ECEY4004 Multilingualism, multi-thinking Hello, my name is Louisa Woodward, and I am going to be talking to you about multilingualism and multi-thinking. Change slide History of British Sign Language Sign Community (2023) states that there is solid evidence that signing was used in Britain by deaf people as early as the 16th century, but most scholars believe it was earlier than that. British Sign Language is an unwritten language, so its early history is not understood very well. There are not that many written records of sign language by the deaf community, and they were exclusively created by hearing people, making the language questionable. Dating back to the 18th century modern BSL developed in its first forms and gradually was used as a standard relating to the growth of the cities. As more people were concentrated in smaller areas, deaf individuals could encounter one another and form deaf communities. They then standardized forms of sign languages and the language continued to change and develop into their own dialects much as a spoken language would. The first school in Britain to include sign language in education and introduced a combined system that sets the standards for BSL was Thomas Braidwood’s ‘Braidwood's Academy for Deaf and Dumb’ and it was opened in 1760. This was a private school so therefore Joseph Watson, who trained at Braidwood, opened a public school the ‘London Asylum for Deaf and Dumb in Bermondsey’ in the late 18th century. Even though there has been significant progress in the establishment and development of BSL it has come with its own drawbacks. Deaf children would learn to sign at home rather than in schools. In the 1980’s in Britain, signs being used in the deaf communities were seen as simple gestures and pantomime so parents of deaf children were advised to not allow children to learn to sign or to sign to them as it was thought this would hinder them learning and developing lip reading skills and interfering with their speech. In school they were forced to learn finger spelling and could be punished for using sign language. The negativity towards BSL only changed when it was clear that satisfactory results were not being met and then in 2003 BSL was finally recognised as an official minority language in Britain. In March 2023 a law was passed by the UK government for BSL to be recognised as a formal language giving it legal status. Change slide “The use of conventional signs, as distinct from natural gestures, gives a superficial impression of good communication and is resorted to by many people including parents, but while it facilitates understanding at a very simple level and that level could be called communication, it is not really so... The use of signs is a very primitive form of language and creates a barrier against correct and fluent communication between adults and the profoundly deaf child; it is an easy way out for the adult and expects very little in return from the child (Fry 1964). Change slide Benefits of children using BSL BSL gives children the ability to communicate by using a language within their own immediate family and the wider community both deaf and hearing. Approximately 90% of deaf children are born in the UK to hearing parents. Change slide “The recognition of the crucial importance of BSL as a language in its own right to enable children to develop high levels of language for cognition and learning which would allow full access to the curriculum” (Sara Head, BATOD 2023) Children must have communication and language skills for them to learn and develop. They need them to understand the world around them, to be understood and to build relationships with others. The language and communication skills are Receptive: what we understand from others. Expressive: what we want others to understand. Language is used to share information by using words, phrases and grammar. Children should be surrounded by capable users for them to develop in that language. During a baby's first year, they will be able to understand a lot of what is being said to them but will say very little. Receptive language abilities develop a lot faster than expressive ones. Communication skills are how we share ideas, feelings and exchange information with others. This is a two-way process involving what is spoken or signed and eye contact, gesture, facial expressions, body language and tone of voice. Communication starts at birth with cries, coos and smiles long before first words. Most parents of Deaf children are hearing, and it can be overwhelming for them when they are told their child is deaf. They can feel unsure about how to communicate with their child but with the right help, support and encouragement there is no reason why a deaf child can’t develop the same language and communication skills as other children (NDCS 2023). Learning BSL within the family setting has many benefits and families can attend classes that are run by organisations including the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS). Benefits of learning BSL are: - it is a good way to learn alongside siblings and family members as they will all learn at the same time and will use signs that are consistent. BSL will promote inclusivity that is important to any young person's well-being. BSL gives a child self-identity, allowing them to be part of a language that is recognised and used throughout the UK. As it is a visual language with its own grammar that allows children to learn and communicate just as effectively as using spoken language. Change slide For deaf children that have learnt BSL at an early age will have the option to use BSL at any point in their lives. Should technology fail or hearing deteriorates, and they do not feel they want to explore options of alternative technologies such as Cochlear Implants then by having BSL as a language allows them to communicate without having to learn the language from scratch. For pupils using BSL they have accessed the curriculum and importance of supporting them in their chosen preferred method of communication. Within the New Curriculum for Wales, there are progression steps that include BSL helping deaf children learn and develop. Although the Welsh Language is very much included in the new curriculum Deaf children are disapplied from learning the Welsh language as they are a detrimental disadvantage. Deaf children find learning a linguistically functional language a challenge and due to the grammatical structures, this would pose very challenging for them. The extra time they gain from not attending Welsh lessons allows them to access more support for their speech and language and have extra support for their studies. Change slide Bilingualism Bilingualism affects the structure of the brain. Grey and white matter changes in brain structures are implicated in language learning processes and control. There has been extensive study into grey matter development from early childhood through adolescence (Giedd 2004; Tammes and Ostby 2018; Vijatakumar et al. 2018; Foulkes and Blakemore 2018). It was concluded that generally grey matter