By Tommy Navickas
"I would like to empower the deaf education teachers I am training with sensitivity and understanding that deaf ELLs [English Language Learners] don't only have a disability; they have challenges for learning English, ASL [American Sign Language], how to work with assistive technology, and how to make friends that are both deaf and hearing. I feel responsible for the outcomes of these future learners because even though I am not working with them, they are in-effect the grandchildren of my teaching." — La-Juan Stout, assistant professor of special education
(May 12, 2008) In 1994, it took La-Juan Stout a mere semester to move from her hired position as a teacher for ELLs to the department head of the ELL program at the Florida School for The Deaf. Based on her multilingual background and experiences teaching deaf and hard of hearing students and non-native English speaking students, Stout was an excellent fit for the position. This early experience allowed her to grow through not only her own teaching, but as an advisor and consultant to other teachers in the department. The position also aided her work as an instructor of deaf education at the University of North Florida.
While Stout has taught ELL strategies for deaf and hard of hearing students, she is quick to point out that the language barrier should not be the number one concern for teacher candidates in ELL classrooms. Stout says that she has found two other aspects of teaching that should be placed in front of the fundamental language barrier. "First and foremost I believe that both preservice and inservice teachers need to be aware that sensitivity is the most important piece for teaching an ELL student; second is culture and third is language," said Stout. The reason for this rests on the easily understood principal that students must be in a setting that is non-threatening and comfortable. "I think that teachers have to be aware of the difficulty it takes to learn another language and the cognitive development of the student. Having an awareness of a head and heart leans on whether teachers understand their students' culture and possess the sensitivity to account for the learners' difficulties." For Stout, this extends far past the classroom and into the ELL student's home life. As Stout explains, forcing American values onto the student and his or her family tarnishes the native culture and puts a strain on both the student and family's perspective.
An important part of teacher candidates' acquisition of cultural sensitivity rests on an ability to account for diversity in the classroom—an aspect of teaching of which Stout infuses into her teaching. Stout says that "readiness" for today's classrooms must include extensive training in the cultural aspects of teaching diverse student populations. For example, Stout recounts a recent trip to Chicago Public Schools with a colleague. "They told us that the amount of increase in the diversity of their classrooms has plateaued, yet in suburban schools there has been a rather sharp rise multi-cultural classrooms." More and more families, Stout explains, are moving from large urban areas to the suburbs. For Stout, the change presents a need and exciting opportunity to provide training for more teacher candidates and inservice teachers. Stout feels strongly that infusing ELL strategies into these classrooms will improve the perspective and capability of teachers in ELL classrooms. This is, in fact, the subject of her dissertation.
Building on her initial research, Stout has been analyzing four states' teaching programs, (with aspirations of including several more) with the purpose of assessing teacher attitudes about foreign ELLs. Thus far she has included her teaching home state of Florida, Texas, and the less ethnically diverse states of Ohio ad Pennsylvania. Though she expected state demographics to be the largest factor in teacher attitudes, she has discovered that the most important variable is whether the teacher has had ELL training or not. Since deaf ELLs have been her passion and focus in her career, Stout is primarily looking at attitudes of teacher toward deaf ELLs whose parents' first language is not English. As Stout explains, however, these learners are not just in deaf education schools; they also reside in schools such as Metcalf with the aid of an interpreter. She wishes to include teacher attitudes and perceptions for these types of school settings as well. Lastly, Stout explains, "for teacher candidates I would like to know what kind of training makes them more accepting of ELL students." This last piece brings her full circle in improving the quality of teachers she prepares at Illinois State.
In addition to teaching, Stout is currently working with a new interdisciplinary ELL teacher education grant and serves on the College of Education Diversity Committee.
Reflecting on her work at Illinois State Stout says, "When I teach language development for deaf people I am teaching teacher candidates about the multitude of different parts it takes—it is not only about English but every part of that deaf kid's life. This is also true for students with different mother tongues; sensitivity of where they are coming from must be considered and understood."
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