Demographics of deaf children
and youth, 1998-99
Approximately 45% of deaf children and youth
are “minority”.
20 % Hispanic
4% Asian/Pacific
>1% Native American
16 % Black/African American
1.5 % multi-ethnic and 1.6% Other
56% White (including Unknowns)
Language Minorities
Language minority families: families whose home
language is a language other than English.
Language minority students are those from homes
where the primary language is a language other
than English.
They include students whose first language is not
English who may be US born or foreign born.
Limited English Proficient Students
As defined by Title VII,students whose home
language is not English, who may be immigrants,
enter US schools without experience with the
culture and uses of English, and are educationally
disadvantaged are considered Limited English
Proficient (LEP).
Some, but not all language minority students, are
LEP.
How many deaf students come
from language minority families?
15.3% of Latino deaf children come from homes
where Spanish is spoken.
Statistics on other languages are not yet available.
The question was asked on the Annual Survey for
the first time in 1998.
Possibly half or more of the Asian/Pacific deaf
children have other languages spoken in their
homes (In 1997,60% of A/PI in the U.S. were
foreign born).
Blacks/African American include immigrants with
diverse home languages such as Haitians, Cape
Verdeans and Africans.
There are over 360,000 speakers of Native
American languages in the U.S., 148,500 of whom
speak Navajo.
Whites include recent immigrants from the former
USSR, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Europe.
New demands on all teachers
More teachers are responsible for the education of
children from diverse backgrounds-Children who know little or no English upon arrival at
school, who may have had interrupted schooling in their
home country, and whose families may have had little
exposure to the norms of U.S. schools.
The teaching force is not well prepared to help culturally
diverse children succeed academically and socially,
Pre-service teacher preparation programs have not
offered sufficient opportunities for learning to teach
culturally diverse students and many teachers have been
learning on the job.
Clair, 1995
Teacher Education Needs
Pre-service preparation must include courses and
experiences that prepare the students to work with
linguistically diverse families and their deaf children.
Professional development should be provided for teachers
currently in the field.
Teacher educators also need education in this area.
Collaboration with colleagues and departments offering
courses in bilingual/ESL education should be fostered.
Considerations in the preparation of teachers
for LEP/LM deaf children
The separation of deaf education/special education and
bilingual/ESL education means the knowledge base for
teaching LEP/LM deaf children has not been defined.
There is a lack of models of how to best prepare teachers
of the deaf to work with LEP/LM students and best
practices in teaching deaf LEP/LM students.
Issues in the education of deaf/hh
LEP/LM students
Improving educational outcomes for LEP deaf, particularly
Hispanic deaf which have remained poor for over three
decades.
Developing effective home-school relationships with
language minority families.
Defining the relevant knowledge base for teacher
candidates and teachers of LEP/LM deaf students.
Assuring compliance with IDEA and federal laws
regarding LEP students which may be overlooked for
LEP/LM deaf and hard of hearing students.
Services for deaf LEP/LM students
Deaf students who fit the federal definition of LEP should
be provided special services such as ESL and modified
content instruction under federal law.
If their English skills are limited compared to their deaf
peers, and/or they lack knowledge of American culture, to
the extent they have difficulties learning in classes with
their peers, they should receive support.
Specialized instruction might include ESL, instruction
using a language other than English, cross-cultural
training, and teaching of ASL (or sign system used).
Model Strategies in Bilingual Education:
Professional Development
“In addition to the areas of professional strength required
of all teachers, five special types of expertise are
frequently cited in portrayals of effective teachers of LEP
students:
(1) using ‘comprehensible input’--content presentation methods that
take into account students' language and experience;
(2) eliciting students' use of target language;
(3) taking advantage of students' language resources;
(4) infusing language development into content instruction; and
(5) reflecting critically on professional practice.”
U.S. Department of Education Office of Bilingual Education and Minority
Language Affairs 1995 http://www.ed.gov/pubs/ModStrat/index.html
Coursework Offered for Preparation of Teachers of
Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Students
Second Language Acquisition
Multicultural Education
Bilingual Education
Bilingual Curriculum
Native Language Linguistics
Literacy for 2ndLanguage Learners
Linguistics
ESL Methods
Bilingual Methods
Course(s) in a Language Other Than English