Another vote for reading as much as possible.
Having attended a number of summer "ASL Immersion Camps" (for hearing, hoh & deaf learning basic to advanced ASL, advanced and fluent ASLers to work on specific skills & vocab etc, and for interpreters to advance and work on various 'terp skills etc) - I learned a few really good pointers on reading to Hoh & Deaf ASLers (infants, children and even adults)
Assuming the primary language of communication is ASL:
When reading - pick a short story and read it twice in a row... The first time read the book using ASL grammar (so not "word for word English") to ensure they understand the ASL grammar and concepts presented in the story.
Then go back and read the story in English word order (not necessarily SEEI/II, but this would be an appropriate place to use it - as a means of explaining English verses ASL ). If you don't elect to use SEE I/II to read the story the second time through - sign the story using ASL signs and adding all of the "it", "at","the",,"is" etc in the correct location. While signing the story in "English" have the child (or yourself) point to each word that corresponds to the ASL sign.
Reading is a perfect time to explain concepts such as the use in English of "is", "the" etc ... I know there are a number of websites that explain usefully ways to show what the purpose of "is","the","it","a" are in English speech. ASLe is one "new" technique that I personally think makes a lot of sense.
Reading lots of books with ASL users is very very helpful for the ASL users and Hoh/deaf who don't use ASL as well. For ASL users it makes the connection between the two languages and allows us to improve our understanding regarding parts of speech while also expanding our vocabulary. For non-signers, reading helps make sense of what we are able to hear... because so many sounds in English aren't accessible to (many of) us - reading allows us to see patterns in phrases, fills gaps in words that we "hear" but can't understand due to the letter combinations used etc.
Learning to read is often a VERY difficult skill - but it is one that is worth putting in a LOT of effort on a daily basis... especially for young children. It took me many many years to become "good" at reading. At first it was a LOT of work, it wasn't fun and it was very very frustrating. Once I learned how word ending worked, how to decipher the letters that made up words into actual words it because much easier (because I'm Hoh I use a combination of sounding words out, and looking for patterns/parts of other words I already know). Finally in Grade 5 (so at about 9years old) I managed to "unlock the code of reading"!! Some how all my very very hard work paid off - the words on the page made sense, and I went from "having to practice" to "wanting to practice" ... I found a few book series that I really liked and since then I read a LOT. I'm still not super super fast, however I'm also not super slow ... I enjoy the words and find that if I don't rush I understand them better (and reading isn't a race!).
For those struggling with Reading, or helping their child (especially ASLers) with reading &/or learning English - be patient, reward them for trying hard, remind them that it is difficult at first but it does get easier and then it will even be fun - like creating a movie in their imagination!! I think a lot of children see that they are having more trouble than their peers (especially hearing peers) and get discouraged ... they think that they are the only ones having that much trouble. Reminding them that there are a LOT of people who struggled and had to work hard to learn to be good at reading - some who are a lot older than them may help
When reading English (for the purpose of learning reading/English Grammar etc) It's important that English parts of speech are explained so that are able to make sense to ASL users ... which means doing better than pointing out the part of speech and then giving similar examples. Instead, it means
showing, through ASL how the parts of speech work and why that specific English word is used instead of another, for example "
an apple" (instead of "
a apple"), versus "
the apple" ...
"
An Apple" means, a (single) general apple (not a specific one, just "any apple")- located somewhere (that you can't see right now).
"
An" is always used instead of "
A" if the first letter of the next word is a vowel or the letter "h" (a e i o u y h)
"
The Apple" means a specific apple - maybe one you can see in the room, or one that is located in a certain place that you are thinking of.
If someone says "I want
an apple" this means that any type of apple will do, it doesn't matter which apple you bring them
If someone says "I want
the apple" this means that they have a specific apple they are wanting. "I want
the apple" would usually be followed with the location of the apple "I want
the apple
on the floor", "I want
the apple
in the fridge" .
If the person can see "
the apple" and there are other apples in the same location they would say "I want
that apple" and point to the exact apple they wanted.
Hope that helps ... I realize it's a bit off topic
