Learning Language by deaf blind Children

Language is a rule-governed system of symbols used to represent and communicate information, thoughts and feelings.
Several decades ago B.F. Skinner proposed that language, just like many other learned behaviors, is acquired by means of modeling and reinforcement.
However, psycholinguist Noam Chomsky has come to believe that our knowledge of language is for the most part innate and that it develops or unfolds automatically in the early years of life. The rules and strategies needed to soak up what we hear and turn it into a language that we can understand and use are pre- programmed onto the neural circuits of our brains. (Chomsky 1957, 1986) Chomsky called that LAD (Language Acquisition Device)
Both theories form one common theory that states that for acquiring human language it is necessary to have LAD, that serves as a basis for learning language, reinforcement, as a demand for language and imitation and modeling that are means of acquiring language.
The following work tries to prove this theory in a perspective of acquiring language by deaf blind children, because deaf blindness is the most extreme experiment on human beings. This experiment devised by Nature enables us to probe one of the most complex phenomena-the inner mechanism of the human consciousness. The very existence of a person bereft simultaneously of such important senses as sight and hearing and also the power of speech cannot fail to astonish. At first glance it seems that the loss of the main distance senses and the power of speech would completely cut off all opportunities to make contact with other people. If such a person has been deaf from birth or has lost his hearing in infancy, then he has never heard human speech and does not know that language and words denoting objects and ideas exist. Can such a being be moulded into a real person? Can he be taught to work and to think?
Until 1837 deaf blind people were considered inarticulate idiots. They were hidden in attics like a disgrace to the family, kept in mental asylums or in monasteries or convents as worthy recipients of church charity.
The first person who could destroy the wall of silence and darkness and give a light of human life, spirit of wisdom to "a dor- mant soul and mind" was a great 19th century educator Samuel Gridley Howe. His pupil Laura Bridgman, an inmate of the Perkins Institution for the Blind in Boston was the first deaf blind person who learnt to read, write, express simple ideas. She learnt to carry out certain manual tasks and was thus able to earn her daily bread.
When means of making contact with the deaf blind has been invented and it was established it was possible to keep a full register of all information imparted to a deaf blind child, scientists received an opportunity of investigating through experiment whether there is something innate in man's mind that develops immanently or whether everything is acquired through the individual's life             experience.
Observations show that the deaf blind person deprived of tuition, can spend many years in bed, in a corner of a room fenced off from others. Passive and immobile, they would sit in the same spot for hours at a stretch, sometimes even in the same pose. They do not manifest even the most elementary urge for contact with other people. In fact, if a deaf blind child doesn't have any instructions, he stays in the initial level of infant existence. His concerns are limi- ted only to basic biological needs like hunger and pain and cry is the only reaction to them.
Cooing that a deaf blind child begins to produce ends in the age of 5or 6 month. Even if a child had been developing normally but lost his senses in the young age, he might stop communicating. Soviet psychologist Ivan Sokolyansky described a case of deaf blind man Volodya who lost his sight and hearing in the age of 5 years old. "At the time I got to know Volodya, he was already twenty four. He didn't show any interest in anything around him. His mother pointed out that his was the life of a vegetable pure and simple, he was the prisoner of his physical sensations. He was tall and possessed rare strength, he was only able to walk. with the help of other people: on his own, he could scarcely move, placing his legs wide apart and bending his head right down. He only became active when mealtimes drew near, expressing his anxiety by means of grunts. The rest of the time he used to almost always sit motionless in his bedroom with head hung low as if asleep. In fact, he was just patiently waiting to be led to his next meal." (4, p.80)
Therefore, a lack of right instructions which creates reinforcement from the environment made Volodya a complete invalid, unable to communicate.
Nevertheless, if a blind deaf child gets stimulation from the environment, living in constant contact with people and things, such a child displays a need for contact and he/she is able to acquire human language.
Helen Keller, who became deaf blind in the age of 1.8 months, had competence in a language of gestures and her contact with the environment was vast. She wasn't cut off from the outside world. The little girl used to grope at and feel every object that her mother used for housework. She became acquainted with a large number of household objects, learnt the use of each one and could operate them correctly.
She invented a lot of gestures for communication with people: a nod of her head denoted agreement, a shake from side to side - disagreement, a movement of her hand to push away meant "go away!" and so on. She could imitate how bread was cut and how sugar was stirred in a cup of coffee. It was the manifestation of a need and desire for contact with other human beings.
