Tweetaligheid en Alfabetisering Van Doven

Schools for the deaf in the Netherlands are currently looking for ways of converting their current education into bilingual education. The first language of prelingual deaf children in the Netherlands is Sign Language of the Netherlands (SLN); their second language is Dutch. In the first part of the thesis, the bilingual situation of prelingual deaf children is examined with the help of a theoretical framework designed by J. Cummins and a model designed by J. Kurvers. Cummins' theoretical framework takes a thorough look at language development in different bilingual situations. Kurvers' model examines the different ways for bilingual people to obtain literacy. Both theories support the view that in order to stimulate development of the first and the second language, sign language should be the language of instruction in schools for the deaf as well as the language in which prelingual deaf children obtain literacy. Since this implies the use of a notation system for sign language in deaf education, the second part of the thesis deals with the design of a prototype of an educational method that stimulates metalinguistic knowledge with the help of such a notation system.