Recent ﬁndings on

Bimodal Bilingualism

Deborah Chen Pichler • Gallaudet University • 2021

Who are bimodal bilinguals?
Bimodal bilinguals use two languages
through two diﬀerent modalities.
Usually: Sign Language + Spoken Language
Also: Sign Language + Written Language

https://www.facebook.com/GBC.ESL/posts/speaking-two-different-languages-ma
kes-you-bilingual-and-knowing-a-spoken-and-a-/3685202911493228/

2

Should sign language be used with assistive technology?

● Does sign language obstructspoken language development?
● Can hearing parents provide
adequate sign language input?

https://magazine.uconn.edu/2018/02/28/case-bilingual-deaf-children/3

Debate over bimodal bilingualism in early intervention
Signing does not beneﬁtchildren with cochlear
implants, and may hinder
speech development. [1][1] Geers et al. (2017) [2] Hall, Hall & Caselli (2019)

Bimodal bilingualism oﬀers
protection against language
deprivation and more opportunities
for language learning. [2]4Disappointing results from Oral Only approaches● DHH children now have the advantages of
early identiﬁcation and implantation,improved early intervention practices, andsuperior technology. [2]

ORALONLY● Yet DHH children still
underperform on manymeasures of language
development. [3][4][3] Nittrouer & Lowenstein (2021) [4] Carrigan & Coppola (2020)<a href="https://storyset.com/people">People illustrations by Storyset</a>5Performance gaps in English for DHH with hearing aid or
cochlear implant [3, 4]●Children (~3-6 years old) with HA/CI
had signiﬁcantly lower vocabulary
scores than hearing comparison group.

●8th grade children with HA/CI showeddeﬁcits in interpreting ambiguous
sentences (higher level linguistic skill).

[3] Nittrouer & Lowenstein (2021) [4] Carrigan & Coppola (2020)

Even early use of hearing aids or
CI does not guarantee on-timelinguistic development for DHHchildren. They still miss a lot oflanguage input, putting them atrisk as academic demands
increase.

6More reasons why DHH children miss out on language input● Noisy background and listening fatigue [5]● Critical periods for language development [6]● Early deﬁcits due to language deprivation become
more problematic as language demands increase withgrade level.
● Quality and quantity of parents' responses topre-implanted DHH children [7][5] White (2019) [6] Cheng, Roth, Halgren, & Mayberry (2019) [7] Su & Roberts (2019)7

Age-appropriate ASL vocabulary for DHH babies fromhearing families [8]DHH children exposed to ASL
before 6 months of age had
receptive and expressive ASL
vocabulary comparable to DHH
children from signing, Deaffamilies (104 children).

78 DHH children from hearing
families, 8 - 68 months old[8] Caselli, Pyers & Lieberman (2021)<a href="https://storyset.com/people">People illustrations by Storyset</a>8Early & natural sign language does not hinder spoken English [9]General language measures
ASL Receptive Skills Test
Phonological awarenessPhonetic articulation
Expressive vocabulary
Productive syntax

Deaf children withampliﬁcation who use anatural sign language with
their Deaf families scored in
the normal range for hearing
children on standard English
tests, outperforming oral-only
DHH children.

[9] Davidson, Lillo-Martin & Chen Pichler (2014)<a href="https://storyset.com/marketing">Marketing illustrations by Storyset</a>9Family ASL: Bimodal bilingual development by deafchildren with hearing parents [10]New 5 year project on hearing parents' L2
ASL development and their DHH children'sbimodal bilingual (English & ASL)
development[10] Lillo-Martin NIH grant with Elaine Gale and Deborah Chen Pichler
https://today.uconn.edu/2019/12/speaking-language-deaf-children-hearing-parents/

10Goal: Helping hearing parents provide high quantity andhigh quality bimodal bilingual input

High Quantity● Unrestrictedavailable both inand outsidehome● From a variety ofsourcesHigh Quality● Sensitive to child'svisual needs● Natural language
system withgrammaticalconsistency
11ANDSpoken language OR Sign language"...[E]ven when parents wish for theirdeaf and hard of hearing child toacquire spoken language, accessto sign language should beprovided to bridge any language
acquisition gaps resulting fromincomplete access to spokenlanguage." [4][4] Carrigan & Coppola (2020) [11] Secora & Smith (2021)"There is too much at stake with thevery real possibility of language
deprivation for professionals tocling to this outdated argument of'either/or'" [11]12References[1] Geers, A. E., Mitchell, C. M., Warner-Czyz, A., Wang, N. Y., & Eisenberg, L. S. (2017). Early sign language exposureand cochlear implantation beneﬁts. Pediatrics, 140(1).
[2] Hall, M. L., Hall, W. C., & Caselli, N. K. (2019). Deaf children need language, not (just) speech. First Language,39(4), 367-395.
[3] Nittrouer, S., & Lowenstein, J. H. (2021). When language outgrows them: Comprehension of ambiguous
sentences in children with normal hearing and children with hearing loss. International Journal of PediatricOtorhinolaryngology, 141, 110514.
[4] Carrigan, E., & Coppola, M. (2020). Delayed language exposure has a negative impact on receptive vocabulary
skills in deaf and hard of hearing children despite early use of hearing technology. In Proceedings of the 44th
Boston University Conference on Language Development (pp. 63-76). Cascadilla Press Somerville, MA.
[5] White, B. E. (2019). The Role of Auditory Experience in the Neurocognitive Systems for Everyday and Eﬀortful
Listening (Doctoral dissertation, Gallaudet University).
13References (continued)[6] Cheng, Q., Roth, A., Halgren, E., & Mayberry, R. I. (2019). Eﬀects of early language deprivation on brain
connectivity: Language pathways in deaf native and late ﬁrst-language learners of American Sign Language.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 13, 320.
[7] Su, P. L., & Roberts, M. Y. (2019). Quantity and quality of parental utterances and responses to children withhearing loss prior to cochlear implant. Journal of early intervention, 41(4), 366-387.
[8] Caselli, N., Pyers, J., & Lieberman, A. M. (2021). Deaf children of hearing parents have age-level vocabulary
growth when exposed to American Sign Language by 6 months of age. The Journal of Pediatrics, 232, 229-236.
[9] Davidson, K., Lillo-Martin, D., & Chen Pichler, D. (2014). Spoken English language development among native
signing children with cochlear implants. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 19(2), 238-250.
[10] Lillo-Martin NIH grant
https://today.uconn.edu/2019/12/speaking-language-deaf-children-hearing-parents/[11] Secora, K., & Smith, D. (2021). The Beneﬁt of the “And” for Considerations of Language Modality for Deaf andHard-of-Hearing Children. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 6(2), 397-401.

14