Helen had a friend, a small black girl by the name of Martha Washington. Gestures were indispensable in communication between Helen and Martha. The girls understood each other very well. How- ever, one person to talk to was not enough for Helen and she tried to teach her language of gestures to others. Adults considered her gestures ridiculous, even unpleasant, serving to emphasize the abnormality of a child. They couldn't understand her need to communicate with other people. As that need grew all the time, the lack of understanding evoked frequent tantrums in Helen.
Therefore, acquisition of language by deaf blind children is possible only with context with a favorable environment, i.e. positive reinforcement.
Teaching Laura Bridgeman, Howe concentrated his attention on ordinary everyday objects, such as key, a spoon or a knife; the objects that were connected closely with Laura's life and have a meaning for her
Anna Sullivan wrote: "I see no sense in "talking" conversation for the sake of teaching language. I have tried from the beginning to talk naturally to Helen and to teach her to tell me only things that interest her and ask questions only for the sake of finding out what she wanted to know." (4, pp 64,65)
The second necessary component is a means by which language can be learnt, namely imitation and modeling.
Anna Sullivan observing Helen's baby sister got a clue to the method to be followed, in teaching Helen language: "I shall talk into her hands as we talk into baby's ears. I shall assume that she has the normal child's capacity of assimilation and imita- tion. I shall use complete sentences in talking to her, and fill out the meaning with gestures and her descriptive signs when necessity requires it; but I shall not try to keep her mind fixed on any one thing, but on the contrary I shall do all I can to interest and stimulate it, and wait for result." (4, p.65)
All human beings can acquire language which they can imitate. Children of English-speaking parents begin to speak English, children of Chinese parents-Chinese. Deaf blind children speak with their hands.
Back to Helen Keller: "I had noticed that my mother and my friends did not use signs as I did when they wanted anything, but talked with their mouths. Sometimes I stood between two people when they were conversing and touched their lips. I could not understand and was vexed. I moved my lips and gesticulated frantically without the result." (2. p.180)
Anna Sullivan gave her the tool which opened to Helen a door to a language of words.
Nevertheless, parrots who have the ability to reproduce human speech would never speak as human beings. ability to imitate human speech. Theirs is just a simple, limited parrots don't possess Language Acquisition Device that humans have.

Unlike parrots, human beings don't acquire language by pure imitation, but follow definite patterns and rules. In the case of deaf blind children the process of acquiring language develops in consequent steps. Prior to learning a language a deaf- blind child develops his own system of signs and gestures.
For instance, before Laura Bridgman became a student of doctor Howe, she spent a lot of time with an old semi-literate man, with whom they developed their own signs for communication. Following the Natural Method of dealing with the child, this man did ground work, which was the first step towards mastering language. Before a deaf blind child acquires expressive language, he begins to understand receptive language.
This is a method that Howe used to teach the language to Laura Bridgman. "Before him lay common articles, which he had labeled in raised letters. He asked Laura to feel each one care- fully. With "knife" for instance, he had her feel the label separately, then the utensil with the same marks on it, in the hope that she would understand the relationship. Within several days. Laura was able mechanically, without understanding, to match up each label to its object. As Howe puts it, his success with her at this stage was like "teaching a knowing dog tricks." After a while, when she gained insight into the process, the truth flashed upon her. By making a sign for what she wanted, she could express her ideas." (3)
Acquiring language from his first word to the entire language, deaf blind children go through the same stages: one word speech with gestures that is gradually replaced by words, then short sentences, and so on.
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"Like her baby cousin, Helen expresses whole sentences in a single word. "Milk" with a gesture means "give me more milk." "Mother" accompanied by an inquiring look means "Where is mother?" "Go" means "I want to go." But if I spell into her hand "Give me some bread," she hands me the bread. (4, p.64)
In learning language, deaf blind children don't just copy what is given to them but compose their own natural rules for language.
For example, Laura made up her own words, when she needed them. Shortly after having learned the word "alone" she said she would go "altwo" with someone.
Therefore, in order for a deaf blind child to acquire language, 3 components are necessary! Language Acquisition Device-inborn ability which allows a child to master language despite severe lack of influence from the environment, reinforcement-wish to communicate with the human world and imitation-a method by which a child is being taught.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
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