Second language acquisition (SLA) research offers valuable insight on how languages are learned and how they coexist and influence each other. Sign language learners offer unique perspectives on SLA, allowing researchers to test theories that are otherwise constrained by access to only one modality. Current literature on sign language learning…

This article discusses how and why the lessons learned from research with hearing children can easily be applied to deaf and hard of hearing children. While educators have long advocated early use of American Sign Language (ASL) for deaf and hard of hearing children in order for them to experience the benefit of full language access, parents and…

This article puts forward a solution to the impending shortage of culturally and linguistically competent interpreters: the education of heritage signers as heritage language learners. It examines the current landscape of American Sign Language (ASL) as a course of study and the difficulties heritage signers report when they begin learning ASL. In…

The author examines the theory and research relevant to educating d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing Multilingual Learners (DMLs). There is minimal research on this population, yet a synthesis of related theory, research, and practice on spoken-language bilinguals can be used to add to the body of knowledge on these learners. Specifically, the author…

An examination of research on language and systems used with deaf children concluded that oral English and manually coded English have produced only limited results. The approach advocates the instructional use of American Sign Language and the teaching of English as a second language to deaf children. (Authors/CL)

Examined potential effects of early exposure to sign language on the use of communicative gestures by a bilingual hearing child of deaf parents. Data were analyzed to identify types and tokens of communicative gestures, words, signs, and the ways in which they were combined. (Author/VWL)

The feasibility of American Sign Language (ASL)/English bilingual education programs for deaf children is explored. After reviewing the linguistic input received by these children, language acquisition strategies and the importance of linguistic input in second language acquisition are reviewed. Implications are drawn for teachers instructing in…

A bilingual/bicultural approach is presented to prepare deaf students for community college English courses. The approach focuses on American Sign Language as the primary language and teaches English as a second language. Students learn, in both languages, to differentiate meaning and to render the complexities of language more accessible.…

Reports on a four-month study of deaf education programs conducted in Sweden and Denmark in March of 1990, and discusses three aspects of language learning involving deaf children's learning sign language as a first language, Swedish as a second language, and hearing parents' and teachers' learning of Swedish Sign Language. (14 references)

Learning sign language is a multisensory, high-interest, developmentally appropriate activity for young children. Learning to sign improves children's attention, self-esteem, motivation, sensitivity to others, language development, reading and math readiness, behavior management, vocabularies, and retention; and allows for inclusion of special…

Most deaf children are born to hearing parents. Many of these parents have little or no knowledge of deafness and what it means for their child, themselves, or their family. This book introduces parents of deaf children to the aspects of deafness they will want to know more about. The book can be read as a whole, as it is designed to take a…

Papers presented at a 1977 symposium on language acquisition held at the University of Wisconsin/Milwaukee are included. Contents are as follows: "Assumptions, Methods and Goals in Language Acquisition Research" (Sheldon); "The Mother as LAD: Interaction between Order and Frequency of Parental Input and Child Production"…