Explicit Contextualized Vocabulary Instruction-Deaf/Hard of Hearing (ECVI-DHH)

Explicit Contextualized Vocabulary Instruction - DHH (ECVI-DHH) is an approach to content area vocabulary instruction for use with young Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) students. The explicit and contextualized instructional strategies expose students to new words and gives students practice in using the words expressively. The website will help professionals better understand the purpose of each component of instruction, the steps needed to implement the components, and suggestions for planning their own units of instruction using ECV-DHH.

ECVI-DHH is adapted from PAVEd for Success: Building Vocabulary and Language Development in Young Learners by Hamilton and Schwanenflugel (2013). The primary concept behind this approach to vocabulary instruction is that students need multiple exposures to a word in order to learn and use the word. Researchers who have studied vocabulary acquisition in young hearing students suggest that they need between 12 to 40 exposures to a new word before they learn it (McKeown, Beck, Omanson, & Pople, 1985; Reutzel & Cooter, 2004). The ECVI-DHH instructional program described on this website gives professionals the tools to provide young DHH children repeated exposures and opportunities to use new content-area words that they may not learn incidentally. Learning vocabulary enhances language comprehension which, in turn, enhances reading comprehension.

View Dr. Shirin Antia's ECV-DHH introductory video here.