Fwd: ASL and foreign languages: Critical Update

Fri Mar 23 02:10:49 UTC 2007

Dear colleagues,

I wonder if I could solicit your assistance. I am forwarding to this  
list an email message I received from P. Vincent Riley, who contacted  
me for assistance regarding the issue of accepting American Sign  
Language (ASL) in fulfillment of foreign language requirements. As  
you'll see from his message, he had been in contact with an  
organization called the American Academy for Liberal Education.

If you will read through the message from Jeff A. Martineau with that  
organization, you'll see that he and his organization hold some  
astoundingly misinformed ideas about ASL: that it is a visual form of  
English, that it is universal (does he not see the contradiction in  
those two statements?), that it is "not a separate frame of reference  
for thinking."

No matter your position on whether ASL should meet foreign language  
requirements -- I happen to think it should, but I also recognize  
that reasonable people might disagree on exactly which languages  
should meet undergraduate FL requirements -- I hope you will agree  
that these kinds of misinformed views need to be corrected. If you  
agree would you consider writing a message to Mr. Martineau?

Thank you,

--
Sherman Wilcox, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair
Department of Linguistics
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131

http://www.unm.edu/~wilcox
505-277-0928

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "P. Vincent Riley" <vriley2 at yahoo.com>
> Date: March 22, 2007 7:45:24 PM MDT
> To: wilcox at unm.edu
> Subject: ASL and foreign languages: Critical Update
>
> Dear Professor Wilcox,
>
> I am forwarding to you the following communication
> from me to Jeff A. Martineau, the Director for Higher
> Education for the American Academy of Libereal
> Education, an organization that accredits the general
> education component of college and university courses,
> as well as liberal arts and liberal studies programs.
>
> Neumann College, which has appeared on your list for a
> few years, for example, has recently elected to drop
> recognition of ASL as a substitute for the foreign
> language requirement. One reason given was that they
> would not be able to receive accreditation of their
> liberal arts programs from the AALE, and they want
> that accreditation for their liberal arts and general
> education programs (although they already have
> regional acceditation for the institution).
>
> When I checked with the AALE about their position, it
> was finally confirmed. The reasons given for their
> position seem rather ill-informed to me, because I
> have reviewed Sheryl Cooper's 1997 doctoral thesis,
> and I assumed that it and other evidence that you
> refer to on your web site contradict the assertions
> made by Mr. Martineau.
>
> If other institutions that are also not well-informed
> about the unique linguistic nature of American Sign
> Language and the culture that practices it, and
> instead believe that it is a branch of American
> English tied to American culture, I fear for the
> progress that has been made in recognizing ASL at
> academic instituions.
>
> On the other hand, I am pleased to note that some
> states have started to call for recognition of the
> academic status of ASL.
>
> I hope that you and other linguistic and social
> scientific scholars can assist the AALE in making
> well-informed decisions for the betterment of all our
> institutions of higher education.
>
>
>
> --- "P. Vincent Riley" <vriley2 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2007 17:46:37 -0700 (PDT)
>> From: "P. Vincent Riley" <vriley2 at yahoo.com>
>> Subject: Re: ASL and foreign languages
>> To: "Jeff A. Martineau" <jmartineau at aale.org>
>> CC: Jeffrey Wallin <jwallin at aale.org>
>>
>> Mr. Martineau,
>>
>> Thank you for the courtesy of your reply.
>>
>> As you occupy a pivotal role in your institution, I
>> will try to see that some of the assertions in your
>> letter regarding ASL are addressed by competent
>> linguistic scholars.
>>
>> Noteworthy among these are the following:
>>
>> "[ASL} is really a visual form of English."
>>
>> "[ASL] not a separate frame of reference for
>> thinking,
>> as
>>  reading or speaking a foreign language or being
>> immersed in a foreign culture."
>>
>> "ASL is part of the American culture and is in fact
>> a
>> form of
>> English."
>>
>> Should any of my contacts try to address these to
>> you
>> at the American Academy of Liberal Education, I will
>> suggest that they indicate their affiliation. It is
>> clear that a great deal of education lies before us.
