Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Jack and the Beanstalk and Little Red Riding Hood are stories we grew up listening to and were probably some of the first stories we read to our children.
But how do deaf children get exposure to stories, and the culture, language and moral lessons that come with them? Most deaf children do not have access to early intervention resources and stories suited for them. While they are expected to acquire English, they are not exposed to the stories, songs and nursery rhymes available to hearing children before starting school.
For deaf children to get the full benefits of stories and acquire language like their hearing peers, this would need to be done through sign language, which is their natural first language.
With this in mind, the Singapore Association for the Deaf added a sign language translation to these popular videos from British Council's LearnEnglish Kids website.
With these sign language translations, deaf children will be able to gain access to the stories and link them with the animation and accompanying words, giving them a better idea of the language struture and the general flow of stories.