The Center for Education Advancement of the Deaf (CEAD), in collaboration with Mr. Anthony O’Donnell, ASL/Bilingual Language Arts Teacher at the California School for the Deaf, conducted a workshop titled “Introduction to Deaf-Centered Bilingual Education: A Training Workshop on Principles and Practices.”
Held from July 22 to 26, 2024, the workshop gathered Deaf teachers and teacher trainees from CEAD and Cohort 2 of the Deaf Teacher Certificate Program (Deaf-TCP) of Benilde Antipolo. The activity served as a supplementary component of CEAD’s Deaf-Centered Bilingual Education (DCBE) Faculty Development Program, designed to strengthen Deaf educators’ understanding of bilingual teaching principles and strategies.
CEAD introduced bilingual education to address long-standing challenges in Deaf education in the Philippines, particularly the limited teacher competency in Deaf-centered methods. Bilingual education enables Deaf learners to develop proficiency in Filipino Sign Language (FSL) alongside English and Filipino print languages, reinforcing both literacy and identity. Deaf and hearing teachers proficient in FSL and Deaf-centered approaches play a key role in raising the overall quality of Deaf education.
During the training, Mr. O’Donnell emphasized three essential principles to reduce language deprivation and promote Deaf learners’ academic success:
- Access to Natural Language: Deaf children must have early access to FSL and exposure to the home language to nurture communication and identity.
- Support for Cognitive Development: Cognitive growth depends not on hearing ability, but on access to comprehensible visual language input.
- Enhanced Communication Skills: Bilingual teaching builds fluency in sign and written languages, enabling Deaf learners to communicate confidently across Deaf and hearing communities.
CEAD continues to advance bilingual-bicultural education through ongoing research and training that strengthen the academic success of Filipino Deaf learners.
This initiative forms part of the Model Learning Institute on Deaf-Centered Education (MLITEDCE), made possible through a grant from The Nippon Foundation of Japan.
