A teacher of deaf children responds to a treatise recommending expanded use of American Sign Language (ASL) in deaf education by addressing the immediate problems that parents, teachers, school authorities, and linguists will need to carefully consider in implementing an ASL-based bilingual approach to educating young children. (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)

The deaf community in the United States is a distinct subcultural group that is bilingual, diglossic, and trimodal. The deaf should be considered a legitimate cultural and linguistic minority, and entitled to educational programs reflecting this. Inclusion of information on deaf people in multicultural education programs is advocated, and…

Twenty-eight college students with normal hearing, naive to sign language, were trained on 30 American Sign Language signs using computer-assisted instruction or a videotaped presentation. Results indicated significantly higher scores under the videotaped condition when sign learning and retention were probed 3 and 10 days after training.…

Twenty prelingually deaf students, aged six-eight, were able to identify words better when presented in a print-plus-graphic-sign condition compared to a print-only condition. The initial use of the graphic representation of signs with the printed words also facilitated the children's immediate retention when reading the printed word only.…

Some 76 hearing children in prekindergarten classes, half receiving sign instruction and half not, were tested on English vocabulary acquisition. Children who received the sign instruction scored significantly higher on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test than children receiving sign instruction. (Contains 15 references.) (Author/LB)

Examines private sign in preschoolers with hearing loss who are rated most and least advanced in literacy development. Teachers and parents/primary caregivers were surveyed to collect data on the use of private sign in these two groups. The majority of children with signing skills exhibited private sign in classroom and home contexts. (37…

Describes a British outdoor program in which 11- and 12-year-old students were placed in mixed groups containing several ethnic groups and hearing and deaf children. Includes children's comments on outdoor activities, their relationships with other children, and communication problems and their resolution. An adjacent page illustrates 12 British…

Six deaf mothers were videotaped while reading a book to their deaf or hard-of-hearing children (ages three to five). Analysis revealed six strategies used by mothers, including sign placement, text paired with signed demonstration, real world connection between text and child's experience, attention maintenance, physical demonstrations of…

Reports on a survey of 359 teachers of American Sign Language (ASL) conducted in 1993-94. Results found that the ability to apply appropriate methods, professional knowledge of ASL teaching practice, and bilingual skills in ASL and English were considered very important. Knowledge of theoretical issues and classroom management skills were viewed…

The conversations of 10 deaf children (ages 10-12) and their families at dinnertime were examined, and spoken and signed verbal exchanges were documented. Results showed that deaf children responded more loquaciously to questions than they did to statements or expressions of ideas, and the children were unsuccessful in continuing topics of…

Disfluencies in the verbal and signed language of a 10-year-old moderately mentally retarded boy were analyzed. Discussion addresses implications for the accurate characterization of stuttering in manual communication and appropriate approaches to management in such cases. (DB)

Five hearing parents who spoke and signed SEE-2 (Signing Exact English) to their hearing-impaired children (ages 3-4) were observed, given feedback on their communication abilities, and observed again following a retention period. All parents showed improvement, and three parents changed impressively in form, content, and use of this form of…

This case study describes a 25-year-old Swedish woman with hereditary moderate hearing loss since birth who acquired both sign language and spoken language in her early preschool years and reached normal developmental milestones in each. Analysis revealed that her speech reading expertise is associated with cognitive functions such as high…

This article from 1855 discusses the validity of signing for individuals with deafness and the need to develop an instinctive "language of gestures" to enable them to profit by the experiences of others and to share in social communion. The need for sign language to communicate religious instruction is emphasized. (CR)