Why Sign Language in Co-Enrollment in Education for Deaf and Hearing Children?
24 January 2017 (Tue)
12.30pm-2pm, Room 550, Meng Wah Complex, The University of Hong Kong
Speakers: Chris YIU & Lisa LO
Centre for Sign Linguistics and Deaf Studies, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Respondent: Fion WONG
Chaired by: Margaret LO ELE, Faculty of Education, HKU
Abstract
When inclusive education is the norm, a legitimate question to ask is whether or not, or how, sign language can be adopted to support deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children who are studying in a regular school setting. In Hong Kong, an experimental deaf education program in a regular school has been set up that combines the concepts of sign bilingualism and co-enrollment in educating both DHH and hearing students inclusively. In this talk, we will explain the rationale behind creating a sign bilingual community in a mainstream setting and its impact on the bimodal bilingual development, social and academic integration of deaf and hard-of-hearing children during its implementation for the last 10 years.
About the Speakers
Mr. YIU Kun Man, Chris
Senior Programme Officer, Centre for Sign Linguistics and Deaf Studies, CUHK
Mr. Chris Yiu joined the Centre for Sign Linguistics and Deaf Studies in 2007, after working for the Education Bureau regarding local deaf education for 20 years. He is the Senior Programme Officer of the Centre and has been coordinating the Sign Bilingualism and Co-enrolment in Deaf Education (SLCO) Programme since 2006 which strives to develop an additional option of deaf education in Hong Kong.
Mr. Yiu received his teacher training in 1984. He has received multifaceted training and obtained qualifications in different deaf-education-related professions, including social work, special education (specializing in deaf education), psychology, technical audiology and linguistics. Recently, he has started his Doctorate studies in Special Education. His aspiration is to establish a through-train system of SLCO education for deaf and hard-of-hearing children in Hong Kong and research on their development from a multidisciplinary perspective.
Ms. LO Sui Wah, Lisa
Research Assistant, Centre for Sign Linguistics and Deaf Studies, CUHK
After graduating from a local deaf school in Hong Kong, Miss Lisa Lo continued her studies in the United States and graduated from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California with a Bachelor degree in 3D Animation Visual Effects in 2004.
When she returned to HK in 2006, she first worked as a deaf instructor at a local deaf school and later joined the Sign Bilingualism and Co-enrolment in Deaf Education (SLCO) Programme at the Centre for Sign Linguistics and Deaf Studies. In 2013, she was one of the first group of Deaf trainees to have completed sign linguistics research and sign language teaching training in the Asia Pacific Sign Linguistics Research and Training Program (APSL) at CUHK. She has continued devoting herself to SLCO deaf education in Hong Kong. Besides teaching deaf and hearing children in different mainstream educational settings, she has also been involved in experimental programmes to investigate the impact of sign language on autistic children and children with intellectual disability.
Ms. Fion WONG
Ms. Fion Wong obtained her MPhil degree in linguistics from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and subsequently completed her PGDE training (Primary English) at the University of Hong Kong. She has been working as a hearing sign bilingual teacher in the Sign Bilingualism and Coenrolment in Deaf Education Programme (a.k.a. the SLCO programme) for around 8 years. She would like to contribute to the Deaf community through her involvement in the education of deaf students and sign interpretation.
Download
The video: https://youtu.be/kSQhpFuB5dg
The PPT : 20170124 HKU CAISE_Final_handout