Avaliação do vocabulário em crianças surdas

: a construção e contributo da prova de avaliação lexical para alunos surdos

Abstract

Vocabulary is a component of language through which children, from birth,acquire information that is central to their overall development and knowledgebuilding.In this context, we intend to study how deaf children acquire and understand thevocabulary (words/gestures). For this purpose, this study focuses on the creation andfirst application of the Lexical Assessment Test for Deaf Students (PALAS), as a possibleassessment tool for these students in European Portuguese (PE) and in PortugueseSign Language (LGP). The creation of this instrument is relevant because, in Portugal,there are some tests/proofs to assess different components of the language, but whichare not validated for the deaf population. This study aims to structure a lexicalassessment element for pre-linguistic deaf children, with and without technicalassistance, between 7;00 and 10;11 years of age, who attend the 1st cycle of basiceducation. The development was based on criteria for structuring other tests (Sua Key,E.; Tavares, M.ª Dulce & Santos, M.ª Emília; 2014 - Language Observation Grid: SchoolLevel; Sua Key, E. & Tavares, M.ª Dulce; 2011 - TALC: Language Assessment Test in Children). The data were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively on the linguistic performance of 136 students (40 being deaf and the remaining listeners).Overall, it is concluded that the performance of Deaf children is better in LGP thanin PE regardless of the variables under study, with the performance of hearing children in PE being higher, compared to Deaf children. It is concluded that the performance of Deaf, in both languages, is proportional to their age.

Date of Award	24 Jul 2020
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Ana Mineiro (Supervisor) & Mara Moita (Co-Supervisor)