Classes of 9th-grade and 11th-grade students with deafness read contemporary poetry and created their own poems through writing, sign language, and mime. The poetry of the profoundly deaf students followed the syntax of sign language, while students with residual hearing focused on the elements of form, especially rhyming. (JDD)

The mother of a young head injured nonverbal child describes ways used to increase the child's communicative ability including gestures, sign language, and communication boards. (DB)

Hearing-impaired high school students created a simulated world where sign language was the dominant mode of communication, and role-played such careers as doctors, bankers, and police officers. Hearing students were invited to visit this simulated world and found how inaccessible various facilities and services were to people without sign…

Argues that, although South African Sign Language (SASL) contains a high degree of lexical diversity, there exists an underlying common syntactic and morphological base on which all the different varieties are grounded. This common base provides a foundation on which future educational and language policy may be developed. (17 references)…

Experienced deaf-blind users (N=10) of sign language tested their ability to receive signed messages including isolated signs and sentences. A set of 122 isolated signs was received with an average accuracy of 87%. Signed sentence reception accuracy ranged from 60-85%, with errors accounted for primarily by deletions and phonological or…

Examined the use of bimodal communication (BC), sign language with spoken English, by hearing college students in five scenarios and during informal discussions between scenarios. The results indicated that varying signing ability affected signers' BC rate and that skilled signers adapted the amount of BC they used to the social situation. (three…

In a survey concerning repetitive stress injury (RSI) and carpal tunnel syndrome, 87 percent of the 40 sign language interpreters reported that they had at some time experienced at least 2 symptoms associated with RSI, and most interpreters knew others with RSI problems. Data indicate that RSI is a severe problem among sign language interpreters.…

Describes a study in which drama and sign language were used in a multisensory approach to language learning to tap the physical, kinesthetic, and visual abilities of four-year-old Head Start children. Finds that the teacher-directed activities resulted in significantly higher scores for children in the treatment group. (PRA)

Seven preschool children with hearing impairment or deafness were studied for nine months as they learned to read, write, and spell or fingerspell their names. Analysis revealed that the children learned that names are powerful expressions of identity through teacher demonstrations, immersion in a literacy-rich environment, and numerous…

This study analyzed the fingerspelling of 25 teachers using Signing Exact English (SEE) 1 or 2, and 25 teachers using Manual/Signed English or Pidgin Signed English with their hearing-impaired students. Intergroup differences were not significant. Teachers used fingerspelling primarily to introduce novel words, spell short words, and spell proper…

Evaluates the contribution of visuo-gestural modality versus linguistic factors in determining the order of elements in sign language. The results of a study show that Italian Sign Language differs along significant lines from both spoken Italian and pantomime. (22 references) (GLR)

A study involving 13 teachers of students with deafness and 16 students with deafness found that although Natural Sign Language was not considered an official communication mode, it was used after class, and that there was a positive relationship between teachers' sign-language skills and students' understanding of their message. (CR)

Comparison of 149 deaf and 121 hearing college students on the Approaches to Studying Inventory found the impact of deafness relatively slight. Discriminant analysis indicated deaf students, especially those who preferred sign communication, had more difficulty with relating ideas on different topics although they were more likely to adopt a…

This article introduces a reprint of an 1835 article by Frederick Augustus Porter Barnard entitled, "Existing State of the Art of Instructing the Deaf and Dumb". It reviews Barnard's background and achievements (including 25 years as the president of Columbia College), his familial progressive deafness, and his advanced views on communication…

Details the influence of English on British Sign Language (BSL) at the syntactic, morphological, lexical, idiomatic, and phonological levels. Shows how BSL uses loan translations, fingerspellings, and the use of mouth patterns derived from English language spoken words to include elements from English. (Author/VWL)