Introduction
American Sign Language (ASL) is a distinct, fully-developed language that has
its own unique grammar and is distinct from English as well as from English-based
sign systems. In recent years, ASL classes have experienced increased enrollment
as more people become interested in studying the language. In fact, a growing
number of colleges and universities accept ASL classes in fulfillment of foreign
language requirements (Wilcox & Peyton, 1999).
The purpose of this Resource Guide is to provide resources and information
on ASL to those who are interested in learning it, would like to learn more about
the language, or are already involved in ASL education either as a teacher or
a student. While the topic of ASL is inherently related to the broader subjects
of deafness and Deaf culture, this Resource Guide provides information
related primarily to the language itself, with only limited information on the
issues that surround it.
Reference
Wilcox, S., & Peyton, J. (1999). American Sign Language as a Foreign
Language (ERIC Digest). Washington, DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and
Linguistics.
Acknowledgements
ERIC/CLL is grateful to Sherman Wilcox, University of New Mexico;
Gerald Berent, National Technical Institute for the Deaf; and Joan Naturale, Rochester
Institute of Technology Wallace Memorial Library, for their valuable assistance
in compiling this Resource Guide Online.
Digests
American
Sign Language as a Foreign Language
ESL Literacy for a Linguistic Minority: The Deaf Experience
Teaching ASL as a Second Language
Dictionaries
American Sign Language
Dictionary and Inflection Guide links thousands of ASL signs to actual sentences
and shows how signs are inflected from sentence to sentence to express different
meanings. This CD-ROM is available through the Rochester Institute of Technology
bookstore. Click "Merchandise" then "Deafness Videos and CDs".
The American Sign Language Browser provides a searchable database
of ASL signs. All signs are demonstrated via video clips.
The ASL Fingerspelling
Dictionary includes demonstrations of fingerspelling in ASL. It also has a
dictionary and fingerspelling converter (type a word and it will be shown in fingerspelling),
as well as a quiz to practice reading fingerspelled words.
The Handspeak Web site
offers a wide range of video clips and images of words and phrases in ASL and
other signed languages. Full access to this service requires a paid subscription.
Visitors to the site can view samples from the dictionary and access brief articles.
Web Sites
Boston University’s American Sign Language Linguistic Research Project includes
investigation of the syntactic structure of ASL and development of multimedia
tools to facilitate access to and analysis of primary data for sign language research.
This site provides many resources for researchers involved in ASL studies, including
links to relevant publications, doctoral dissertations, project reports, and presentations.
Deaflinx has many different
resources on ASL and Deaf culture, including a list of research materials, discussion
boards, a book list, and helpful links to other resources. This Web site also
includes information about finding ASL classes, as well as links to various videos,
books, and other materials for teaching or learning ASL.
The Interpreter’s Friend offers many different resources for
those involved in ASL interpreting, including full-text articles on interpreting
in different situations, links to helpful resources for interpreters, and information
from professional development workshops for interpreters.
The National Technical Institute for the Deaf provides a bibliographic
index to journal literature, newsletters, and other publications related to ASL,
interpreting, Deaf Studies, and Deaf History. This Web site includes a search
engine that allows visitors to locate research and resources by author, title,
subject, or periodical.
Sherman Wilcox, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Linguistics
at the University of New Mexico, hosts an ASL as a foreign
language Web page that includes resources on the issue of ASL being considered
a foreign language for the purposes of university requirements. The site also
includes a list of colleges and universities that accept ASL in fulfillment of
foreign language requirements and links to helpful articles on this topic.
SignWritingSite provides
a wealth of information about SignWriting, a writing system that uses visual symbols
to represent the handshapes, movements, and facial expressions of signed languages.
Resources on this site include a Textbook-on-the Web with lessons in SignWriting,
a dictionary, software, research, an online library, and several SignWriting forums.
SEA: Supporting English
Acquistion provides a series of modules that address aspects of English structure
and usage for use by educators of deaf and hard-of hearing students and other
students of English as a second language.
The Yamada Language Center at the University of Oregon has an
ASL page that includes links to downloads for several finger-spelling fonts for
PC and Mac and an extensive list of links to ASL resources including dictionaries
and ASL software.
Organizations
The American Sign Language Teachers’ Association is the national
professional organization for those involved in ASL and Deaf studies education.
Their Web site includes association news, information about ASL teaching certification
and ASL-related legislation, and a list of helpful links.
The Conference of Interpreter
Trainers (CIT) aims to support quality education for interpreters working
with ASL and English. CIT has developed national standards for sign language interpreters
and provides professional development opportunities for interpreter educators.
CIT also advocates for research related to the practice and instruction of sign
language interpretation.
