ASL and ESL?

Abstract

This article examines research on various language and communication systems used with deaf children, and concludes that the two major approaches presently in use, oral English (OE) and manually coded English (MCE), have produced only limited results. A program of research to examine the effects of a third approach, American Sign Language (ASL), is proposed. The approach advocates the instructional use of ASL as a first language and the teaching of English as a second language to deaf children.

Sign Language Standardization

“…From its inception and continuing until the shift to oralism, deaf education in our country encouraged ASL as a first language, used competent deaf adults as models, and appears to have achieved satisfactory results in teaching English (Lane 1984, Lou 1988. More recently, numerous scholars, both deaf and hearing, have called for the institution of programs broadly labelled as bilingual education (Kannapell 1974(Kannapell , 1978Woodward 1978;Erting 1978;Stevens 1980;Quigley and Paul 1984;Strong 1988). Each of these proposals shares our view that ASL should be the first language of deaf children, that English should be taught according to the principles of teaching English as a second language (ESL) and that the ultimate goal of the system is well-educated, bilingual children.…”

Multimeaning Words and Reading Comprehension

“…It is well documented in the literature that most hearing impaired students fail to acquire reading skills commensurate with their hearing counterparts (King & Quigley, 1985;Paul & Quigley, 1987;Quigley & Paul, 1984a, 1984b. Their reading difficulties have been attributed in part to inadequate vocabulary knowledge, particularly with multiple meanings of words and related associations and concepts (Letourneau, 1972;MacGinitie, 1969;Paul, 1984).…”