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How does your experience of
learning sign language help us plan for sign bilingualism? Analyse
your language learning experience in terms of the level reached in your sign course. This should be done by
examining your diary(?), sign language logs, notes on visits and contacts with deaf people
and the transcript/tape/notes from the signing session.
The purpose is to consider how a bilingual policy might be implemented and
the levels which might be reached by parents and
teachers after a short period of instruction or the extent of training which will be
required by interpreters to produce functional
bilingualism. What is realistic for a
bilingual programme and how could we overcome the problems?
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How
convincing is the evidence for the value of sign bilingualism?
Describe the research which
has led us to sign bilingual policies and which has examined the
outcomes of bilingual applications in the development of Deaf children.
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“Deaf children are not
bilingual!” Discuss this statement
using some data which you collect. Analyse
samples of Deaf children’s writing, obtained from a school or unit.. The purpose is to describe the nature
of the problems which Deaf children have and discuss how sign language knowledge seems to
affect written language.
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How can you design the ideal bilingual programme for
deaf children? Johnson et al (1989) have
presented a model for bilingual intervention and education - what is wrong with it? Given your experience and thinking on this course
how would you construct a bilingual programme which would work for Deaf children and the
hearing adults around them.
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How can you
squeeze two languages into one head? Discuss
this from your reading of the processes in bilingualism in the individual. You will find the books by Hamers & Blanc
(1989), Romaine(1995), Grosjean(1982) and Bialystok(1991) helpful.
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Bilingualism
is first and foremost a family condition, without it the child cannot be expected to
respect the language. Consider the factors
which make sign bilingualism at home, desirable and achievable.
