Bomba de calor geotérmica

Vygotsky’s basic belief that social transaction is the fundamental vehicle of education and not solo performance implies that passing on knowledge is like passing on language (Bruner, 1985). Echoing Vygotsky’s view that language cannot be acquired in isolation, Marschark et al. (2009: 358) point out that ‘language-rich early environments appear to be necessary for age-appropriate literacy skills’. However, these environments may not be sufficient since even deaf children of deaf parents, who provide a rich sign language environment, do not reach the same levels of accomplishment as those of their hearing peers (Marschark & Wauters, 2008). Bruner (1985), building on Vygotsky’s theory, describes the transactional nature of learning which involves entry into a culture through induction by more skilled members. He asserts that, ‘the input of speech to the language-acquiring child is highly tailored by adults to match the child’s level of speech development and that it is altered systematically to stay matched with the child’s progress’(pp. 26). This gives an implication that language is not only taught rather it is mainly learned informally.

As argued by Vygotsky (1962), cognition is influenced by the nature of the language that the child has already acquired and it is assumed that children think in the language that they speak and/or sign. Following on Vygotsky’s association of language and cognitive growth Bruner asserts that to be able to understand the world which ‘consists of conceptually organised, rule-bound belief systems about what exists and what is valued’ one has to have the ability to use a ‘natural language’ as an instrument of thought and eventually other languages, especially written languages (1985: 32). Early and extensive communication in oral or sign language may facilitate cognitive growth among deaf children before they join school. This is not likely to happen smoothly for deaf children in Kenya since for the majority and especially those who are born deaf, the development of a first language is not as spontaneous as it might seem to be among hearing children.

Children who are born with severe and profound hearing loss and without parents who are able to sign, are not in a position to benefit from meaningful interactions with others where they play an active role and therefore the process of naturally assimilating the language used within the environment in which he/she grows does not take place. These children end up learning how to use signs instead of words to express themselves in an environment where the majority of people around them use a speech-based language. On the other hand, some of the deaf children and whose hearing loss is mild or moderate have some residual hearing and are likely to learn some oral language from the people they interact with. However, they are likely not to assimilate the oral language fully due to the impairment, necessitating the use of assistive devices, lip reading, or learning a sign language. Many deaf children in Kenya and other developing countries are likely not to have assistive devices (Miles et al, 2011). In situations where the hearing loss is not identified early enough, as is often the case in developing countries, the prime period in life for language learning is not utilised and the children are faced with difficulties in learning the oral and/or sign language. In addition, Vygotsky’s argument that the speech structures that the child master become the basic structures of his/her thinking can be translated to mean that the thought processes of children with severe and profound hearing loss are determined by the structure of the sign language which is their first language. If the language is not well developed, and learning of the language (oral or signed) is delayed till after six years of age, then the thought processes may not be well formed and cognitive growth might be slowed down.

There is likelihood that learning new concepts in school will be slow until the child acquires good mastery of the language in question.

The language used within the environment in which the child grows is significant with regard to the language development. Is the language predominantly used within that environment the language that the child is learning to speak/sign? The acquisition of a language means being proficient in its use (Krashen, 1988) and for a deaf child to be proficient in the oral/signed language he is learning, the people he interacts with need to be proficient as well. In addition to being born to hearing parents who in most cases neither have knowledge of sign language, the siblings and peers of most children with hearing loss either around the home or in school may not be in a position to facilitate interactions that can help the child learn a signed/oral language. Sometimes their teachers also lack the fluency or the skills to provide effective learning and assimilation of the oral or sign language. Delays and deficits in the language of children with hearing loss limit communication with their parents, peers and other adults, negatively affecting the development of their social skills and other cognitive abilities (Spencer & Marschark, 2010).

Nonetheless, Marschark (1997) asserts that deaf children have superior language production skills in sign language as compared to their skills in written English and he therefore cautions that it would be wrong to judge deaf children’s cognitive abilities based on their ability to read and write. While most studies have struggled to measure the literacy levels of deaf learners by comparing their achievements with hearing learners, it is important to note that levels of learning would be better assessed by identifying any progress that a learner makes or has made from a certain point to the next one. It is presupposed that almost all children, hearing and deaf, are capable of learning and with support they can move from their current level of achievement to the next. This is what is seen to take place in Vygotsky’s ZPD where during the instructional process the adult adjusts the amount and type of support offered so that it is best suited to the child’s level of development. In a bid to understand how the teaching and learning of deaf learners in Kenya takes place, this study aims to understand the extent to which the instructional support offered to the learners is adjusted according to the level of development of the deaf child. Does the education system allow for such adjustment and/or are the teachers reflective in planning their

teaching in order to allow themselves to go beyond or away from the set ‘rules’ or procedures to achieve effective teaching?