Deaf Education: Global Perspectives
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  • Toolkit: Inclusive Classroom Strategies for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing students
    • The Physical Environment >
      • Identifying & Addressing Barriers
      • Classroom Design
    • The Learning Environment >
      • Adapting and Modifying the Curriculum
      • Language Experience Approach
      • Bilingual Strategies
      • Fifteen Principles for Reading to Deaf Children
      • Multicultural Signed Stories
      • Deaf Poems
      • Online Sign Language Dictionaries
    • The Social Environment >
      • Stereotypes and Misconceptions About Deaf People
      • Oral vs Sign Debate
      • Different Deaf Education Settings
  • Happenings in Deaf Communities Worldwide
    • Deaf in the Developing World
    • Diversity among Deaf Communities
    • Socio-cultural Barriers Towards Deaf People & People with Disabilities
    • Success Stories: Deaf Role-Models Around the World
    • Past and Current Deaf Projects Worldwide
    • Deaf Education Programs Around the World
  • Resources for Parents of Deaf Children
    • Fifteen Principles for Reading to Deaf Children
    • Videos
    • Blogs & Articles
    • Multicultural Signed Stories
    • Deaf Poems
  • Further Reading
    • Journal Articles >
      • Deaf Education Policy as Language Policy: A Comparative Analysis of Sweden and the United States
      • Literacy and Deaf Students in Taiwan: Issues, Practices and Directions for Future Research: Part I
      • The Comprehensiveness of Transition Services for Deaf Learners in Zimbabwe
      • Deaf Children Attending Different School Environments: Sign Language Abilities and Theory of Mind.
      • Historical Development of Hong Kong Sign Language
    • Books >
      • Deaf Gain: Raising the stakes for human diversity.
      • Raising a Deaf Child in a Hearing Family in Ukraine
      • Deaf Around the World: The Impact of Language
      • The Emergence of the Deaf Community in Nicaragua
      • The Rising of Lotus Flowers: Self-Education by Deaf Children in Thai Boarding Schools
  • More Links
    • Informational Websites
    • Organizations
  • Take the Survey
  • Contact

The Language Experience Approach


"What I can think about, I can talk about”

“What I can say, I can write."
" What I can write, I can read."
" I can read what I can write and what other people can write for me to read."

~Christy Jansen from the Language Experience Approach


The language experience approach (LEA) is a whole language approach that promotes reading and writing through the use of personal experiences and oral language (via sign languages or spoken languages). This is an effective and successful strategy for teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) to learners of all ages. 
Although some adults may have had little education or may be learning English as a second language, each individual has a wealth of life experiences that they can tap on. The LEA is useful when it comes to teaching D/deaf and hard-of-hearing learners because such learners learn best through life experiences and by using these experiences to make connections with language.

Aspects of the LEA include:
  • Learners generating and learning to read material that are based on their life experiences.
  • Using the learner's own words as the basis for beginning reading and integrating writing, reading and speaking.
  • Level of vocabulary and grammar are determined by the learner's existing level of language.
  • A personalized, interactive and creative approach.

Strategies on how to use the LEA:
  • Take photographs of an experiential activity like an excursion to the zoo or a cooking activity and get students to make a book using the photographs. The teacher could transcribe the story as a group activity. Then, each student could write one or more sentences about each photograph, and use it for reading.
  • Students can draw a specific life experience and write sentences about it. The written sentences they produce can be a starting point for teaching reading and writing.
  • Students can bring a photograph or video clip about a party or a holiday from home and write about it and share it with the class.
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  • Home
    • Site Map
  • About
  • Toolkit: Inclusive Classroom Strategies for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing students
    • The Physical Environment >
      • Identifying & Addressing Barriers
      • Classroom Design
    • The Learning Environment >
      • Adapting and Modifying the Curriculum
      • Language Experience Approach
      • Bilingual Strategies
      • Fifteen Principles for Reading to Deaf Children
      • Multicultural Signed Stories
      • Deaf Poems
      • Online Sign Language Dictionaries
    • The Social Environment >
      • Stereotypes and Misconceptions About Deaf People
      • Oral vs Sign Debate
      • Different Deaf Education Settings
  • Happenings in Deaf Communities Worldwide
    • Deaf in the Developing World
    • Diversity among Deaf Communities
    • Socio-cultural Barriers Towards Deaf People & People with Disabilities
    • Success Stories: Deaf Role-Models Around the World
    • Past and Current Deaf Projects Worldwide
    • Deaf Education Programs Around the World
  • Resources for Parents of Deaf Children
    • Fifteen Principles for Reading to Deaf Children
    • Videos
    • Blogs & Articles
    • Multicultural Signed Stories
    • Deaf Poems
  • Further Reading
    • Journal Articles >
      • Deaf Education Policy as Language Policy: A Comparative Analysis of Sweden and the United States
      • Literacy and Deaf Students in Taiwan: Issues, Practices and Directions for Future Research: Part I
      • The Comprehensiveness of Transition Services for Deaf Learners in Zimbabwe
      • Deaf Children Attending Different School Environments: Sign Language Abilities and Theory of Mind.
      • Historical Development of Hong Kong Sign Language
    • Books >
      • Deaf Gain: Raising the stakes for human diversity.
      • Raising a Deaf Child in a Hearing Family in Ukraine
      • Deaf Around the World: The Impact of Language
      • The Emergence of the Deaf Community in Nicaragua
      • The Rising of Lotus Flowers: Self-Education by Deaf Children in Thai Boarding Schools
  • More Links
    • Informational Websites
    • Organizations
  • Take the Survey
  • Contact