant implications for a child's language development. Despite the influence professionals can have, no identified studies in the UK have explored the advice professionals give to parents regarding a deaf child's ability to acquire two spoken languages.Objectives: The study will investigate receptive and expressive lexical and grammatical abilities in the English of oral bilingual deaf children compared to age-matched oral monolingual deaf, monolingual hearing and bilingual hearing children. The children's home language will be assessed indirectly via parental questionnaires. The study will also examine ToM and EF skills in oral bilingual deaf children compared to age-matched oral monolingual deaf, monolingual hearing and bilingual hearing peers. By crossing the bilingualism and the deafness dimensions in a 2x2 design we will assess the contribution of each to the children's language and cognitive skills. We currently know that bilingualism may confer an advantage in ToM and EF skills and that deafness has a detrimental effect. An outstanding question is whether bilingualism may have a protective effect in the case of deaf children. As a complementary strand, the project will provide a comprehensive overview of the advice given by UK professionals to bilingual parents of deaf children on their communication choices, and their professional opinion on whether a deaf child can acquire more than one spoken language. To identify what advice professionals in the UK give on raising a deaf child in a bilingual environment, two surveys will be designed, one for bilingual parents of deaf children and one for professionals who work with deaf children.This study will crucially inform our understanding of the development of language and cognition in oral bilingual deaf children which could potentially impact the current advice given to parents.