A Response to Hall: bilingualism in deaf education explored

Abstract

This paper is a response to an article by Winnifred Hall which appeared in Volume 42:1, 17-31 of this journal. Hall raised a number of significant issues in the education of Deaf students, and called for greater recognition of educational programs which take into account cultural factors relevant to the Deaf community, and which utilise native sign languages in programs aimed at developing language proficiency. Hall recognises the importance of effective written language skills for Deaf people if they are to function in the wider community, skills which have not been well developed in the past, and she calls for new approaches to teaching written language to Deaf children. The authors of this paper, while supporting the views of Hall, do not believe she takes sufficient account of the difficulties associated with affording both English and native sign languages equal prominence in a classroom, nor does she recognise the importance of beginning instruction in English before the secondary school years. This paper develops further some of the notions put forward by Hall, and highlights current efforts to implement culturally sympathetic programs for young Deaf children, with particular reference to the Thomas Pattison School in New South Wales, Australia.