Sign language learners are a heterogenous group who have different motivations for embarking on formal studies. It is apparent at the outset that many learners are uninformed about sign languages and the deaf community. It has been previously noted that societies often lack the understanding that signed languages are valid languages, and have…

The realisation of the linguistic rights of Deaf individuals is, to a considerable extent, dependent upon whether there are majority language speakers who acquire a sign language as an L2 and use their L2 skills. Still, the motivation of hearing persons in learning sign languages as L2s is a largely unmapped area. This study seeks to capture the…

This book challenges the reader to consider issues of language and linguistic discrimination as they impact world language education. Using the nexus of race, language, and education as a lens through which one can better understand the role of the world language education classroom as both a setting of oppression and as a potential setting for…

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…

Deaf and hard-of-hearing (D/HH) learners have the right to equal access to knowledge and information which entails equal opportunities in learning foreign languages (FLs). As part of a larger project, the present study aims at exploring how students in eight specialised institutions across Hungary perceive the challenge of learning a FL. Following…

Although American Sign Language (ASL) has a long and rich history in America and scholarly research on ASL is in its third decade, ASL has been slow to garner any degree of status in the academic community, although some higher education institutions are beginning to consider ASL for their foreign-language curriculum. (CB)

Describes the long process through which American Sign Language (ASL) was accepted in fulfillment of the foreign-language requirement at the University of New Mexico. It was discovered the mutual discovery and sharing of facts about ASL in the long deliberations proved effective. (CB)

Suggests methods for incorporating American Sign Language and knowledge about the deaf culture into a bilingual/bicultural approach to deaf education. (CB)

American higher education must extend its notion of pluralistic recognition and inquiry to the language and culture of the deaf community and appreciate the individual gifts that this cultural group brings to the whole society. (CB)

Although American Sign Language (ASL) currently lacks an accepted writing system, one of the common reasons why it is not accepted for credit in foreign language programs, ASL does have a rich literary tradition. Several curricular remedies to improve those sign language courses are proposed. (CB)

Teachers of American Sign Language (ASL) can no longer qualify just by being able to sign well or by being deaf. ASL teachers must respect the language and its history, feel comfortable interacting with the deaf community, have completed formal study of language and pedagogy, be familiar with second-language teaching, and engage in personal and…

Describes the considerable amount of work and lengthy process of passing legislation to give foreign-language credit for American sign language in California high schools. (CB)

An examination of the linguistics of American Sign Language (ASL) establishes beyond a doubt that ASL is a natural language distinct from English and provides insight into how the abstract cognitive system called language finds expression in the signed modality. (CB)

An anthropological study of the American Deaf Culture points out that its members do not merely constitute a subculture and that study of American Sign Language, like many other foreign languages, offers knowledge of not only a natural language but also the culture in which it is used. (CB)

Academic acceptance of American Sign Language (ASL) and its speakers can be achieved if higher education institutions make affirmative action training and employment commitments to deaf individuals. (CB)