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This paper discusses issues of language revitalization and linguistic prescriptivism related to the teaching of American Sign Language (ASL) in Canada. I describe the current and historical context for ASL teaching, including the increase in ASL course offerings at some postsecondary institutions, and discuss findings related to challenges in curriculum development and issues of prescriptivism as they recur in my study of developing an ASL curriculum for parents of deaf children that is aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The view of sign languages as bounded systems is often important for deaf community empowerment and for pedagogical practice in terms of supporting deaf children’s language acquisition and second language learners’ communicative competence. Conversely, the notion of translanguaging in the American Sign Language (ASL) community highlights a number of recurring tensions related to standard language ideology and English-based sign systems in deaf education; these tensions can work to obscure the polyglot nature of ASL itself. This paper reports how translingual practices were embedded in an ethnographic action research study of developing and field-testing an ASL curriculum for parents of young deaf children that is aligned with theCommon European Framework of Reference for Languages(CEFR). In this study of teaching parents classical ASL varieties, translingual practices were highlighted where ASL and the visual code of English are regularly in contact with and influence each other in signers’ multimodal repertoires. This data illustrate the history of translanguaging in ASL communities and points to the importance of preserving historic deaf community language practices. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Glass Vision 3D was a grant-funded project focused on developing and researching a Google Glass app that would allowed young Deaf children to look at the QR code of an object in the classroom and see an augmented reality projection that displays an American Sign Language (ASL) related video. Twenty five objects and videos were prepared and tested by a focus group. Their suggestions were incorporated into a pilot test at a residential school for the Deaf. Four fifth grade students participated in a usability study. Results were mixed with researchers observing successful use of Google Glass by all participants along with enthusiastic engagement, but also recording a lengthy learning curve and hardware issues that distracted from the learning process. Wearable augmented reality is still in its infancy, but potential was demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A feasibility study was conducted to test a storybook intervention to increase early reading skills of 25 young signing deaf children of ages 4-9 in grades K through third grade. The children had wide ranges of hearing losses, non-verbal IQs, and signing skills. All were at risk for developing early reading skills, reading below the first grade level. Using a pre-experimental pre/post test design, standardized tests and early reading tasks, the children changes in letter, word and story knowledge were documented over a full school year. The intervention included 20 weekly story reading sessions with children receive modelling by Deaf story signers, with children using their signing and fingerspelling to practice storybook reading, story reciting, vocabulary learning, fingerspelling and writing skills with easy-to-read picture word/phrase storybooks after modelling from Deaf caregivers and teachers. Future research directions for intervention studies were outlined based on outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

