Sign bilingual education programs and the need for language resources

Sign bilingualism derives much of its justification from observations made about the education of minority language children within a system that uses a second, majority language. Minority language children acquire their first language as any child would. In order to profit similarly from a bilingual educational approach signing deaf children need to acquire and master their first language--a signed language--in manner and degree similar to these other minority children. Among other things, this requires a considered, measured and well-resourced strategy for creating a language environment that will facilitate a viable, age-appropriate first language during the early life and education of children who are deaf and have hearing parents previously unfamiliar with any signed language.