Georgia State University Series: Bilingual/Bicultural Approach ASL/English Part 2, Presentation 4 July 2001

Bilingual/Bicultural Approach ASL/English Dr. Easterbrooks

What is the Bi/Bi Approach?  Basic fundamental belief that Deaf and hard-of-hearing children can code English in their brains IF they first learn to communicate in their “natural” language (ASL) and then in English as a second language.

Beliefs about Bi/Bi approach:  Bi/Bi is relatively new in the US therefore, no studies yet demonstrate that bilingual-bicultural approach results in any improvement in English language ability.  Critics believe that exposure to English as a second language for just a portion of the day will never allow deaf children to be proficient in English.

What Role do Parents play? Constant exposure by parents at an early age Parents must be fluent ASL users in order to effectively expose the child to the bi/bi approach Create an environment with plenty of manipulatives, pictures, words, toys, and signs Read to the child regularly so he is exposed to the printed word Constant new vocabulary

The importance of Reading Because the deaf or hard-of-hearing child will be exposed to English mainly through print, it is imperative that the parents read, read and read some more!!!

Authentic and Meaningful Experiences as a Base for Language Learning  Field Trips  Experiments  Cooking  Demonstrations  Vicarious Experiences  Toys and Other Manipulables  Role-Playing  Storytelling

The Powerful Tool of Role-playing  Encourages Conversation  Can be spontaneous or prepared  Used for students of all ages  Helps with Social and Emotional Development

Storytelling: Another Important Tool  Used by children as a language technique  ASL storytelling is the mainstay of a preschool language program  Provides a rich opportunity for deaf and h/h children to participate in an enjoyable activity that fosters language skills  Provides stepping stone for reading

Sandwiching Definition: A process of couching a new skill within an old skill; first you present the known, then the unknown, then the known again. o ASL—English—ASL o English—ASL—English o ASL—Fingerspelling—ASL o ASL—English Print—ASL o Gesture—ASL—Gesture Examples:

Visual Components : Objects: toys and manipulatives Pictures Environment: exposure to the world around you Maps, Diagrams, and other spatial representations

The levels a child most go through… Understanding concepts of SAME and DIFFERENT Exploring and understanding CATOGORIES and SORTING Able to make COMPARISIONS OF LANGUAGE

More ways ASL and English are different. As the student begins to understand ASL/English bilingual approach, the teacher shows the student the mismatches between ASL and English. Example: ASL has classifiers while English must use “labels.” English uses passive voice while ASL must show this by directionality of sign or word order.

For Example… To teach the sentence, “Have you eaten yet?”, the Teacher would explain how to say it in ASL… “Now this is how we sign and write the same sentence in ENGLISH.”

Example of plurals: ASL: To sign the plural meaning of the word cat, you would repeat the sign several times. English: Add an “s” to change to plural.

Some structures that are the same in both ASL and English: 1.Topic – Comment 2.Both have singulars and plurals 3.Negation 4.Basic question forms 5.Complex sentences 6.Mutual gaze/ communicative pointing

When teaching a concept from ASL to English… 1.Have the student generate ideas and language 2.Explain it in ASL 3.Translate to ESL-English 4.Explain that it means the same thing but is expressed differently

What Role does the Teacher play? Teacher discusses all instructional issues in ASL Teacher develops understanding or comprehension in ASL as the foundation for comprehension in English Teacher exposes student to English primarily through print Teacher directly compares the languages from easiest comparisons to hardest. Teacher shows forms which don’t exist in either language e.g. (much dogs) Teachers use space to convey grammatical structure.

What Role does the Student play? Students “take in”English primarily through print Students express English primarily through print Students demonstrate in some way (manipulatives, role-playing, pictures, ASL) that they understand the meaning of the English printed word before coding to print themselves

Discussion of ASL Advantages –highly accessible –children tend to do better academically, behaviorally and socially –easier to read than MCE’s –knowledge of ASL makes learning English easier Disadvantages –child misses valuable learning time while parents learn to communicate –English will be a second language rather than a first

Glossary: ASL—American Sign Lauguage; the language of Deaf peoples in the United States. ASL is a language of its own and not a visual code of English. Bilingual/Biclultural Approach—This approach encourages the development of context, knowledge, and academic skils through ASL. Cooking—Another meaningful experience (like a field trip without actually leaving the school) that can teach many concepts such as number, sequence, texture, color, and other descriptive terminology. Demonstrations—“how to” activities that impart new skills to children; child manipulated activities.

Glossary (continued…) ESL—English as a second language; teaching English to those who use another language as their primary or first langague. Experiments—useful ways to demonstrate properties of the natuaral world to a child. Field Trips—Ways to share information with students; also provide topics for conversation many days after the event. Manipulatives—Materials used to represent other real-life objects or concepts.

Glossary (continued…) Sandwiching- A process of couching a new skill within an old skill; first you present the known, then the unknown, then the known again. Singulars/Plurals—one/ more than one Vicarious Experiences—Representing real-life events through pretend (i.e. going to the doctor’s office, police station, restaurant, post office, etc.) Visual representations—using codes or labels, symbols, gestures, icons, color codes and signs for language categories in order to visual organize language.

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