American Sign Language - Bilingual - Bicultural

Concept: In this approach, American Sign Language (ASL) is used as the language of instruction for deaf children. English is taught as a separate subject. This approach also currently goes under the term bicultural-bilingual, to denote that the child is exposed to both deaf and hearing cultures, and to both ASL and English.

Pros:

• Provides a fully visual language to deaf children, giving them access to language through a functioning sense (sight) rather than relying on a sense (hearing) which must be supplemented with hearing aids, FM systems, and/or cochlear implants to give enough hearing to be useful
• Students using ASL can be mainstreamed with use of interpreter
• Supporters contend is faster at getting a deaf child up to speed in the basics of a language than using an oral-type approach.
• No effort spent in trying to teach a deaf child to speak (unless called for in child's IEP)
• Bi-bi used at some state residential schools for the deaf
• State residential schools, including MSD, often have a support team for the child on staff such as audiologists and a child psychologist.
• The deaf child may feel more comfortable being around other deaf children who don't speak
• Common language of the cultural Deaf community, and deaf children who learn ASL have easy access to that Deaf community
• Proponents claim a solid foundation in one language (ASL) gives them a good basis for learning a second language (English).
• May be option for profoundly deaf children who do not have enough residual hearing to benefit from hearing aids, who are not candidates for a cochlear implant based on parental preference or physical reasons, and who would not benefit from oral approach
• Growing movement that hearing children of hearing parents can jump start communication when their parents sign to them as babies might have relevance to importance of using sign with deaf children
• Realizing importance of sign language, some Scandinavian countries mandate instruction in sign language for all deaf children

• Deaf children who can communicate only with ASL limited to using interpreters, communicating with hand-written notes or computer-based translators when dealing with the general population who do not know ASL
• Bi-bi is relatively new in the USA, and no studies yet demonstrate that bilingual-bicultural approach results in any improvement in English language ability.
• Critics contend that exposing deaf children to English as a second language for just a portion of each day will never result in the children becoming proficient in English
• Many parents of ASL-signing children never become proficient enough themselves with ASL to be able to communicate with their own child using ASL
• It is very difficult to try to teach a deaf child a language you are in the process of learning yourself
• It is difficult enough for a parent learning new signs that correspond to a language you know (Signing Exact English), but trying to learn signs for a language with its own unique syntax and structure is even more difficult

  An an example of this different structure of ASL, consider the English sentence "If you want to go out to play, you have to eat your cookies first." In ASL this would be signed in the following order using the appropriate sign "Cookie, eat, finish, play, can"

• If you encounter a word or phrase you don't know the sign for when an opportunity presents itself for that word, by the time you get a chance to look up the sign for that word in a dictionary the opportunity to use it often has passed
• Often times ASL use goes along with non-use of hearing aids or other hearing enhancement devices, so that children who actually could benefit from such devices receive no benefit
• Deaf children who may have ability to learn to speak English and understand spoken English may never be given this opportunity
• Physically hard-of-hearing children placed in ASL-based programs run the risk of becoming functionally deaf
• While ASL fluency is increasing in the USA, still relatively few people know ASL

Current Status in Missouri:

• ASL used at Missouri School for the Deaf in Fulton (grades K-12)
• ASL-interpreters may be available for deaf children in public school programs, but there is a shortage of qualified interpreters
• Most public school programs for deaf children that use sign use Sign Exact English or a mixture of SEE and ASL
• No private school ASL-programs

Resources:

• Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center at Gallaudet University 800-526-9105
• Sign Enhancers 800-767-4461

  - provides videotapes and computer CDs for learning and practicing ASL

• Learn to Sign (uses ASL) - available from Boys Town Press at 800-282-6657
• ASL Access Video Collection

  - includes over 200 ASL video titles

  References:

  Acquisition of Spoken and Signed English by Hearing-Impaired Children of Hearing-Impaired or Hearing Parents, Ann Geers and Brenda Schick, Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, Vol. 53, 136-143, May 1988

  Bellugi et. al, 1998. Establishment of Spatial Cognition in Deaf Children. Virginia Volterra and Carol Erting (eds). The Transition from Gesture to Language in Hearing and Deaf Children. New York: Springer-Verlag.

  Educating Deaf Children Bilingually: With Insights and applications from Sweden and Denmark, by Shawn Mahshie

  American Sign Language, Student Text, The Original Green Books by Dennis Cokely and Charlotte Baker-Shenk

  American Sign Language, A Teacher's Resource Text on Grammar and Culture, The Original Green Books by Dennis Cokely and Charlotte Baker-Shenk

  American Sign Language Concise Dictionary by Martin Sternberg

  See following website for bibliography of books and articles on Deaf Studies, Bilingual/Bicultural Education, and American Sign Language in Education of Deaf Children: bibliography

  National Organizations:

  National Association of the Deaf

  American Society for Deaf Children

  Websites:

  • Cindy's Homepage on ASL and Deaf Culture
  • BiBi
  • American Sign Language Teacher's Association
  • Online ASL course Education and Support for Parents with Deaf Infants/Toddlers in a Bilingual-Bicultural Program
  • Listen-Up Has links to many sign language resources

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