ERIC Number: ED530818
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
We Need to Communicate! Helping Hearing Parents of Deaf Children Learn American Sign Language
Weaver, Kimberly A.; Starner, Thad
Online Submission, Paper presented at the Annual ASSETS Conference (Dundee, Scotland, Oct 24-26, 2010)
Language immersion from birth is crucial to a child's language development. However, language immersion can be particularly challenging for hearing parents of deaf children to provide as they may have to overcome many difficulties while learning American Sign Language (ASL). We are in the process of creating a mobile application to help hearing parents learn ASL. To this end, we have interviewed members of our target population to gain understanding of their motivations and needs when learning sign language. We found that the most common motivation for parents learning ASL is better communication with their children. Parents are most interested in acquiring grammar knowledge through learning to read stories to their children. (Contains 1 figure and 2 tables.)
Descriptors: Deafness, Hearing Impairments, American Sign Language, Language Acquisition, Interviews, Parents, Children, Motivation, Parent Child Relationship, Grammar, Story Reading, Educational Technology, Computer Assisted Instruction, Communication Skills, Cultural Influences, Web Sites, Books, Early Intervention, Handheld Devices, Telecommunications, Video Technology
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United States
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R324A100080
Author Affiliations: N/A