The aim of this paper is to discuss processes of inclusion and exclusion in compulsory classrooms where both Norwegian and Norwegian Sign Language (NSL) are used. The Norwegian Education Act 1998, section 2?6, gives deaf pupils who have acquired sign language as their first language 'the right to tuition in the use of sign language and through the…

Until now, teachers and learners of NZSL have not had access to information on the most frequently used signs in the Deaf community. This article describes the first study of the distribution of signs in New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL). We hope that it will help teachers of NZSL make decisions about which signs to teach first and suggest…

This report outlines current theories and practices of second language teaching and suggests possible applications of these theories and practices to the teaching of American Sign Language to non-signers. (CFM)

An elementary school class that learned sign language also benefited from several positive side effects. As the students developed a new means of communication, they also become more aware of deaf individuals and their needs. (DF)

Discusses mime, masks, improvisation, body training, and choral dynamics as techniques for improving actors' body movements. (RD)

The authors describe the results from a study using sign language and the manual alphabet to improve spelling skills of learning disabled second graders. (SBH)

Presents evidence showing that there is no need, in planning or implementing a language program for a retarded child, to exclude nonoral communication. Concludes that consistently supplementing spoken language with nonoral communication systems will not inhibit spoken language development but may well facilitate spoken language by providing a…

A survey was conducted with 67 science teachers who taught deaf children at the elementary school level. Teacher background variables, information about teacher preparation and certification, preferred teaching methods, communication methodologies, curriculum, and the use of technology were gathered. A purposeful, convenience sampling technique…

To help teachers and administrators of American Sign Language (ASL) design and implement effective ASL programs, this Digest answers questions about ASL and the essential components of an ASL program, including ASL course design, methods and approaches for teaching ASL as a second language, and ASL instructional materials. (nine references) (VWL)

The manual alphabet was used as an adjunct to a linguistic reading system to achieve the following goals with primary grade learning disabled children: (1) ensure attention, (2) reinforce the learning of phonemes, (3) guide the student if he had difficulties, (4) introduce prefixes and suffixes, and (5) provide the child with an independent…

Twenty college students learned sign language vocabularly via an interactive videodisc system, while 20 control group students learned the same signs through a traditional classroom approach. The experimental group took one-third less time to learn as many signs as the control group. (Author/JDD)

Examines the literature on teachers' use of signing in the classroom for clues about future directions in research that aim to improve the academic performance of deaf students. Suggests that it is not by concentrating solely on the question of whether American Sign Language or some form of English-based signing should dominate in the classrooms.…

Since the enactment of Public Law 94-142 in 1975, now referred to as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, more children who are deaf are attending public schools instead of residential schools for the deaf. Calculating how many children in public schools currently have a hearing loss is difficult because hearing impairment is not…

In children, concepts develop in a spiral, with the child at the center. A positive self-concept begins within a responsive caregiving environment. Concepts build upon one another. The more ideas and memories that a child has about the way the world and relationships work, the easier it is to develop further ideas. Once a child realizes, for…

Intended to raise researchers' and teachers' awareness of fingerspelling as an important part of signed communication, a study examined its use with deaf children in the classroom. Five trained teachers of the deaf, participating in a demonstration total communication project in a public school in the Midwest, were videotaped in their own…