Deaf parents of cochlear-implanted children: Beliefs on bimodal bilingualism

Abstract

This study investigated 17 Deaf 1 families in North America with cochlear-implanted children about their attitudes, beliefs, and practices on bimodal bilingualism (defined as using both a visual/manual language and an aural/oral language) in American Sign Language (ASL) and English. A survey and follow-up interviews with 8 families were conducted. The majority of the Deaf families exhibited positive beliefs toward bimodal bilingualism, where they set high expectations for their children to become equally fluent in both languages. However, their perspectives about the purpose for each language differed; they viewed English as a "survival language" and ASL as a "cultural language" but supported the use of both languages at home as part of their children's lives.