A lot of people can read without hearing a sound in their life... or seeing cued speech. Think about how the Plains natives trade with each others or with white men without having a common language. If you really want to know how, talk to an ESL teacher. Contrary to people's popular belief about English Sign Language, ESL means English as a Second Language.
See the word dog? Point to a picture of a dog. And so on...
souggy - Indeed some pre-lingual profoundly deaf and post-lingual profoundly deaf individuals become literate without hearing a sound or having had the opportunity for Cued Speech. There are numerous variables involved with all success stories,one must bear these in mind. Even as far as the individual(s) definition of
success.
I find it interesting that you choose as a comparative, people who presumably from your post, are hearing, are successful in their home/native/first, spoken language and individuals who "do not hear a sound".
ESL, in my field, has never been consider English Sign Language. It is quite clearly English as a Second Language. Currently, in my geographic, that acronym is under review, and may be changed to ELL, meaning English Language Learner. This move is underway, because of the fact that even though some hearing individuals have a language orally (obviously age specific), they have not as yet acquired the skills necessary to decode print. Meaning that they are not "literate" in one language, meaning then that when they are learning English, it is
not a second language.
All children and their families, imo, should be provided access to whatever tools are available, empowering them, so that they are able to make informed choices to meet their unique family needs.
As far as see the word dog, point to the word dog. Definately an approach that works, imo, for the primary reader, but tell me when you see the word:
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis or
supercalafragalisticexpialadoshus; how do you teach that?
Thanks.