While current debates oppose the cochlear implant's privileging of speech acquisition to teaching sign language, nineteenth-century debates, in contrast, opposed those who saw sign language as a tool for learning to read and write, and those who saw in it an autonomous language for organizing thought itself. Should the order of gestural signs…

Describes a Centre Mondial Informatique et Resources Humaines (CIMRH) investigation of kindergarten children's written language learning and links between play and learning. Computer software was used by students for language learning, and observations centered on student computer use, learning of written language and play, and computer…