To help teachers and administrators of American Sign Language (ASL) design and implement effective ASL programs, this Digest answers questions about ASL and the essential components of an ASL program, including ASL course design, methods and approaches for teaching ASL as a second language, and ASL instructional materials. (nine references) (VWL)

Examines the literature on teachers' use of signing in the classroom for clues about future directions in research that aim to improve the academic performance of deaf students. Suggests that it is not by concentrating solely on the question of whether American Sign Language or some form of English-based signing should dominate in the classrooms.…

A survey was conducted with 67 science teachers who taught deaf children at the elementary school level. Teacher background variables, information about teacher preparation and certification, preferred teaching methods, communication methodologies, curriculum, and the use of technology were gathered. A purposeful, convenience sampling technique…

Points out that the prelingually deaf, whose first language is American Sign, need to learn English as a second language (ESL). The teaching methods of ESL have been successful when applied to deaf education, and there is a need for improved coorporation between teachers of the deaf and ESL teachers. (Author/SED)

This article investigates the ways in which an experienced deaf teacher is able to extend the discourse in his classroom and enable his students to participate. We saw that he employs several approaches, some but not all of which depend on his native competence in ASL. Further research with other native signing teachers could lead to the…

This article describes the implementation of one element of an adapted language arts curriculum for Deaf students in a bilingual (American Sign Language and English) educational setting. It examines the implementation of writing workshops in three elementary classrooms in a school for Deaf students. The typical steps of preparing/planning,…

Teachers of deaf and hard of hearing students must serve as language models for their students. However, preservice deaf education teachers typically have at most only four semesters of American Sign Language (ASL) training. How can their limited ASL instructional time be used to increase their proficiency? Studies involving deaf and hard of…

Longitudinal research has demonstrated that English abilities of deaf children remain below that of hearing children. Vygotsky's perspective on language and cognition is used to support an alternative approach for the study of English. (15 references) (LB)

Provides a bilingual perspective about literacy development in deaf students and uses the bilingual perspective to recommend effective teaching strategies for this group of students with special needs. (Author/VWL)

This book asserts that deaf students should be treated no differently from non-deaf students and that American Sign Language (ASL) and English can coexist in the classroom, embedded in the content being taught. It stresses that language acquisition, whether oral or manual, as well as the learning of reading and writing or subject content, are all…

Shows that 17 kindergarten children receiving sign language instruction tested significantly higher on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test than 17 kindergartners receiving no such instruction. The study's findings confirm that simultaneously presenting words visually, kinesthetically, and orally offers an advantage to young learners. (23…

The editor of a treatise encouraging the use of American Sign Language for both school and home instruction and communication with the deaf discusses the instructional trends leading to the theory, differences between the suggested instructional methods and previously used methods, and responses to the treatise. (10 references) (CB)

Describes a residential school classroom for deaf third graders. A critical school skill, the ability to engage in literacy activities, grows from the ability to exploit American Sign Language-based (ASL) literacy practices, which are indigenous to the culture of signing deaf people and critical for literacy learning when ASL is the medium of…

The following articles are presented in the section of the Northeast Conference Report on less frequently taught languages: (1) "American Sign Language," by M. Conwell and A. Nelson; (2) "Chinese," by D. Gidman; (3) "Japanese," by J. P. Berwald and T. Phipps; (4) "Latin," by M. Cleary; (5) "Portuguese," by R. Pedro Carvalho; and (6) "Russian," by…

The article stresses the importance of teaching deaf children to think and learn through the development of meaning-making and meaning-sharing capacities. Classroom practices should thus be content focused and actively engage students in American Sign Language to develop general literacy. (CL)