Whole Language and Deaf Bilingual-Bicultural Education — Naturally!

This position paper discusses how the tenets of Whole Language and Deaf Bilingual-Bicultural Education complement each other. It stresses that Whole Language is based on natural processes through which children can translate their constructs of personal experiences, observations, and perspectives into modes of communication that include written language and, in the present case, American Sign Language. The paper is based on two emphases: (a) Whole Language emphasizes a two-way teaching/learning process, teachers learning from children, and vice versa; and (b) Deaf Bilingual-Bicultural Education emphasizes American Sign Language as a language of instruction and builds on mutual respect for the similarities and differences in the sociocultural and socioeducational experiences and values of Deaf and hearing people. Both Whole Language and Deaf Bilingual-Bicultural Education attempt to authenticate curriculum by integrating Deaf persons' worldviews as part of educational experience.