Integrative ASL-English Language Arts: Bridging Paths to Literacy

Abstract

A qualitative study was conducted to examine principles and instructional strategies for teaching English literacy through ASL and for teaching ASL as a language art. The study site was an ASL/English bilingual charter school for deaf children where a majority of teachers are deaf and all are fluent in ASL and English. The author describes and interprets six principles for teaching English literacy through ASL as well as the instructional strategies that support these principles. The study suggests that �integrative ASL/English language arts,� in which attending and signing explicitly support reading and writing development, is conducive to English literacy development.

The design of a software to enhance the reading comprehension skills of deaf students: An integration of multiple theoretical perspectives

“…Based on the preliminary data derived from the participating teachers' evaluations, all students were willing to interact with the software and most importantly to read the texts and made an effort to understand them with the use of visual aids, mainly GSL videos and pictures. The knowledge of a sign language provides an accessible route for active involvement with the language content in a reading text (Bailes 2001). Therefore users who were proficient in GSL used the videos.…”

“…1 Step-sequence of "See and See" enrich the students' schemata, which can aid reading comprehension (Schirmer 2000). Furthermore, the synchronization between text and video may serve as a visual technique to help the child bridge GSL and Greek, which is essential for readers who are fluent in a sign language but are required to learn to read the print form of a spoken language (Bailes 2001). b) At the end of certain sentences or paragraphs a hyper-linked icon exists that, when clicked, evokes a picture, which is provided above the text-window, replacing the former video-window.…”

Deaf Individuals’ Bilingual Abilities: American Sign Language Proficiency, Reading Skills, and Family Characteristics

“…In contrast to the deficit model, which uses strategies developed for hearing children to teach deaf children (Perfetti & Sandak, 2000), beginning in the late 1980's bilingual education programs were suggested as appropriate strategies for increasing deaf individuals' reading levels (Johnson, Liddell, & Erting, 1998). Since that time, the number of bilingual programs has increased in academic settings (Bailes, 2001;Benedict & Sass-Lehrer, 2007;Hermans, Knoors, Ormel, & Verhoeven, 2008;Singleton, Supalla, Litchfield, & Schley, 1998;Wilbur, 2000). Current research that focuses on bilingualism with deaf individuals highlights the use of ASL for general communication, as well as for teaching English, reading, and writing (Allen, 2002).…”

Exploring Linguistic Interdependence between American Sign Language and English through Correlational and Multiple Regression Analyses of the Abilities of Biliterate Deaf Adults

“…They must embed the writer's intention within prosodic features (Hansen & Mosqueria, 1996). Learning to read English using this type of approach is extremely difficult (Bailes, 2001). Sophisticated codeswitching strategies must be applied to concurrently engage both languages (Bailes, 2001;Padden & Ramsey, 1998).…”

“…Learning to read English using this type of approach is extremely difficult (Bailes, 2001). Sophisticated codeswitching strategies must be applied to concurrently engage both languages (Bailes, 2001;Padden & Ramsey, 1998). Metalinguistic awareness of both languages is therefore necessitated to attain functional English literacy (Livingston, 1997;Nover & Andrews, 1998 Moores et al (1987Moores et al ( , 1990 130 Found non-significant relationships between ASL language proficiency interviews and a composite of five standardized English reading measures for students age 16-18.…”