Observation of the development of storytelling skills of seven- and eight-year-old deaf children (N=9) found that subjects who "drafted" their stories in sign language and used role-playing before writing them down produced clearer and more descriptive writing. (CB) (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse on Literacy Education)

A bilingual/bicultural approach is presented to prepare deaf students for community college English courses. The approach focuses on American Sign Language as the primary language and teaches English as a second language. Students learn, in both languages, to differentiate meaning and to render the complexities of language more accessible.…

Reports on a four-month study of deaf education programs conducted in Sweden and Denmark in March of 1990, and discusses three aspects of language learning involving deaf children's learning sign language as a first language, Swedish as a second language, and hearing parents' and teachers' learning of Swedish Sign Language. (14 references)

A collection of German second language instructional materials on driving in West Germany includes: 18 pamphlets on traffic and driving regulations, each with 15 multiple-choice questions in German; an answer key; a text giving background information in English; a vocabulary list with English translation; a chart of traffic signs; and an example…

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)

Learning sign language is a multisensory, high-interest, developmentally appropriate activity for young children. Learning to sign improves children's attention, self-esteem, motivation, sensitivity to others, language development, reading and math readiness, behavior management, vocabularies, and retention; and allows for inclusion of special…

Literature on bilingual education suggests that the material used in teaching second language writing has an impact on the quality of the text. In addition, the material interacts differently with the level of bilingual proficiency of the students. This paper attempts to explore the written stories of three deaf students, which were produced under…

The director of an Early Childhood Development Center located in the Southeast United States developed a practicum to provide Spanish instruction for preschool children. The main goal of the practicum intervention was to increase the Spanish vocabulary of 18 children of 5 years of age by 30 words over a 10-week period. Spanish words were presented…

The proceedings of the conference include the opening address (Francoise Cestac) and these papers: "False Friendship in International Language Planning" (Joseph L. Malone); "Guidelines for Terminology Standardization at the United Nations" (Marie-Josee Jastrab); "Language Policy at the Agence de Cooperation Culturelle et…

Outlines the procedures used to identify, analyze, and organize components of an American Sign Language curriculum, based on processes used to develop second-language curricula. Students are encouraged to develop communicative competence and cultural awareness in a classroom environment, allowing for natural language learning. (CB)

Discusses the rationale for implementing an experimental program for teaching language to young deaf children using a bilingual English as a Second Language approach. A program syllabus class activities, and evaluation procedures are described. (34 references) (CB) (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse on Literacy Education)

Focuses on the literacy problems of deaf people who are seeking employment. The article argues for the provision of adequate English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) literacy skills training, makes programming recommendations, and suggests employment strategies that deaf people need. (12 references) (Author/CK)

Examines the educational purposes of foreign-language requirements and asserts that the study of American Sign Language meets these goals in ways in which other "languages" (English dialects, computer languages) do not. (CB)