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  • Essay / The Effect of Teaching Sign Language to Infants on the Language Acquisition Process

    Communication is an important part of human interaction. It refers to the process of sending and receiving information, feelings, ideas and messages through written language, speech, gestures, sign language and facial expressions, among others . Every child, especially those who are too young to communicate verbally, needs a way to share their wants, demands, and dislikes with others around them. Previous studies have shown that there is insufficient evidence to draw a conclusion on the effect of infant sign language on communication skills, but it has been proven that using sign language signs by babies was a potential linguistic tool. benefits. Baby sign language does not lead to a delay in speech development or a negative impact on communication. In fact, Hulit et al. says many families have realized that using sign language improves young people's language skills. Teaching sign language to infants results in the acquisition of positive communication skills and overall development of infants who take sign language classes. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay According to Barnes, the use of sign language is one of the methods of communication that is gaining popularity. It involves a manual form of communication through the use of movements, hand shapes and facial expressions. As many deaf children, that is to say those who have significant hearing problems, learn sign language, the results of the research carried out show that it can also bring added value to hearing children who are in the normal range of up to 15 decibels HL. Many studies are currently underway to determine whether using sign language with hearing children will help or hinder the ability to communicate. Conversely, some parents often worry that their children will not have the ability to speak early enough, as might be expected if they are exposed to sign language instruction. Others, on the other hand, believe that sign language is an excellent strategy that can be used to reduce young people's frustration and allow them to have additional meaningful interactions with the people around them. Babies' gestures and motor skills develop more and more quickly. in relation to their speech. This happens so that they can use their hands and other body movements to speak before they start using their mouth to communicate. They naturally acquire signs such as greeting people, which can mean goodbye or hello (Barnes 23). So it makes sense that learning many other simple signs will help them communicate. Additionally, it has been proven that toddlers can use signs to communicate for an entire year before they can communicate effectively through speech. During the first year, babies begin to communicate by babbling, cooing, crying, imitating speech sounds, laughing, and finally they utter their first words (Hulit et al., 97). In the same year, babies develop the ability to use gestures and also begin to combine them with certain sounds to help them convey their message (Acredolo, Linda and Susan np). When they raise their hands, it often means they should bepicked up, and so they can do this before developing the language to say “stand up”. Their caregivers can always learn what they want by observing their eyes, body language and gestures. Babies yawn when they are sleepy, make a drinking motion when they need a rink and many more. Therefore, these signs they develop through gestures help others recognize the communication attempts babies make in order to determine the message they are trying to convey. When the time comes when a baby begins to use words to communicate, he discovers when he has used sign language extensively for several months. Before babiesWhen they reach the age of two, they have the ability to understand more languages ​​than they can actually express through verbal means. Although most children do not speak their first words until around twelve months of age, this does not necessarily imply that they lack the ability to communicate (Acredolo, Linda and Susan np; Barnes 25) . A child can communicate through gestures, body language, sounds, and other signs that can help them learn additional techniques that they will use to improve their communication. Parents speak to their babies through language called “mommy,” which implies baby talk or infant-directed speech (Hulit et al., 101). It refers to high-pitched, short, repetitive, exaggerated speech that hearing parents use to communicate with their babies. “Baby signing” is a term used to refer to the use of sign language with hearing babies. Additionally, it involves teaching sign language to hearing infants and young children born to hearing parents. Proponents of sign language for infants believe that because gestures and sign language, like spoken language, are a symbolic representation of thoughts, they may be easier for each young child to first acquire sign language. However, this does not mean that children will not reach normal milestones of speech acquisition and development (Taylor-DiLeva 78). When they finally start to speak, they will be able to do so with a lot of confidence and show their ability to want to be understood, in order to also understand the importance of communication. A child's parents or guardians have the choice of teaching baby signs to the child in order to improve verbal language and communication and also strengthen the bond between the child and adult. The first signs that the baby learns are those that he can use often at home and which can vary depending on the child. Examples of such signs include "eat", "milk", "cat", "juice" and many others (Acredolo, Linda and Susan np). It is also important that the parent does not attempt to teach signs that would be overwhelming, but rather only frequently used signs should be taught. When parents or adults use the signs with the child, they must be accompanied by their equivalent words so that the child can learn to associate the signs taught with their words in order to know their meaning and improve verbal communication. Subsequently, the adult will also be able to do the action indicated by the sign and will use the signs to communicate with the child throughout the day (Acredolo, Linda and Susan np). Although some parents worry that using signs will discourage the language acquisition process, many parents learn the baby's signs. Talk more to encourage positive reinforcement of the child's use of sign language and their attempts to.