Bilingualism in the Education of the Hearing Impaired in Zimbabwe: Is this the Answer?

Abstract

Education for the hearing impaired worldwide is fraught with communication philosophy controverises. Whereas the oralphilosophy has dominated die education of the hearing impaired in Zimbabwe for decades* debate on use of alternative methods of communication opened up recently. This article highlights die merits and demerits of the key communication philosophies in the education of die hearing impaired in the Zimbabwean context. It observes Sign Language as particularly important for grasping new information and for concept formation and oralism as. critical for integration. It is against this background that a new philosophy of bilingualism is proposed for the education of hearing-impaired children in Zimbabwe.