are used simultaneously. The third one (Bilingualism) supports that sign language is the deafs' mother tongue and that the language spoken and written in the country they live is their second language. .
The main argument against Oralism is that its methods are often unsuccessful (Sacks, 1990, apud Quadros, 1997), with a speech that is limited and difficult to understand. The mais argument against Total Communication, according to Brito (1993, apud Quadros, op. cit.), is that sign language cannot be used simultaneously with the other resources cited above. Besides, this philosophy does not give sign language the place it deserves - the deafs' mother tongue. Thus, considering that Bilingualism is the most appropriate educational programme for deaf students (Quadros, op. cit.), this work intends to study the process of written EFL teaching to Brazilian deaf people. .
It is considered that Brazilian deafs have LIBRAS as their natural language (L1) and written and/or spoken Portuguese as their second language (L2). When talking about teaching English to them, we must think about English as a foreign language (EFL) - "a non-native language that has no status as a routine medium of communication in a country- (Crystal, 1997). In this process, it is necessary to teach written English through LIBRAS, because it is believed to be their natural language, the one which really permits them to develop language faculty and thought. Portuguese is used in second place. .
In my own experience as an English teacher of deaf students, I have seen that deaf learners have more difficulties than students in general. For example: it is hard for them to study the verb TO BE because they do not have a signal correspondent for it or still they have a very different one. .
Taking this into consideration, this work poses the following question: what are the Brazilian deaf beginners' difficulties when learning written English? .
