Language barriers negatively affect access to social services, particularly for D/deaf populations who use Sign Language. "D/deaf" is used to encompass both the cultural conception of capital-D Deafness and the medical conception of lowercase-d deafness. Language translation/interpretation is a common need among practitioners of social,…

American Sign Language (ASL) courses in U.S. higher education often inadequately incorporate multicultural content, with many educators lacking knowledge of multiculturalism and relevant cultural resources. The purpose of this study was the exploration of ASL educators' perspectives on the incorporation of multicultural content in ASL classrooms…

This qualitative study focused on the synergistic experience of a group of Deaf and hearing participants during a 2-week international study-abroad program to investigate the impact of immersing hearing American Sign Language (ASL) undergraduate majors with culturally Deaf faculty and doctoral students. 20 participants included undergraduate…

Critical pedagogy and social justice education have gained increasing attention in recent years in many subject matters, and world language education has been no exception to this trend. There are a number of works dedicated to critical pedagogy in world language education. At the same time that such concerns have gained attention, another…

Despite the upward trajectory of formal American Sign Language (ASL) instruction, evidence-based practices remain in a rudimentary stage of development. Previously, no known studies had distinctly investigated supplemental ASL laboratories (ASL labs), despite over half of ASL instructors utilizing them alongside their classes. This qualitative…

We conducted an interpretative phenomenological analysis of five counseling students' experiences collaborating with American Sign Language-interpreting students during counseling practice sessions. Themes were identified in developmental domains of counselor self-awareness, counseling relationship, and advocacy interventions. Interdisciplinary…

A significant gap has been identified in research-based findings and classroom instructional practices of hearing ASL teachers in high schools in the U.S. (Rosen, 2015). Research has shown the absence of standardized ASL instructional guidelines, rules, and procedures has created a significant gap in teaching and learning practices at the high…

This article explores the experiences of Spanish-speaking Latinx university students in a sign language interpreting program who were enrolled in service-learning classes. In the service-learning classes, the students partnered with a community service agency for the deaf that provided intervention services to Spanish-speaking families with deaf…

Through participation in LGBTQI conferences, one can gain political knowledge, leadership skills, professional networking opportunities, and personal development experiences. These opportunities become more complex to navigate for Deaf individuals who hold other marginalized identities, such as those who identify as Queer Trans Deaf People of…

While there are many difficulties faced by world language educators, both teachers and students of certain languages--languages commonly identified with countries and cultures deemed to be hostile to the United States--often find themselves in uniquely paradoxical situations. This article begins with a brief anecdotal description of the personal…

This study examined the variation in cultural competence among leaders in four different residential schools for the Deaf across the United States. The study explored where leaders fell on the cultural continuum, and how this was reflected in the schools in the way each perceived and validated Deaf culture as well as other cultures present in the…

In recent years, deaf and hard of hearing people have raised awareness about the importance of providing early intervention, support, and resources for deaf and hard of hearing children, emphasizing the importance of using American Sign Language (ASL). With ASL, parents and educators can capitalize on the child's vision to ensure he or she is…

This article discusses the joys, rewards, and challenges of using Deaf history as a framework for teaching Deaf studies, Deaf history and culture, and American Sign Language to hearing undergraduates in a liberal arts college oriented to social justice.

A small group of interpreters was interviewed with regard to their view of learning ASL and becoming bicultural. A model of identity was then postulated based on Hegel's dialectic (Wheat 2012) of thesis (presuppositions, stereotypes, or theories about ASL and the Deaf community), antithesis (conflicting experiences), and synthesis (new…

This article puts forward a solution to the impending shortage of culturally and linguistically competent interpreters: the education of heritage signers as heritage language learners. It examines the current landscape of American Sign Language (ASL) as a course of study and the difficulties heritage signers report when they begin learning ASL. In…