Discourse Analysis on Foregrounded Information in Audiological Resources for Parents of Deaf Children
Date
8-12-2020 10:25 AM
Abstract
Research has shown that access to a language at a very young age is essential for cognitive and social growth. For deaf children, this access is often postponed if parents do not have the information, they need to help their children learn a language, whether spoken or signed. Previous studies have shown that parents of deaf children rely on speech and hearing professionals as guides to make informed and research-based choices for their children. This is done mainly through resources given by the speech and hearing providers/clinicians. Using a critical discourse analysis approach, this study analyzes the collection of such resources found on Hands and Voices under Communication Considerations A-Z (Hands and Voices n.d.). The documents provided on the website are written by an array of people on a variety of subjects relating to decisions about a child’s communication path. Using methods from Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), this study investigates what the informational documents foreground related to communication methods and information for parents.
Biographies
Sierra Robinson
Major: Applied Linguistics
My name is Sierra Robinson and I am working on my Bachelor of Arts in Applied Linguistics with a minor in ASL at Portland State University. I began college part time at Clackamas Community College in 2016. I had changed my educational path two times between my first and second year as a part time student before landing on my current path. At the time I believed that all I would do in college was earn an Associate of Arts (AA) to find an entry level job. By April of 2018, I discovered that Portland State University was a financially viable option that also housed my dream degree, Applied Linguistics. Overnight, I went from assuming that the most I could accomplish in college was an AA to applying to a university with hopes of grad school to follow. I began studying at PSU in the fall of 2018 while working on campus as a tutor and office assistant. I am now in my junior year, looking at linguistic PhD programs with hopes to teach and conduct research. As a disabled person, it is important to me to be able to bring my perspective to academia and support and encourage disabled college students.
Faculty Mentor: Dr. John Hellermann
John Hellermann (PhD, University of Wisconsin) is a professor in the department of Applied Linguistics and a member of the Language, Literacy, and Technology Research group. Before coming to Portland State in 2003, he taught in Wisconsin and Hungary. His research interests include how language structure arises from language use, sound patterns in language use, language learning, linguistic landscaping, and theories of linguistics.
Disciplines
Applied Linguistics | Linguistics
Rights
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Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/33530
Discourse Analysis on Foregrounded Information in Audiological Resources for Parents of Deaf Children
Research has shown that access to a language at a very young age is essential for cognitive and social growth. For deaf children, this access is often postponed if parents do not have the information, they need to help their children learn a language, whether spoken or signed. Previous studies have shown that parents of deaf children rely on speech and hearing professionals as guides to make informed and research-based choices for their children. This is done mainly through resources given by the speech and hearing providers/clinicians. Using a critical discourse analysis approach, this study analyzes the collection of such resources found on Hands and Voices under Communication Considerations A-Z (Hands and Voices n.d.). The documents provided on the website are written by an array of people on a variety of subjects relating to decisions about a child’s communication path. Using methods from Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), this study investigates what the informational documents foreground related to communication methods and information for parents.