Bilingual Education for the Deaf in South Africa - Can it Work?
Deaf Education in South Africa has reached the point at which inquiry and reflection have become paramount. Education levels remain low with the majority of Deaf students leaving school functionally illiterate, yet this unsatisfactory status quo is manifest in passive consent. Researchers are curren...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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AOSIS
2000-12-01
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| Series: | South African Journal of Communication Disorders |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://sajcd.org.za/index.php/sajcd/article/view/978 |
| _version_ | 1797834331738079232 |
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| author | Claudine Storbeck |
| author_facet | Claudine Storbeck |
| author_sort | Claudine Storbeck |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Deaf Education in South Africa has reached the point at which inquiry and reflection have become paramount. Education levels remain low with the majority of Deaf students leaving school functionally illiterate, yet this unsatisfactory status quo is manifest in passive consent. Researchers are currently favouring a move toward Bilingual Education for the Deaf, even though the field remains saturated with contentious debates and insufficient evidence to marshal adequate support for one solution. Bilingualism, as an educational paradigm in Deaf Education, acknowledges that the Deaf child's primary language is Sign Language. In addition, the Bilingual approach recognises that the majority of Deaf children (90%) grow up in a hearing community without natural access to their primary language or the natural ability to acquire the spoken language of their family. Consequently, the language of the community/family is accepted as the second language, with the primary focus on second language literacy. This paper will highlight some of the problems in Deaf Education and the subsequent benefits of the bilingual· bicultural approach to teaching Deaf learners. It will also raise crucial questions and concerns which need to be reflected upon and worked through before Bilingual Education (or any other approach) is accepted as the panacea of Deaf Education. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T14:37:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1ed407dd998649c29a125606b756f8e9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0379-8046 2225-4765 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T14:37:40Z |
| publishDate | 2000-12-01 |
| publisher | AOSIS |
| record_format | Article |
| series | South African Journal of Communication Disorders |
| spelling | doaj.art-1ed407dd998649c29a125606b756f8e92023-05-03T11:31:36ZengAOSISSouth African Journal of Communication Disorders0379-80462225-47652000-12-01472515910.4102/sajcd.v47i2.978701Bilingual Education for the Deaf in South Africa - Can it Work?Claudine Storbeck0Division of Specialised Education, University of the Witwatersrand, JohannesburgDeaf Education in South Africa has reached the point at which inquiry and reflection have become paramount. Education levels remain low with the majority of Deaf students leaving school functionally illiterate, yet this unsatisfactory status quo is manifest in passive consent. Researchers are currently favouring a move toward Bilingual Education for the Deaf, even though the field remains saturated with contentious debates and insufficient evidence to marshal adequate support for one solution. Bilingualism, as an educational paradigm in Deaf Education, acknowledges that the Deaf child's primary language is Sign Language. In addition, the Bilingual approach recognises that the majority of Deaf children (90%) grow up in a hearing community without natural access to their primary language or the natural ability to acquire the spoken language of their family. Consequently, the language of the community/family is accepted as the second language, with the primary focus on second language literacy. This paper will highlight some of the problems in Deaf Education and the subsequent benefits of the bilingual· bicultural approach to teaching Deaf learners. It will also raise crucial questions and concerns which need to be reflected upon and worked through before Bilingual Education (or any other approach) is accepted as the panacea of Deaf Education.https://sajcd.org.za/index.php/sajcd/article/view/978deaf educationbilingual educationsign languagesecond languagebicultural |
| spellingShingle | Claudine Storbeck Bilingual Education for the Deaf in South Africa - Can it Work? South African Journal of Communication Disorders deaf education bilingual education sign language second language bicultural |
| title | Bilingual Education for the Deaf in South Africa - Can it Work? |
| title_full | Bilingual Education for the Deaf in South Africa - Can it Work? |
| title_fullStr | Bilingual Education for the Deaf in South Africa - Can it Work? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bilingual Education for the Deaf in South Africa - Can it Work? |
| title_short | Bilingual Education for the Deaf in South Africa - Can it Work? |
| title_sort | bilingual education for the deaf in south africa can it work |
| topic | deaf education bilingual education sign language second language bicultural |
| url | https://sajcd.org.za/index.php/sajcd/article/view/978 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT claudinestorbeck bilingualeducationforthedeafinsouthafricacanitwork |