There is, however, little research done describing the importance of reading adults in the lives of deaf students and about students feelings about the written language. The research efforts reported is centred around themes like word processing, coding and different techniques deaf students use.

This paper will present a study with 10 deaf students that were interviewed, using sign language. The students range from age 13 -17, and attend a special school for the deaf. The paper will examine the feelings articulated by the deaf students about their second language, Swedish, focusing on the striking resemblance’s with what is found in the literature about hearing children with reading and writing difficulties. These resemblance’s regards their view that their Swedish is poor and that they are, therefore, not “good enough” as persons. They feel that Swedish, as a school subject, is theoretical and has little to do with the Swedish they use in day-to-day living. The paper will also address the pedagogical implications of the view expressed by the students. It will be argued that teachers have to be confident in the children’s ability to learn in a bilingual setting and that deaf adults that work within the schools for the deaf are of extreme importance for stimulating the child’s development of reading and writing skills.