Explicit tier two vocabulary instruction for young deaf children

This study examined the effectiveness of the explicit, evidence-based vocabulary intervention, Text Talk, for deaf children attending mainstream spoken language education settings during the early years of school. The Text Talk program is designed to guide teachers' Tier Two vocabulary instruction in the context of read-aloud storybooks. Participants included 20 children with moderate-to-profound hearing loss using spoken language to communicate, and their teachers of the deaf (ToDs) at mainstream schools with deaf facilities. The study investigated both the students' growth in vocabulary knowledge, and the experience of the teachers in implementing the program. Findings indicated that while all students experienced vocabulary growth, students with the highest level of prior vocabulary knowledge demonstrated the greatest gains. Teachers reported that their involvement in the intervention encouraged them to incorporate additional evidence-based strategies into their instructional repertoires. Importantly, the study outcomes suggest that ToDs' expert knowledge about deafness was a critical component that positively influenced the effective implementation of the Text Talk program with deaf students.