Gallaudet University’s Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center was founded to
develop and evaluate curricula, instructional techniques, strategies, and materials
for teaching deaf children from birth to age 21. The Communication and Sign Language section of this Web site provides
links to a number of resources related to ASL.
The National Association of the
Deaf is a private, nonprofit organization that provides a variety of services,
including certification of interpreters and other ASL professionals, and advocacy
for the rights of deaf and hard of hearing Americans. The NAD Web site provides
responses to frequently asked questions, and NAD staff members sponsor a question-answering
service for questions related to deafness and ASL.
Videos and Software
American Sign Language
Dictionary and Inflection Guide links thousands of ASL signs to actual sentences
and shows how signs are inflected from sentence to sentence to express different
meanings. This CD-ROM is available through the Rochester Institute of Technology
bookstore. Click "Merchandise" then "Deafness Videos and CDs".
ASLAccess is a nonprofit
organization of volunteers that provides ASL video resources to libraries across
the United States. Their Web site includes responses to frequently asked questions,
information on how to obtain ASL videos for libraries, links to articles on ASL,
lists of libraries that have over 200 ASL videos, and an extensive bibliographic
list of ASL videos.
ASL Videos offers 147
videos for teaching and learning ASL, as well as videos in ASL (including some
with voice-overs or captioning in English) for both deaf and hearing children
and adults.
Dawn Sign Press publishes
a wide variety of books, videos, and instructional materials for teaching and
learning ASL, as well as materials in ASL for deaf children and adults. They publish
a popular three-level series of materials for learning ASL, Signing Naturally, which includes student videotexts and workbooks.
Palatine is
a Seattle-based publisher that produces a number of software programs for learning
ASL.
Sign Enhancers
produce and sell a wide range of videos, books, and software on ASL, including
resources for learning ASL, interpreting, and Deaf culture/Deaf education.
Sign Media produces and
distributes videos and books about ASL, interpreting, and Deaf culture, including
videos and books for children. Their Web site provides a wealth of information
about Deaf culture and ASL, including information about ASL linguistics.
Journals
American Annals
of the Deaf is a scholarly journal devoted to issues dealing with deafness
and the education of deaf persons.
CAEDHH Journal/La Revue ACESM, the official journal of the
Canadian Association of Educators of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, offers a variety
of articles related to ASL and the education of deaf and hard of hearing individuals.
Journal of Deaf Studies
and Deaf Education, published by Oxford University Press, includes a wide
variety of articles on deafness and ASL. Issues from 1999 through the present
are available full-text online; abstracts of earlier issues are also available
online.
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, published
by the American Speech-Hearing Association, frequently includes articles on ASL
and other signed languages.
Sign Language & Linguistics, which is available via a
print or electronic subscription, includes articles on sign languages—including
ASL—within the larger context of linguistics.
Sign Language
Studies, founded by William C. Stokoe—considered by many to be the father
of the linguistic study of sign language—includes articles on ASL linguistics,
interpreting, deafness, and the Deaf community.
Listservs
SLLING-L (Sign Language Linguistics List) , part of the Linguistlist
network, provides an email discussion forum for ASL educators and others involved
in sign language studies.
TeachASL was created to facilitate ongoing dialogue among
those who teach ASL in a variety of settings.
Books
Bahan, B., & Dannis, J. (1990). Signs for Me: Basic Sign Vocabulary for Children, Parents
& Teachers. San Diego: Dawn Sign Press.
Baker-Shenk, C., Cokely, D., & Baker-Shenk, D. (1991). American Sign Language:
A Teacher's Resource Text on Grammar and Culture (American Sign Language
Series).Washington, DC: Clerc Books, Gallaudet University Press.
Cokely, D., & Baker-Shenk, C. (1991). American Sign Language:
A Teacher's Resource Text on Curriculum, Methods, and Evaluation (American
Sign Language Series). Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press.
Emmory, K., & Lane, H. (Eds.). (2000). The signs of language revisited: An anthology to honor Ursula
Bellugi and Edward Klima. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Klima, E., & Bellugi, U. (1988). The signs
of language. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Liddell, S. K. (2003). Grammar, gesture,
and meaning in American sign language. New York: Cambridge University
Press.
Neidle, C., Kegl, J., MacLaughlin, D., Bahan, B., & Lee, R. (1999). The Syntax of American Sign Language: Functional Categories and
Hierarchical Structure. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Schein, J., & Stewart, D. (1995). Language in Motion:
Exploring the Nature of Sign. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press.
Valli, C., & Lucas, C. (2001). Linguistics of
American Sign Language: An Introduction. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press.
