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Teaching and Learning Signed Languages pp 175–196Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Hearing Parents as Plurilingual Learners of ASL

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Abstract

Hearing parents of Deaf children who learn a signed language bring to the task of second language learning unique issues of social identity and investment (Norton Peirce, 1996). In addition, these parents have unique learning needs. In a Canadian context, parents of Deaf children often face distinct systemic, policy, and ideological obstacles to learning signed language. This chapter seeks to advance a framework for parents’ learning goals in light of current understanding of plurilingualism, which is defined as multilingualism at the level of the individual and which recognizes the different purposes, domains, and types of competence that the individual social actor may have in their use of two or more languages (Coste, Moore, & Zarate, 2009). This framework is intended as a response to certain academic and professional perceptions of parents’ learning of signed language as a second language as being unrealistic, unimportant, or contentious.

Keywords

  • American Sign Language
  • Deaf Child
  • Emergent Literacy
  • Linguistic Competence
  • Early Intervention Service

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Authors
  1. Kristin Snoddon
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Director, Program Director, Deaf Studies Research Unit in the School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

    David McKee & Rachel McKee & 

  2. Assistant Professor of Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, USA

    Russell S. Rosen

Copyright information

© 2014 Kristin Snoddon

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Cite this chapter

Snoddon, K. (2014). Hearing Parents as Plurilingual Learners of ASL. In: McKee, D., Rosen, R.S., McKee, R. (eds) Teaching and Learning Signed Languages. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137312495_9

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