Peer socialization in an oral preschool classroom

Informed by the perspectives of Language Socialization and the Social Model of Childhood Disability, and using the method of Conversation Analysis, I investigate the communicative practices that facilitate peer socialization processes in an oral classroom for deaf or hard-of-hearing preschoolers. Analyses show how children's interactions serve as mechanisms for socialization into norms and behaviors similar to what we see in general preschool settings, as well as those that are specific to their oral classroom. The children's varying communication skills and competencies enable different abilities and methods for peer teaching, illustrating the ever-shifting roles of socializing ‘experts’ and ‘novices.’ Additionally, the children orient to recipient design in peer interaction, further demonstrating how they actively work to socialize each other. Data is drawn from 9 h of video-recordings in one oral classroom in California.