ERIC Documents
The documents listed below were identified by searching the ERIC database using
the following combination of ERIC descriptors and keywords:
American Sign Language (as a major descriptor)
AND
PY>1998 (published 1998 or later)
You may wish to conduct your own search of the ERIC database on the World Wide
Web. If you need help with your search, call 1-800-276-9834 or email our User
Services staff. Information on obtaining the documents listed below can be found
at the end of this section or by clicking here.
ED459557
Using Sign Language in Your Classroom.
Lawrence, Constance D.
April 19, 2001
This paper reviews the research on use of American Sign Language in elementary
classes that do not include children with hearing impairment and also reports
on the use of the manual sign language alphabet in a primary class learning the
phonetic sounds of the alphabet. The research reported is overwhelmingly positive
in support of using sign language, especially in preschool and kindergarten, to
enhance reading and communication skills. It notes that sign language appears
to enhance brain activity on both sides of the brain and has been proven successful
in a total communication reading program for students with learning disabilities
and mental retardation. Its successful use to maintain behavior control and foster
self-esteem, attention, on-task behavior, communication skills, and academics
is also noted. A high level of student interest and improved motivation was noted
in the class studied.
ED450534
Critical Pedagogy in Deaf Education: Teachers' Reflections on Creating a Bilingual
Classroom for Deaf Learners. Year 3 Report (1999-2000). USDLC Star Schools Project
Report No. 3.
Nover, Stephen M.; Andrews, Jean F.
September 30, 2000
This report covers year 3 of a 5-year longitudinal study that is applying a bilingual
language approach to development of American Sign Language (ASL) and English language
and literacy skills in deaf learners. Specifically, the report describes how 45
teachers and mentors in five residential schools participated in inservice training
on the use of bilingual and English as a Second Language (ESL) methodologies and
practices with deaf children. Teachers kept written reflective logs as they participated
in weekly seminars for 24 weeks. Conclusions of the project to date support a
dual language developmental bilingual approach in ASL and English but do not support
the mixing of languages as in a sign-supported speech environment. Implications
of the project include increased use of bilingual and ESL methodologies in inservice
teacher training and a closer attention to background variables of deaf students
as they affect language learning. Conclusions also suggest that many public school
programs are failing deaf students and exacerbating their language delays, that
schools for the deaf need to reform their language teaching and learning environments,
and that widespread mainstreaming of young deaf children without ASL and Deaf
culture support is not working. Six appendices provide teaching training syllabi,
questionnaires, and other project related materials. (Contains 52 references.)
ED449662
Is American Sign Language a "Foreign" Language?
Belka, Robert W.
2000
This article explores some of the complexities of the question as to whether or
not American Sign Language (ASL) is a foreign language. It reviews the historical
oppression of the Deaf, the development of ASL and its defining value to proponents
of Deaf culture, mentions other language systems (including foreign sign systems)
used by the deaf--specifically comparing ASL and English, posits arguments for
considering ASL a foreign language, and examines what having a hearing student
learning ASL as a second language might gain and lose by selecting ASL over a
traditional language like German. It is concluded that for native American English
speakers, ASL is not a foreign language. However, it is argued that it should
be able to be counted as one for the purposes of educational requirements, even
if it is likewise concluded that the learner of a traditional language like German
or Italian gets a far higher payback.
ED449661
But Does It "Count"? Reflections on "Signing" as a Foreign Language.
Reagan, Timothy
2000
This article addresses a number of common confusions that characterize much of
the debate about the status of American Sign Language (ASL) as a foreign language
option. The article begins with a broad overview of the nature and characteristics
of different kinds of signing as they are used in the Deaf culture and between
the Deaf and hearing worlds. Next it moves to a discussion of some of the concerns
and issues that have been raised in recent years with respect to the question
of whether learning to sign ought to count as a foreign language in various American
educational institutions and settings. It then focuses on the issue of selecting
and evaluating both instructors and curricular materials for ASL classes. It concludes
with an explanation of some of the political and ideological issues that the inclusion
of ASL as a foreign language appears to have raised. Deaf culture and its relationship
with the wider society is discussed at length in postmodern, critical terms.
ED449660
American Sign Language Instruction: Moving from Protest to Practice.
Wallinger, Linda M.
2000
Many educational institutions have already determined that American Sign Language
(ASL) is indeed a language, that it has a culture, and it is sufficiently foreign
to fulfill a foreign language requirement. Consequently, schools and universities
struggle to place ASL in the context of academic foreign language programs. The
challenge is to develop state curriculum frameworks, local curricula, and teacher
licensure requirements that establish ASL as a viable contender among its academic
counterparts. This article describes the steps that have been taken in Virginia
to allow ASL to fulfill the foreign language requirement for an advanced studies
diploma, including the development of state curriculum framework and teacher licensure
requirements. The article provides a historical background of ASL in America ASL
and the national standards for foreign language learning, applying national standards
to ASL instruction, the Virginia framework for instruction of ASL, and teacher
licensure requirements in Virginia. Twelve references are included, as are two
appendices, Framework for Instruction of American Sign Language in Virginia Public
Schools, March 1998 and Proposed Amendment to Licensure Regulations for School
Personnel.
