American Sign Language and English bilingualism: educators’ perspectives on a bicultural education

• Autores: Darrin J. Griffin
• Localización: International journal of bilingual education and bilingualism, ISSN 1367-0050, Vol. 24, Nº. 6, 2021, págs. 757-770
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Teaching a second language to students who are Deaf and hard-of-hearing is unique because language learning techniques often disrupt spoken/phonocentric models of bilingual language learning that require speech before learning to read and write. Balanced bilingual educational strategies in education of Deaf and hard-of-hearing students include chaining concepts using American Sign Language (ASL) rather than relying on speech and lip-reading. Rather than focusing on speech as an initial step to learning English, ASL is used to teach reading and writing of English. Five face-to-face interviews with educators at a large Deaf residential school serve to explore issues and prescriptions for teaching language to Deaf students. Five themes are used for discussion: understanding ASL–English bilingualism, the significance of technology in Deaf education, the goals of bilingual language models, how identification plays a role in language learning, and suggestions for ideal ways to teach Deaf students. Limitations and suggestions for future research are offered.