“This Clock Is Oop” Development of Translanguaging Strategies and Language Attitude in a Deaf Bimodal Bilingual Student

Abstract

Bilingual students do not always use language exactly the way teachers expect. This is especially true for deaf students who use a signed language and a spoken language. When students mix languages, they are often told they are making mistakes. Instead of forcing students to keep languages completely separate, teachers can let students use any and all of their language tools. When students can practice language with all of the languages they know, they feel better about their language skills. This article describes the language of one deaf bilingual student over one year. The author taught the student how to carefully examine and discuss his own language. The student then wrote about pictures and videos that he was interested in. At the end of the year, the student was comfortable using many types of language tools. He also felt powerful about his own language skills.