Members of the Deaf New American community reported they arrived in the United States with no formal education, unable to read or write in their native language, and had zero fluency in English. Efforts to educate them have floundered, and the study aims to find out why and how to fix the problem. Interviews of eight Deaf New Americans yielded…

For the forty-third time, the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented online during the annual AECT Convention. Volume 1 contains 37 papers dealing primarily with research and development topics. Papers dealing with the…

This 1978 article presents general principles of sign selection, standardization and development, guidelines for sign selection, standardization, and development based on the American Sign Language lexicon, and a process for selection, evaluation, development, recording of vocabulary, signs, and fingerspelled words. The selection of…

This article explores some of the complexities of the question as to whether or not American Sign Language (ASL) is a foreign language. It reviews the historical oppression of the deaf, the development of ASL and its defining value to proponents of deaf culture, mentions other language systems (including foreign sign systems) used by the…

This article addresses whether there are enough ASL teacher preparation programs in the country and how prepared are their graduates. It examines six organizations that provide teaching standards: the Education Section of the National Association of the Deaf, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, the American Sign Language…

Describes the Albuquerque (New Mexico) public school system interpreter service for hearing-impaired students, focusing on costs and benefits, the University of New Mexico's program in sign language interpreting, interpreter evaluation, language policy, and interpreter credentials. (CB)

This digest provides a brief overview of American Sign Language (ASL) and discusses its study as a foreign language in U.S. schools and institutions of higher education. The following questions are addressed: (1) Is ASL a language?; (2) If ASL is used in the United States, how can it be considered a "foreign" language; (3) Are ASL users…

Examines American Sign Language (ASL) in the context of the orality/literacy debate and issues of language and cognition. Posits that ASL is a natural language independent of English, and asserts that examining other modes of language use can illuminate the nature of discourse in both oral and written forms. (MM)

This reprinted article from 1899 argues against the abolition of sign language in the classrooms of students with deafness. It also discusses the benefits of sign language and the ability of sign language to explain words and to convey information. (CR)

This paper discusses the issue of oral versus sign language in educating people who are deaf, focusing on Hungary, which currently emphasizes oralism and discourages the use of Hungarian Sign Language. Teachers of people who are hearing impaired are trained to use the acoustic channel and view signing as an obstacle to the integration of deaf…

Suggests methods for incorporating American Sign Language and knowledge about the deaf culture into a bilingual/bicultural approach to deaf education. (CB)

The nineteenth-century debate over use of the manual versus the oral approach to deaf education is discussed and related to the prevailing social and educational thought. Both approaches are seen as oppressive and antideaf. Current efforts to reconceptualize deafness have produced calls for bilingual-bicultural programs. (IAH)

Examines the concept of linguistic legitimacy (and illegitimacy) using three specific cases--Black English, American Sign Language, and Esperanto. The paper argues that legitimacy is grounded more on personal, political, and ideological biases than on linguistic criteria. (SM)

A survey of directors of 45 educational interpreter training programs found that programs provided few courses on the education of deaf children, the language systems used, and issues specific to classroom interpreting. Directors showed some support for the "interpreter as tutor" role but were equivocal about a special certification for…

Reviews various methods of communication for hearing-impaired individuals, including American Sign Language (ASL) and a computer system which analyzes speech and flashes appropriate symbols onto a wearer's eyeglass lenses to aid in lipreading. Illustrates how an ASL sign can be changed to create a new word. (Author/JN)