Translanguaging, learning and teaching in deaf education

This paper critiques the role of translanguaging in deaf education by examining how, and under what conditions, translanguaging practices can enhance learning and teaching. The paper explores the premise that translanguaging represents an additive view of bilingualism and multilingualism for deaf learners and offers an innovative departure from, and not a re-packing of, traditional teaching methods in deaf education. In this context the additive aspects of translanguaging are conceptualized as ways of seeing and responding to the language resources of deaf learners and ways of teaching that recognise and promote bilingual and multilingual (sign and spoken/written) language skills. The innovative aspects of translanguaging are explained in terms of the focus on language as a social phenomenon, the emphasis on individual repertoires, and attention to the mindful use of languages in the classroom. Examples of learner and teacher translanguaging are given that illustrate what translanguaging offers to deaf education in terms of understanding and supporting the language repertoires of deaf learners and for the development of pedagogy. The paper concludes by suggesting the conditions under which these benefits can be realised.