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gnarlydorkette · 02-13-2006, 08:09 PM

Let's bi-bi (Bilingual, Bicultural) ! I think the Bi-bi approach is a good idea when the child is comfortable with its native language (usually by age 7, if one's parents do flex the native language daily with the child) then the child can transit to a bi-bi classroom where s/he can learn more about both worlds.
Why does it sound SO familiar-- AHA! Yessire, it is the Spanish-spoken children in our classrooms who are using BOTH language-- English and Spanish for lessons that are relevant to their Spanish culture, grammar, et cetera!! Nobody is protesting against those ESL (English-as-Second-Language) classrooms... but people are STILL raging about the Deaf classrooms...!

I sort of agree with deafdyke here-- I feel mainstreaming a deaf child, without any exposure to deaf culture/language/world, into a hearing classroom at a very young age (and s/he is the ONLY deaf) will cripple their upbringings and grasp on their own life.

I know PLENTY of deaf kids in that situation who are today struggling to sign fluently in Deaf Community to pass as a Deafie or speak well and socialize well enough to pass as a hearing person in the Hearing world. They appear to be stuck in a limbo.

I will want my Deaf child to be a deaf classroom for the first years-- Deaf classmates, Deaf teacher (or one that can sign ASL fluently!), Deaf everything... until s/he is old enough to acquire more in a mainstreamed program (prehaps during the middle school years).

And I disagree with you: "It may affect their willingness to learn English because they feel more at ease using sign language, whereas the English is sometimes being forced upon them, often ending up in sheer frustration for the child as they are unable to communicate what they want to say." -- I don't think any Deaf person will ditch English and use ASL as their clutch... English is an international language-- just like a Chinese person will try to learn English if one lives in USA... A Deaf person will LEARN English because s/he lives in America where English is a vital tool.

I am just curious-- have you ever met a hearing person who has a very poor capacity of English? Can you tell me what's wrong with that person? Nothing-- just a conclusion of poor education.
THAT'S THE ONLY PROBLEM. Hearing/deafness/English-native/Foreign-spoken/whatever shouldn't affect whatever language one's learning as long they are being provided the RIGHT tools to become fluent in a new language. PERIOD.
You have to remember that English is not the only language in the world... the bi-bi approach does apply to every language... will you able to be fluent in Farsi if I drop a thick textbook on your table and tell you to know the language in a week?? Prehaps that is how many mainstreamed classrooms are like for many Deaf students-- that Deaf students don't have time to prepare for the English-spoken classrooms because they are not being provided the right tools to understand English (and KEEP their native language... you wouldn't tell a Mexican kid to FORGET and STOP speaking Spanish??? Why would you do that to a Deaf person's native language??) I do understand that to an extent, a person should leave behind their native language when it is time for English-spoken classroom, but with our Deaf children, we need to prepare them while they are young with the Bi-bi approach so they can easily flow between Deaf and Hearing world with two fluent languages when they are much older...

Now, I have thrown in my two cents.

(and FYI my opinions may be biased because I am a Deaf person but I grew up in a Deaf classroom with a teacher who did sign, not speak, and then I joined in a mainstreamed school in sixth grade... and during all those mainstreamed years I refused to speak. I am now a senior at a state university, and I don't feel any regrets about my educational background-- it did provide me an excellent foundation for my future to build on. So like you did say-- "different children have different needs".)

02-13-2006, 08:09 PM	#3 (permalink)
gnarlydorkette is leaving for good. Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Sunny Diego in Califunny Posts: 1,764	Let's bi-bi (Bilingual, Bicultural) ! I think the Bi-bi approach is a good idea when the child is comfortable with its native language (usually by age 7, if one's parents do flex the native language daily with the child) then the child can transit to a bi-bi classroom where s/he can learn more about both worlds. Why does it sound SO familiar-- AHA! Yessire, it is the Spanish-spoken children in our classrooms who are using BOTH language-- English and Spanish for lessons that are relevant to their Spanish culture, grammar, et cetera!! Nobody is protesting against those ESL (English-as-Second-Language) classrooms... but people are STILL raging about the Deaf classrooms...! I sort of agree with deafdyke here-- I feel mainstreaming a deaf child, without any exposure to deaf culture/language/world, into a hearing classroom at a very young age (and s/he is the ONLY deaf) will cripple their upbringings and grasp on their own life. I know PLENTY of deaf kids in that situation who are today struggling to sign fluently in Deaf Community to pass as a Deafie or speak well and socialize well enough to pass as a hearing person in the Hearing world. They appear to be stuck in a limbo. I will want my Deaf child to be a deaf classroom for the first years-- Deaf classmates, Deaf teacher (or one that can sign ASL fluently!), Deaf everything... until s/he is old enough to acquire more in a mainstreamed program (prehaps during the middle school years). And I disagree with you: "It may affect their willingness to learn English because they feel more at ease using sign language, whereas the English is sometimes being forced upon them, often ending up in sheer frustration for the child as they are unable to communicate what they want to say." -- I don't think any Deaf person will ditch English and use ASL as their clutch... English is an international language-- just like a Chinese person will try to learn English if one lives in USA... A Deaf person will LEARN English because s/he lives in America where English is a vital tool. I am just curious-- have you ever met a hearing person who has a very poor capacity of English? Can you tell me what's wrong with that person? Nothing-- just a conclusion of poor education. THAT'S THE ONLY PROBLEM. Hearing/deafness/English-native/Foreign-spoken/whatever shouldn't affect whatever language one's learning as long they are being provided the RIGHT tools to become fluent in a new language. PERIOD. You have to remember that English is not the only language in the world... the bi-bi approach does apply to every language... will you able to be fluent in Farsi if I drop a thick textbook on your table and tell you to know the language in a week?? Prehaps that is how many mainstreamed classrooms are like for many Deaf students-- that Deaf students don't have time to prepare for the English-spoken classrooms because they are not being provided the right tools to understand English (and KEEP their native language... you wouldn't tell a Mexican kid to FORGET and STOP speaking Spanish??? Why would you do that to a Deaf person's native language??) I do understand that to an extent, a person should leave behind their native language when it is time for English-spoken classroom, but with our Deaf children, we need to prepare them while they are young with the Bi-bi approach so they can easily flow between Deaf and Hearing world with two fluent languages when they are much older... Now, I have thrown in my two cents. (and FYI my opinions may be biased because I am a Deaf person but I grew up in a Deaf classroom with a teacher who did sign, not speak, and then I joined in a mainstreamed school in sixth grade... and during all those mainstreamed years I refused to speak. I am now a senior at a state university, and I don't feel any regrets about my educational background-- it did provide me an excellent foundation for my future to build on. So like you did say-- "different children have different needs".)