An important new collection of original papers dealing with essential issues and research in the learning of language by deaf people. The book addresses issues in the fields of second language acquisition and deafness, and draws upon the fields of linguistics, psychology, and education. Of particular importance is the relationship between the learning of English by the deaf and by hearing speakers of other languages. The first five chapters concern theoretical issues on language varieties among the deaf population, American sign language and the biology of language, sign language instruction, and language education of deaf children from both historical and bilingual perspectives. The second half of the book contains six original, previously unpublished research reports on topics related to language learning by deaf children and adults.