>>
>> Once again, thank you for clarifying the position of
>> the AALE.
>>
>> Sincerely,
>>
>> --- "Jeff A. Martineau" <jmartineau at aale.org> wrote:
>>
>>> Mr. Riley,
>>>
>>> I am sure you can understand why one might have
>>> reservations about
>>> responding to inquiries that have no name or
>>> affiliation.
>>>
>>> It is my understanding that in fact my name and
>>> affiliation do appear at
>>> the bottom of all emails. I will take it for
>> granted
>>> that in this case
>>> it did not.
>>>
>>> I am the Director overseeing our Higher Education
>>> division.
>>>
>>> With regard to ASL v. spoken foreign languages,
>> your
>>> are correct, the
>>> Academy has not previously seen ASL as an adequate
>>> replacement, in part
>>> because it is really a visual form of English. It
>> is
>>> the way one
>>> communicates, it is not a separate frame of
>>> reference for thinking, as
>>> reading or speaking a foreign language or being
>>> immersed in a foreign
>>> culture. ASL is part of the American culture and
>> is
>>> in fact a form of
>>> English. One might envision a universal form of
>> sign
>>> language that went
>>> beyond these borders.
>>>
>>> However, any college can attempt to make an
>> argument
>>> within their
>>> self-study as to why the various components,
>>> together, form a curriculum
>>> that does in fact meet the Standards and Criteria.
>>> The Board of
>>> Trustees, which makes all final decisions with
>>> regard to standards would
>>> certainly take up such a debate, though without
>>> knowing the program more
>>> specifically, I can not offer a judgment as to the
>>> over quality of a
>>> program that included ASL as an option to foreign
>>> languages. Bear in
>>> mind, that our requirement is that all students in
>>> the program must meet
>>> the requirements, e.g., all students are required
>> to
>>> meet the language
>>> component.
>>>
>>> I hope this offers some guidance.
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>>
>>> P. Vincent Riley wrote:
>>>> Dear Sir,
>>>>
>>>> Thank you for taking the time to not respond to
>>> our
>>>> email. Although you did indicate an affiliation,
>>> your
>>>> email was no more signed than our own. Hence, we
>>> will
>>>> not respond to your email either.
>>>>
>>>> I am surprised that a request for simple
>>> information
>>>> is subject to such bureaucratic rigor. It seems
>>> like
>>>> an interesting higher education management
>> system.
>>>>
>>>> For your information, the email system on your
>> web
>>>> site did not seem to function properly when I
>>>> initially tried to contact your organization. It
>>> might
>>>> be wise to place a notice on your contact page
>>> that no
>>>> response will be given to contacts initiated
>>> without
>>>> an affiliation and a signature.
>>>>
>>>> As I am an educational consultant who retired
>> from
>>>> Northern Marianas College, I no longer am
>>> affiliated
>>>> with that institution.
>>>>
>>>> Regards,
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --- "Jeff A. Martineau" <jmartineau at aale.org>
>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ---------------------------------
>>>>   Dear Sir,
>>>>
>>>> We do not respond to emails that are not signed
>>> and
>>>> without anaffiliation.
>>>>
>>>> Regards,
>>>>
>>>> P. Vincent Riley wrote:      I have been
>> informed
>>> by
>>>> others that the AALE refuses to regard American
>>> Sign
>>>> Language as a "foreign language" for purposes of
>>>> generaleducation when it accredits institutions
>>> and/or
>>>> programs.
>>>>
>>>>   Since it has been well-documented that deaf
>>> culture
>>>> is a unique culture, and that ASL has its own
>>>> grammatical structure and"vocabulary," I am
>>> curious to
>>>> know the basis for the AALE's position,if, in
>>> fact, I
>>>> understand it correctly.
>>>>
>>>>   I know of an institution that is dropping the
>>>> acceptance of ASLcourses in fulfillment of the
>>>> "foreign language" requirement, because its
>>>> administration believes it must do this to
>> receive
>>>> accreditation of its liberal arts general
>>> education
>>>> program by the AALE.
>>>>
>>>>   Thank you for your consideration.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> P. Vincent Riley Jr.
>>>> Educational Consultant
>>>> Oceania Pacific Educational Networking
>>>> P.O. Box 501916
>>>> Saipan, MP 96950-1916
>>>> (484)-886-9128
>>>>
>>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> P. Vincent Riley Jr.
>> Educational Consultant
>> Oceania Pacific Educational Networking
>> P.O. Box 501916
>> Saipan, MP 96950-1916
>> (484)-886-9128
>>
>>
>>
>>
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