Kathryn Crowe is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Iceland. She concurrently holds adjunct positions at the Center for Education Research Partnerships (National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Rochester Institute of Technology) and the School of Teacher Education, Charles Sturt University. She has worked as a speech pathologist, academic, and researcher in a range of early childhood, school, and tertiary settings. Kathryn holds a Bachelor of Speech Pathology and Bachelor of Arts, majoring in linguistics, and a Master of Special Education (Sensory Disability), and a PhD, as well as Diploma in Auslan/English interpreting. She is also a member of the International Expert Panel on Multilingual Children’s Speech.
Kathryn’s research has focused on cultural and linguistic diversity in young children with hearing loss and their families. Currently she is involved with projects examining dual sensory loss, evidence-based interventions for multilingual children with hearing loss and hearing children with speech and language disorders, speech and sign intelligibility, and professional practice.
Kathryn is passionate about using evidence to inform practice when working with DHH learners and making available evidence accessible to parents, teachers, and clinicians. She has contributed to over 50 peer-refereed publications, nine book chapters, and is an Associate Editor for the journal Speech, Language, and Hearing (https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/yslh20/current). She has contributed to the Raising and Educating Deaf Children e-bulletin (http://www.raisingandeducatingdeafchildren.org), and the Multilingual Children’s Speech Website (http://www.csu.edu.au/research/multilingual-speech).
The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Emerson College is pleased to announce the 2020 Speech and Hearing Foundation of MA lecture by Dr. Kathryn Crowe, Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Iceland and member of the International Expert Panel on Multilingual Children’s Speech.
Why use one language when you could use
two … or three or four?
Recognising and supporting the potential
of Deaf multilingual learners
More and more often children who are D/deaf and hard-of-hearing are growing up and learning in environments were more than one language is used, making them d/Deaf multilingual learners (DMLs). Maybe English and American Sign Language are used at school, but Mandarin is used at home. Perhaps Jamaican-Creole and English are used at home and English is used at school, but Spanish is abundant in the child’s community. Possibly English and ASL are used at home and at school, but French is being learnt as an additional language in secondary school. These are but a few of the possible ways in which the cultural and linguistic diversity of DMLs is changing and transcending the traditional concept of d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing learners being ‘only’ bimodal bilinguals.
This presentation will unpack what it means to recognize and support the potential of DMLs from a number of perspectives. First, the meaning of diversity will be considered for learners with hearing loss, learners who are multicultural, and learners who are multilingual. Second, the spectrum of what it could mean to be culturally and/or linguistically diverse will be explored. Third, current perspectives on the advantages and disadvantages of multilingualism will be described and related to DHH children, as well as current evidence describing the speech, language, and literacy outcomes of DMLs. Fourth, the perspectives and roles of stakeholders involved in raising and educating DMLs will be considered in relation to (a) making decisions about language choice and use, (b) conducting culturally and linguistically appropriate assessment of linguistic skills, (c) providing educational support, and (d) supporting the parents, professionals, and systems who support DMLs. Throughout this presentation there will be a focus on the role of evidence-based practice, practice-based evidence, and culturally competent practices in working with DMLs and their families.
Thursday, October 22
4:00-6:00pm EST
ASL interpretation and CART provided