decreases (not always) reflecting developmental grey matter loss between early childhood and early adulthood, across both cortical and subcortical structures. The linear or nonlinear trajectories for these decreases vary as function of different factors that include what measures are used, volume, thickness or surface area which structures are examined (Fjell et al. 2009). Change slide Benefits of a Bilingual Brain Developing strong thinking skills Increasing reading comprehension Understanding math concepts and problems Using logic Cultivating greater cultural awareness Focusing, remembering and making decisions Change Slide Divergent Thinking Divergent thinking is cognition that leads in various directions, conventional and original. As some ideas can be original then divergent thinking represents the potential for creative thinking and problem solving. Originality is undoubtedly the most recognised facet of creativity as originality is not synonymous with creative thinking. Divergent thinking plays a large part in creative cognition, this is often a part of creativity assessment and enhancement efforts (Science Direct 2023). Change slide Associated the properties of divergent thinking with four main characteristics: Fluency – ability to rapidly produce a large number of idea or solutions to a problem; Flexibility – the capacity to consider a variety of approaches to a problem simultaneously; Elaboration – the ability to think through the details of an idea and carry it out; Originality – the tendency to produce ideas different from those of most other people (Guilford 1967). Change slide Divergent thinking and play: Play facilitates the development of divergent thinking skills; Cognitive processes in play include divergent thinking; Children who exhibit more imagination in pretend play ten to be better divergent thinkers (Hoffman and Russ, 2012). Change slide Sign Bilingual In 1998 sign bilingual education was defined as: “an approach to the education of deaf children in which the language of the Deaf community (British Sign Language) and the language of the hearing community (English) are used. In the case of children from minority ethnic groups it is more appropriate to use the term ‘sign multilingualism' in order to recognise the position of home languages other than English (Pickersgill and Gregory 1998). In 2007 this was redefined as: “A sign bilingual child is one who uses two or more languages in their daily life, at least one of which is a sign language. Sign bilingual education is an approach to the education of deaf children which, in the UK, uses BSL and English (Swanwick and Gregory 2007). Sign Bilingualism became an official policy for several different schools and services in the UK in the early 1990s including the Royal School for the Deaf in Derby and Leeds Deaf and Hearing-Impaired Service and Longwill School for Deaf Children. The sign bilingual approach grew in popularity within the early days and spread to a few resourced bases and schools. There was positivity for teachers to have a language that they could use to deliver the curriculum. There was development in deaf children’s self-esteem inform reports suggested and a research study was carried out and reported that children in sign bilingual settings had positive notions of themselves and their deafness (Gregory and Smith 1997). As recognition for BSL grew and was officially recognised by the UK Government new tools for the assessment of children’s receptive and expressive BSL skills were developed. The recognition and acceptance of the role of BSL increased greatly in schools, evidenced by the number of hearing teachers that attended BSL classes and the increasing numbers of well qualified deaf professions working in education. Change slide Unfortunately, in developing practice there were a few problems and a number of issues emerged. Sign Language Vocabulary- Due to the increase of subjects being taught through BSL, a need emerged for more specialist signs to meet the standards of the curriculum and groups needed to evolve for consideration and development of these signs. Literacy- Literacy continued to be an issue, the best way to teach a child whose first language is BSL to read was continually discussed. Mayer and Wells (1996) asked the crucial question as to the nature of the linguistic skills that are transferred when BSL, a signed language, is used in teaching literacy based on a written, spoken language. Training of staff- There was a requirement for special courses for the training of staff, particularly deaf people, who were becoming increasingly involved in the education process. Sign Language and parents- Children's sign language skills developed so it was important to provide parents that did not sign, signing skills so that they could communicate with their child at an appropriate level. Although not all parents were able to attend classes and unfortunately there was no established curricula specifically designed for use with parents and these had to be developed. Signed Supported English (SSE)- There was debate over the role of SSE in sign bilingual programmes. Although some teachers rejected it and felt it had no place in deaf education other teachers embraced it. The sign bilingual approach, over the twenty years developed, the context was changing for deaf pupils both within education and the wider world. An emphasis on inclusive practice in education grew and increasing numbers of schools for deaf children were closed. Significant changes for deaf children included technological advances such as email and internet, mobile phones, social networking and subtitling on television. Directly affecting access to sound were technologies such as digital hearing aids and FM systems. The major development influencing educational practice has been Cochlear Implants. Cochlear Implants have enabled many profoundly and severely deaf children to develop useful hearing and spoken language. These were introduced in the UK at about the same time as bilingual education was developing in the early 1990s. Although Cochlear Implants mean that lots more deaf children are able to communicate using speech, it has become apparent that for the foreseeable future there will always be children who need a sign bilingual approach to fulfil their potential. There are some contexts where the ability to sign is an advantage for a number of young people with implants, particularly in secondary school. Young deaf people with implants who can sign seem to be more flexible in their approach to communication and discuss the communication needs of the situation rather than particular language practices. (Wheeler et al., 2007). Change slide Wheeler (2007) states the sign bilingual approach is still in a state of evolution where practitioners consider the impact of recent changes and the need to adapt to the shifting of focus of an individualised approach. Their aim remains to maximise the educational opportunities for deaf children and young people and to ensure that sign language remains a relevant element in many deaf pupils' education.