Comprehension of Figurative Language by Hearing Impaired Children in Special Primary Schools

This study examined the comprehension of figurative language of 215 hearing impaired children at special primary schools, and 557 hearing children at regular primary schools in Vietnam. The figurative language tests were developed using idioms and proverbs in the Vietnamese language textbooks from grade 2 to grade 5 of primary schools. The results showed that hearing impaired children comprehended figurative language much lower than hearing children. The figurative language knowledge of hearing impaired children developed over grades, and their figurative language knowledge was found to be related to reading levels, but not to the ages or hearing levels. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.