Primary School Deaf Childrens’ Competence in Kenyan Sign Language in Kenya: An Investigation

Abstract

This study examined the level of competence of deaf primary children in Kenyan Sign Language and showed the achievements on performance in production and comprehension skills. The study also analyzed the effects of variables such as age of children, signing experience, contacts with skilled signers, class level, age at onset of deafness, on the general performance. While vocabulary knowledge elicited better scores across the instruments in all children, difficulties were experienced in the articulation of the expected target verbs and their use syntactically in space. Many factors appeared to influenced their language complexity, the strongest being parental language, signing experience, age, the amount of contact with deaf peers and the use of deaf role models at an early age. Clear evidence of difficulties in production part of the tasks compared with comprehension was noted and competence in spatial grammar was reached fairly late as compared with hearing counterparts of the same age. This situation calls for early intervention and exposure to KSL on the part of the deaf child. The deaf school child should be taught KSL in line with other policies on other languages being taught in schools. Otherwise the assumption that KSL should be used as a language of instruction because deaf children know KSL would be misplaced.