In America, English exists as a standard language. For this reason, it is understood that children will learn this language as their main language. However, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders website, approximately two to three out of every 1,000 children are born deaf or hard of hearing (Quick Stats [NIDCD Health Information]). Furthermore, an article by Karen Kalivoda points out that “depending on the age of onset and severity of hearing loss, an individual’s spoken language development can be dramatically affected.” Babies learn to speak by reproducing the sounds around them; however, a deaf child does not hear these noises and, therefore, does not “develop language skills” (Kalivoda). These children are known as having “prelingual hearing loss” (Kalivoda) and cannot learn “English as a spoken language” (Kalivoda). For this group of children, the primary source of communication is American Sign Language, or ASL, instead of spoken English. Without a basic understanding of the English language, whether in spoken or written form, deaf students have an extremely difficult battle with the English grammar system. These children tend to have “smaller vocabularies, grammatical errors in verb and tense agreement, and errors in word usage” (Kalivoda). Another website titled “Deaf Literacy: Research Highlights” from the Elementary and Middle School Technical Assistance Center, EMSTAC. , provides information on several problems faced by deaf students when learning the basics of the English language. For example, “students' lack of exposure to spoken language makes teaching traditional sound-letter correspondence difficult” and “deaf students whose first ...... middle of paper .... .. reduce the number of errors. “American Sign Language,” August 21, 2008. Nidcd.nih.gov Web. February 24, 2010. “American Sign Language (ASL) Syntax” Lifeprint.com Web. March 1, 2010. Web “Brochure”. February 22, 2010. Web Austincc.edu. February 22, 2010. “Deaf Literacy: Research Highlights” Emstac.org Web. February 24, 2010.Izzard, Sylvia. Interview with Miranda Harrison. “Sign language interpreter. » February 24, 2010. Kalivoda, Karen S. and others and. “Teaching students with hearing impairments”. Journal of Development Education 20.3 (1997): 10-16 ERIC. EBSCO. Internet. March 1, 2010. Morenberg, Max. Do grammar. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. “Quick Statistics [NIDC Health Information].” Nidcd.nih.gov August 4, 2008. Web. February 22, 2010 “Why is English difficult for deaf students? » Accd.edu July 8, 2008. Web. February 24 2010