The changing landscape in early identification and technology for young children with hearing loss has given this new generation of children access to auditory information that was not previously possible. With advancements in early access to sound and better quality of sound, the prospects for obtaining the acoustic and linguistic information necessary to meet heightened literacy demands of college and career readiness can be attained. Against this backdrop, practitioners are serving increased numbers of children and adolescents with hearing loss from non-English-speaking homes. These children often face an added challenge of learning English as another spoken language to communicate across linguistic environments. Nonetheless, consistent auditory access has made it possible to achieve proficiency in more than one spoken language.1 Given that possibility, what will that require?
This question generated rich debate and discussion among colleagues and practitioners, some of whom ultimately contributed to this issue. The lively conversations focused primarily on children and adolescents with hearing loss (HL) who are acquiring English as another spoken language. By this, we mean that their first language is a spoken language other than English (e.g., Spanish, Kreyol, and Urdu). In this issue, the authors use the term "English learner (EL)" to refer to learners whose L1 is another spoken language.
We have assembled a roster of distinguished scholars and practitioners as contributing authors for this issue with expertise in language and literacy development, speech-language pathology, bilingual education, and/or education of people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. In particular, many of these scholars and practitioners are specially trained to facilitate listening and spoken language, and to work with children and adolescents with hearing loss and/or English learners. Although these combined variables have not yet been sufficiently researched, there is growing knowledge that the complexity of hearing loss and second language issues requires professionals to examine, comprehend and integrate data to look at the landscape of K-12 education, and the challenges this population might face in becoming college and career ready.
The authors of this issue were charged to consolidate their practical experiences and scholarship in these intersecting areas in order to spur the conversation about children and adolescents with hearing loss who are learning English as another spoken language. Our collaborative discussions resulted in five articles that provide practitioners with what we know about the needs of this population from professional clinical experiences and research.
First, Rosa-Lugo and Ehren (2018) examine the escalating language/literacy demands facing English learners with hearing loss to become college and career ready and call for an "all hands on deck" effort to prepare these students for academic and occupational success. The success of adults with HL whose primary language (L1) is another spoken language is a critical piece of the puzzle, with the trajectory for adult success set in K-12 education.
Currently, there is a paucity of literature on evidence-based practices in developing language/literacy in EL children with HL. To address this gap, Alfano and Douglas (2018) review literacy-based interventions that are used with ELs to inform practitioners how to facilitate preliteracy development in children with hearing loss when the home language is not English.
Soman and Nevins (2018) then provide insightful information about implementing listening and spoken language (LSL), with D/HH children, to include children and adolescents who are learning English as another spoken language. Specifically, they offer practitioners five principles for planning and implementing LSL intervention and describe useful strategies and resources associated with this approach.
Guiberson and Crowe (2018) next add to the conversation by providing the reader with a scoping review of the literature addressing speech, auditory, and language/literacy interventions in diverse children with hearing loss. Although the scoping review of the literature provides us with several interesting findings, it also reminds us of the need for further research on promising evidenced-based approaches to address the needs of EL children with HL.
Finally, Houston, Robertson, and Wray (2018) remind readers that the need continues for professionals/practitioners with specialized preparation to work with children with hearing loss, and especially with children who are learning English as an additional spoken language. They further expand on the implementation of listening and spoken language to support the development of language/literacy in diverse learners with hearing loss.
It is our hope that readers of this issue will become better acquainted with the specific challenges of EL children and adolescents with HL whose first spoken language is not English and some of the guiding principles and evidence-based educational interventions that have been recommended by the authors. Although there continues to be a need for further research to inform our work with EL children with HL, it remains critical that all professionals work collaboratively with each other and with families in the meantime to address the varied needs of these diverse students.
-Linda I. Rosa-Lugo, EdD
Issue Editor
University of Central Florida, Orlando
-Barbara J. Ehren, EdD
Issue Editor
University of Central Florida, Orlando
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