ED437755
Improving the Delivery of the Sign-Language Instruction Program for Parents of
Children Who Are Deaf and Receiving Services from a School for the Deaf.
Toth, Anne E.
1999
This report discusses the outcomes of a practicum designed to address the lack
of parent participation in American Sign Language (ASL) training by parents of
children with hearing impairments. Using a pretest-posttest design, 46 parents
of children who are deaf and receive services from a school for the deaf were
surveyed. Based on the needs assessed in the pre-implementation survey, an implementation
plan was developed using the resources of the school, parents, and community.
Concerns of the parents were identified and four outcomes were specified and achieved.
The program aimed at increasing awareness, attendance, use, and active involvement
of parents in deciding the kind of sign-language instruction they want for themselves.
The post- implementation survey data gave evidence of a 10 percent increase in
all four targeted areas. As a result of the program there was an increase from
21 to 39 parents of the 184 eligible parents using the sign-language instruction
programs that were offered. Appendices include the Sign-Language Instruction Program
Survey for Parents, letters to parents, a synthesis of data compiled from the
pre- and post-
implementation surveys, and the summary report to parents on practicum completion.
EJ631543
In a Different Voice: Sign Language Preservation and America's Deaf Community.
Burch, Susan
Bilingual Research Journal, v24 n4 p443-64 Fall 2000
Oralism, which teaches lip reading and speech instead of American Sign Language
(ASL), was hostile to Deaf culture in the early 1900s. Deaf resistance to oralism
solidified the Deaf community through support of Deaf teachers; establishment
of Deaf newspapers, clubs, and churches; and production of sign-language films
and dictionaries.
EJ629557
Sign Language versus Spoken Language.
Stokoe, William C.
Sign Language Studies, v1 n4 p407-25 Sum 2001
Suggests that various parts of the grammar of American Sign Language--particularly
its verb and pronoun system--give convincing evidence that such grammar cannot
have derived from the grammars of spoken languages; rather the continuity is from
cognitive activity expressed in Signs toward linguistic organization both of the
expressive material and the semantic, and thence to spoken language.
EJ629555
Pearls of Wisdom: What Stokoe Told Us about Teaching.
Stewart, David A.
Sign Language Studies, v1 n4 p344-61 Sum 2001
Looks at what William Stokoe taught educators about teaching deaf children. Among
his ideas were that signing is more than just a away to communicate, deaf children
should begin to acquire sign language during their infant years, teaching begins
with a commitment to one's beliefs, good teachers are innovative thinkers, and
it is important to look at the whole child.
EJ627975
Deaf Children Creating Written Texts: Contributions of American Sign Language
and Signed Forms of English.
Mayer, Connie; Akamatsu, C. Tane
American Annals of the Deaf, v145 n5 p394-403 Dec 2000
A study involving three children who are deaf (grades 7-8) investigated the ways
in which American Sign Language (ASL) and English-based sign allow for comprehension
of text content. Retelling, proposition, and feature analysis scores indicate
students understood the fable texts whether they were presented in ASL or English-based
sign.
EJ627875
Say It with Sign Language.
Crawford, Wendy
Principal, v80 n5 p30-32 May 2001
Impressed by Marilyn Daniels' research on the educational benefits of signing
for hearing children, a New Jersey early childhood education center trained its
staff in sign language as a teaching tool. Students enthusiastically incorporated
sign language into their activities as they increased word recognition and vocabulary
growth.
EJ621530
Integrative ASL-English Language Arts: Bridging Paths to Literacy.
Bailes, Cynthia Neese
Sign Language Studies, v1 n2 p147-74 Win 2001
A study of a bilingual program in a Deaf school in Minnesota examines the following:
the principles primary grade teachers articulate and demonstrate as important
for the use of American Sign Language (ASL) to teach English literacy; the strategies
primary grade teachers use to teach English literacy through ASL; and how primary
grade teachers use ASL in the listening and speaking components of the language
arts program.
EJ589544
Effects of Rate of Presentation on the Reception of American Sign Language.
Fischer, Susan D.; Delhorne, Lorraine A.; Reed, Charlotte M.
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, v42 n3 p568-82 Jun 1999
Videotaped productions of isolated American Sign Language signs or sentences were
presented at speeds of two to six times normal. Results indicated a breakdown
in intelligibility at around 2.5 to 3 times the normal rate. Results are similar
to those found for auditory reception of time-compressed speech suggesting a modality-
independent limit to language processing.
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