No formal Canadian curriculum presently exists for teaching American Sign Language (ASL) as a second language to parents of deaf and hard of hearing children. However, this group of ASL learners is in need of more comprehensive, research-based support, given the rapid expansion in Canada of universal neonatal hearing screening and the corresponding need for enhanced, early intervention service provision to families with deaf children. Inspired by parent sign language courses that have been developed in the Netherlands, the article outlines the rationale for and first steps toward developing a Canadian parent ASL curriculum framework that is aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The CEFR and its proficiency levels hold much promise for innovation in second language teaching and learning, as they are based in conceptions of the language learner as a social agent who develops general and particular communicative competences while achieving everyday goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on a correlational study of language and home factors and their role in fostering the development of alphabetic knowledge among a national sample of 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old deaf children. A structural equation model was constructed and tested in an examination of the combined impacts of student age, fingerspelling ability, and receptive American Sign Language ability on the participants' ability to write, say, or sign letters of the English alphabet. The resulting models explained more than half of the variance in letter-writing ability and revealed significant independent effects of all three variables. Additionally, ASL skill revealed noteworthy indirect effects through its impact on fingerspelling, emphasizing the importance of the combination of signing and fmgerspelling as predictors of emergent literacy in young deaf children. A follow-up analysis examined the correlations between age and letter writing, as well as those between ASL skill and letter writing, separately for subgroups (defined by parental hearing status and the use of sign in the home). This analysis revealed strong associations between ASL skill and letter writing in signing deaf and hearing families but not in nonsigning hearing families, raising a concern that deaf children in families with no early exposure to a visual language may be at greater risk for delay in their emerging reading abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new test, the ASL Receptive Skills Test (ALS-RST), adapted from the BSL Receptive Skills Test (BSL-RST), was administered to 160 deaf children, ages 3-5, as part of the Early Education Longitudinal Study conducted by the Science of Learning Center on Visual Language and Visual Learning. An analysis of the test's psychometric properties was conducted. The results support the use of the ASL-RST for measuring ASL grammatical knowledge for developing signers at this young age level. The overall reliability of the test across all age groups was .96. An ANOVA revealed significant differences among sample age groups, as well as significant differences among groups of children differentiated by whether their families reported regularly using sign in the home. An analysis of items grouped by the grammatical feature that determined the structure of the ASL-RST showed systematic gains by age and systematic differentiation by the degree of grammatical complexity represented by the items. These grammatical differences in score performance are discussed from a developmental perspective in light of the current research literature on ASL acquisition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sign INSTITUTE is the source of a family of ASL signs that are used to refer to residential schools for deaf children and to other institutions. The members of the INSTITUTE sign family-although initialized-are well-established within the Deaf community and, importantly, are used to refer to highly-valued aspects of Deaf culture. This is true despite the fact that initialized signs are sometimes rejected within the Deaf community. We examine the etymology of the sign INSTITUTE and suggest two plausible hypotheses for its origin. In analyzing the etymology of the sign INSTITUTE and its derivatives, we consider historical changes in how state residential schools for deaf children were named in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies demonstrated a positive relationship between deaf children's ASL acquisition and their English literacy skills and the importance of parental language input. This study examined the role of mothers' ASL skill in the English literacy skills of their deaf children. Mothers and their deaf children in grades six through nine took the TGJASL-R. Correlations were performed to determine if a relationship exists between the mothers' ASL skill level, and the children's English literacy measured by the STAR test. No significant relationship was found; marginal significance was found between the students' ASL skill and their English literacy score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deaf children in the United States who are fluent in American Sign Language and proficient in written English are bilingual, but often those skills must be taught directly in the school setting. This paper explores the development and initial field testing of a system designed to connect technology with tangible books to create interactive stories that model both languages. Interviews with teachers and observations of the students were analyzed. Results indicate that the prototype is feasible to use in classrooms for the Deaf and that it is engaging to the children. Additional research is recommended to test for the effect on literacy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pressing concern in the education of deaf children is their lack of academic success as measured by literacy rates. Most deaf children finish high school reading below a fourth-grade level. Educational television programs have successfully fostered preschool hearing children's emergent literacy skills. As for preschool deaf children, however, there has been only limited research on whether this medium can be effective. This study uses descriptive analyses to determine the type and frequency of literacy behaviors that preschool deaf children engage in while viewing an educational video in American Sign Language. Children were videotaped during three such sessions, and the videos were coded for literacy-related engagement behaviors. The results of this study indicate that preschool deaf children engaged in a variety of such behaviors regardless of age and ASL exposure and that these behaviors increased after multiple video viewings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The attitudes of educators of the deaf and other professionals in deaf education concerning assessment of the use of American Sign Language (ASL) and other sign systems was investigated. A questionnaire was distributed to teachers in a residential school for the deaf in California. In addition to questions regarding the availability of sign language assessment at their schools, participants responded to items concerning their motivation to use a test for sign language measurement. Of the 100 distributed surveys, 85 were completed and returned. Results showed overweening agreement among respondents concerning the importance of sign language assessment, along with the need for tools that appropriately measure signing skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Looks at the importance of providing language and literacy development in children who are deaf or hearing impaired. Significance of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act on deaf children in the U.S.; Potential impact of parents' use of the American Sign Language or Signed English on their children; Situations wherein deaf children uses signed or spoken language; Difference between the use of literacy skills in children who are hearing and children who are deaf.

To learn more about normal language development in deaf children, we have developed the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory for American Sign Language (ASL-CDI), a parent report that measures early sign production. The ASL-CDI is an inventory of sign glosses organized into semantic categories targeted to assess sign language skills in children ages 8 to 36 months. The ASL-CDI uses a recognition format in which parents check off signs that their child produces. The form has demonstrated excellent reliability and validity. To date, normative data have been collected from 69 deaf children with deaf parents who are learning sign language as a first language. We discuss the development of the ASl-CDI and preliminary cross-sectional and longitudinal findings from this early data collection with particular focus on parallels with spoken language acquisition. We also discuss the acquisition of first signs, negation, wh-questions, and fingerspelling with developmental patterns provided based on age, as well as vocabulary size. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Focuses on a study which examined the American Sign Language-based (ASL) literacy practices in a residential school for deaf third-graders, with emphasis on culture, while highlighting their school skills and ability to engage in literacy activities. Observations made in the classroom; Information on the ways native competence in ASL works; Detailed information on the school.

Focuses on the study and teaching of American sign language to deaf children in the United States. Efforts of Elissa Newport, a professor from University of California, San Diego in teaching sign language to deaf children; Test exercise for American sign language; Comparison between the learning ability of children and adult.

The author comments on Bilingual-Bicultural (Bi-Bi) instruction for deaf children. Bi-Bi instruction is explained as an approach in which American Sign Language (ASL) is taught first and used to learn English for reading and writing. As of 2007, only 11% of deaf children were taught using sign language alone. The author contends that if Bi-Bi spreads to general education, that a base of supporting research for the approach is needed.