jillio
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I just finished reading a study done at Lamar University on Bi-Bi education and the correlation between ASl usage and increased literacy rates. The whole study is quite long, so I have posted methodology and results excerpts. I have included a complete citation for anyone interested in reading the whole article.
We observed a public school program serving deaf and hard of hearing studentsin the Midwest over a 1-year period. Quantitative data relative to reading comprehension achievement were collected and analyzed. Interviews with teachers and staff helped us understand program design and instructional
practices. In our analyses, we sought to understand the viability of ASL/English bilingual implementation and the efficacy of implementation as shown by student outcomes.
It seems that factors such as increased years of ASL usage, high IQ, genetic deafness, postlingual deafness, moderate hearing loss, high socioeconomic status, signed home language, presence of deaf family members, relatively high level of parental involvement, and strong parental signing skills
acted as facilitating agents with slight,nonsignificant impacts, with the exception of parental involvement. When several of these factors combined, the rate of progress increased, as shown by the high-gaining students. Students whose backgrounds included multiple facilitating factors were competitive with and, in some cases, surpassed standards for progress by hearing monolingual students. Among the most substantial facilitating agents identified were increased years of ASL usage and higher levels of parental involvement, both of which were found to be statistically significant.Several consistencies were noted within the group of low gainers (n = 3). The etiology of all low gainers was nongenetic and non–syndrome related. All of these students had profound hearing losses and were
prelingually deaf. The home language of all three was a spoken language. None of the parents of students in this group possessed sign skills beyond the beginner level. Regarding performance, each student experienced score progression over time. In younger years, reading comprehension scores were very low for this group, resulting in depressed scores over time. Consistencies existed within the group of high gainers (n = 6) as well. Five of these six students were prelingually deaf and had profound hearing
losses, as was the case with all three of the low gainers. None of the high gainers participated in the free/reduced-price lunch program, which could imply that they were from higher socioeconomic groups. Additionally, each had at least one parent with intermediate to advanced signing skills, and in each case the parents were rated as having a medium or high level of involvement. After age 10 years, these students improved at least one grade equivalency annually. Three of these students scored above grade level during the last year of testing. These students were able to be competitive with, or even surpass, their hearing counterparts.
This finding is interesting, nevertheless. It is also consistent with previous research conducted by Jim Cummins regarding his Theory of Language Interdependence (Cummins, 1976, 1979, 1981, 2003). Cummins stated that students move beyond basic interpersonal communication skills (BICs) and develop cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP) after 5 or more years of exposure to a language. If CALP develops in the first language, then second-language acquisition occurs more easily. Interestingly, all of the participants in the present study had 2 or more years of ASL usage, with 84%having 5 or more years. According to Cummins’s theories, these students may have experienced sufficient exposure to acquire cognitive academic language proficiency SL, thereby facilitating English-language acquisition.
Delana, M., Gentry, M. & Andrews, J.( 2007). The efficacy of English/Bilingual education: considering public schools. American Annals of the Deaf. 152(1). 73-87.
Any thoughts?
We observed a public school program serving deaf and hard of hearing studentsin the Midwest over a 1-year period. Quantitative data relative to reading comprehension achievement were collected and analyzed. Interviews with teachers and staff helped us understand program design and instructional
practices. In our analyses, we sought to understand the viability of ASL/English bilingual implementation and the efficacy of implementation as shown by student outcomes.
It seems that factors such as increased years of ASL usage, high IQ, genetic deafness, postlingual deafness, moderate hearing loss, high socioeconomic status, signed home language, presence of deaf family members, relatively high level of parental involvement, and strong parental signing skills
acted as facilitating agents with slight,nonsignificant impacts, with the exception of parental involvement. When several of these factors combined, the rate of progress increased, as shown by the high-gaining students. Students whose backgrounds included multiple facilitating factors were competitive with and, in some cases, surpassed standards for progress by hearing monolingual students. Among the most substantial facilitating agents identified were increased years of ASL usage and higher levels of parental involvement, both of which were found to be statistically significant.Several consistencies were noted within the group of low gainers (n = 3). The etiology of all low gainers was nongenetic and non–syndrome related. All of these students had profound hearing losses and were
prelingually deaf. The home language of all three was a spoken language. None of the parents of students in this group possessed sign skills beyond the beginner level. Regarding performance, each student experienced score progression over time. In younger years, reading comprehension scores were very low for this group, resulting in depressed scores over time. Consistencies existed within the group of high gainers (n = 6) as well. Five of these six students were prelingually deaf and had profound hearing
losses, as was the case with all three of the low gainers. None of the high gainers participated in the free/reduced-price lunch program, which could imply that they were from higher socioeconomic groups. Additionally, each had at least one parent with intermediate to advanced signing skills, and in each case the parents were rated as having a medium or high level of involvement. After age 10 years, these students improved at least one grade equivalency annually. Three of these students scored above grade level during the last year of testing. These students were able to be competitive with, or even surpass, their hearing counterparts.
This finding is interesting, nevertheless. It is also consistent with previous research conducted by Jim Cummins regarding his Theory of Language Interdependence (Cummins, 1976, 1979, 1981, 2003). Cummins stated that students move beyond basic interpersonal communication skills (BICs) and develop cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP) after 5 or more years of exposure to a language. If CALP develops in the first language, then second-language acquisition occurs more easily. Interestingly, all of the participants in the present study had 2 or more years of ASL usage, with 84%having 5 or more years. According to Cummins’s theories, these students may have experienced sufficient exposure to acquire cognitive academic language proficiency SL, thereby facilitating English-language acquisition.
Delana, M., Gentry, M. & Andrews, J.( 2007). The efficacy of English/Bilingual education: considering public schools. American Annals of the Deaf. 152(1). 73-87.
Any thoughts?
