German Sign Language Production Test Narrative Competences (NaKom DGS Test)
The production test ‘Narrative Competences in German Sign Language (NaKom DGS)’ (Kolbe & Becker 2023) assesses narrative and grammatical competences in DGS-narratives of 4-11-year-old children. The following narrative competences are analyzed:
- narrative content (are all events of the video story signed?)
- narrative structure (does the narration contain all the elements of a climatic narrative?) and
- correct sequence of events.
In the area of grammar, morphosyntactic skills are analyzed looking for the correct production of:
- depicting verbs,
- directional modifications,
- aspect
- manner
- constructed action (Kolbe 2021).
Since 2023 ‘NaKom DGS’ is available in annual certification courses (https://kora-berlin.de).
In this project the “British Sign Language Production Test - Narrative Skills“
by R. Herman et al.* has been adapted to German Sign Language from October 2017 to 2022. The aim of the test is to assess sign language narrations from children in regard to their narrative competences and some linguistic categories of sign language production.
To analyze sign language acquisition processes concerning these competences 120 sign language 120 narrations of children aged 4-11years were filmed and evaluated in the PhD-project by Vera Kolbe.
*Herman, Rosalind; Grove, Nicola; Holmes, Sallie; Morgan, Gary; Sutherland, Hilary; Woll, Bencie (2004): Assessing British Sign Language Development: BSL Production Test (Narrative Skills). London. City University Publication
Contact
Vera Kolbe
Claudia Becker