Effectively Educating Students With Hearing Impairments (review)

BOOK REVIEWS The Sociolinguistics of the Deaf Community. Ceil Lucas (Ed.). 307 pages, hardcover. Academic Press, New York, 1989. This text examines some of the influences of social and cultural variations within the deaf community on the linguistic patterns of ASL and contact signing. The 13 chapters by various authors are divided into four sections, each with a central theme: Variation and Language Contact; Language Policy; Language Attitudes; and Discourse Analysis . Eleven of the chapters are research based with clearly identified questions and, for the most part, comprehensive reporting of the methodology and data analysis. The editor, Ceil Lucas, did a commendable job at compiling some of the latest research and thinking in this field. The text illustrates the complexity of societal and cultural forces associated with the social and educational interactions of deaf children and deaf adults. The studies were conducted in a range of areas including transliteration , interpreting, ethnicity, lecturing in ASL, identification and communication patterns within the black deaf community , story telling, attitudes toward ASL and English, and different features of ASL. The findings from these studies are illuminating, perhaps more for the questions they raise than the answers they provide. This is not an unexpected or disheartening outcome of the text. Understanding and responding to the communication behaviors and other aspects associated with deafness is a challenging task for many professionals, and this text reinforces this notion. Whether readers agree or disagree with the sociolinguistic interpretations provided by the authors is perhaps of secondary importance to the fact that the text provides a basis from which further discussions can proceed. In this respect, this text is an excellent primer for sociolinguists interested in ASL and contact signing. There are some aspects of the text that readers might find confusing. For example, it is not always clear to whom the term "native signer" refers. My own observations in the deaf community, in fields associated with deafness (e.g., interpreting ), and from numerous discussions with other deaf adults lead me to conclude that very few hearing children of deaf parents are in fact proficient ASL users. If this is the case, then the use of so-called hearing "native signers" may have implications for the validity and reliability of a study. There are also instances throughout the text where the reader is left groping for the source of the information provided. With a statement such as "The use of English by Deaf adults is usually elicited in the context of some sort of economic exchange" (p. 76), one wonders if this is a conjecture on the part of the authors or if they have documentation to support their claim. In addition, the significance of the influence of sociocultural settings on the signing behavior and attitudes of deaf persons is overlooked. For example, would deaf adults respond in a similar manner to an interview situation conducted on the Gallaudet or NTID campus as they would to an interview conducted in a deaf club away from an educational setting? If there is a difference, then sociocultural setting becomes a critical variable in data collection and interpretation. Despite these confusions, educators will find the book useful. In particular, information on the use of ASL features in story telling and of the characteristics of transliteration may have application in enhancing teachers' own communication behavior across all types of signing, including signed English. The editor stressed that the various studies reflected "aspects of the sociolinguistic reality in the lives of real people" (p. 8). At times, however, interpretation of this reality suffers from an absence of discussion on the influence of basic Instructional theories and practices on the communication behavior of teachers and teachers aides. These shortcomings reflect the growing pains of sociolinguistics in the field of deafness and should not detract from the value of the text itself. Overall, the text is a welcome addition to our literature on ASL and contact signing, as the questions it poses can serve as a basis for further research and dialogue. David A. Stewart, Ed.D. Director, Deaf Education Program Michigan State University East Lansing, Michigan Effectively Educating Students With Hearing Impairments . Barbara Luetke-Stahlman and J. Luckner. 468 pages, $30.95. Longman, White Plains...