Maritime Sign Language (MSL) emerged in the easternmost provinces in Canada with origins traced as far back as to the Weald, a region in Southeastern England. Therefore, British sign language is a root language that led to the creation of MSL. This type of language emersion is known as a Deaf community sign language, which occurs when Deaf people…

Maritime Sign Language (MSL) is a Canadian, minority sign language that originally stems from British Sign Language (BSL). Currently used by elderly Deaf people in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland (and Labrador), it is a moribund language, having undergone language shift to American Sign Language (ASL). MSL is…

This study investigated through an online survey how sign language practitioners changed their sign language assessment practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey consisted of five sections and 29 questions overall. It was provided in written English and German as well as in International Sign and was administered online between October…

The Deaf Ontario Now movement of 1988 called for more hiring of deaf teachers and the full implementation of American Sign Language (ASL) across the curriculum in schools with deaf students. In 1989, the "Review of Ontario Education Programs for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students" recommended that ASL become a language of instruction at…

This paper discusses issues of language revitalization and linguistic prescriptivism related to the teaching of American Sign Language (ASL) in Canada. I describe the current and historical context for ASL teaching, including the increase in ASL course offerings at some postsecondary institutions, and discuss findings related to challenges in…

This article discusses some issues in Canadian sign language recognition in light of the federal government's recent introduction of an "Accessible Canada Act" and related deaf community activism. We identify gaps in knowledge surrounding sign language use, including communicative practices of deaf Indigenous peoples, and outline the…

In Canada, sign language interpreters (SLIs) often work in environments where they are exposed to traumatic material, such as mental health settings, but may lack adequate supports and/or specialized training to manage the potential negative implications associated with working with trauma. The primary aim of the present study was to examine…

Six students and six parents were interviewed about the use of Cued Speech (CS) in an inclusive context in Quebec, Canada. The objective of the study was to describe their perceptions of the use of the French version of Cued Speech in high school and to identify factors that could influence these perceptions. The results of the semi-structured…

It is common practice for K-12 schools to assess multilingual students' language proficiency to determine language support program placement. Because such programs can provide essential scaffolding, the policies guiding these assessments merit careful consideration. It is well accepted that quality assessments must be valid (representative of the…

This article presents a portrait of two community-level and legal efforts in Canada to obtain official recognition of ASL and LSQ (Langue des signes quebecoise), both of which are recognized as official languages by the Canadian Association of the Deaf (CAD). In order to situate this issue in the Canadian linguistic context, the authors first…

On July 18, 2010, the eve of the 21st International Congress on the Education of the Deaf (ICED 2010), the International Leaders Summit was held at the Center for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada. A total of 120 world leaders from 32 countries participated. Presenters, including students, led the conversation on current…

This article examines several legal cases in Canada, the USA, and Australia involving signed language in education for Deaf students. In all three contexts, signed language rights for Deaf students have been viewed from within a disability legislation framework that either does not extend to recognizing language rights in education or that…

The rise of globalisation makes language competencies more valuable, both at individual and societal levels. This book examines the links between globalisation and the way we teach and learn languages. It begins by asking why some individuals are more successful than others at learning non-native languages, and why some education systems, or…

This document is intended for classroom teachers, resource personnel, administrators and parents. It is one of a series of documents developed to facilitate programming for students in grades 1 to 12 who have special education needs. The six essential components listed in this document are contained in "Standards for Special Education,…

A survey of 56 deaf adults in England and Canada found that respondents perceived themselves as members of a definable deaf community. Results also indicated the importance of shared language (American or British Sign Language) and the possible community inclusion of individuals without deafness if their attitude is one of commitment to the…