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<TITLE>Re: [sw-l] ASL proficiency and English reading and writing</TITLE>
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<B>De : </B>"Barbara O'Dea" <odeab@UNM.EDU><BR>
<B>Répondre à : </B>sw-l@majordomo.valenciacc.edu<BR>
<B>Date : </B>Fri, 27 Jan 2006 14:58:09 -0800<BR>
<B>À : </B>sw-l@majordomo.valenciacc.edu<BR>
<B>Objet : </B>[sw-l] ASL proficiency and English reading and writing<BR>
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<BLOCKQUOTE>I hope no one minds that I've changed the subject line (thread) for my response to Anny's posting.<BR>
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The fact that Deaf people learn to read English at all, never ceases to amaze me.<BR>
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There seems to be "agreement" that there is a relationship between ASL first language proficiency and the degree of English reading and writing proficiency. <BR>
<FONT COLOR="#0000FF">different works on this topic shows this!! (Prinz & Strong... and other researchers too)<BR>
</FONT>With this in mind, I have few questions/comments.<BR>
1. Are most Deaf children proficient in ASL when they start school? My experience says NO!<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#0000FF">My experience says NO too... and it's quite normal because 90% of the deaf kid have hearing parents.... only 10% are born in deaf families.... so most porfoundly deaf children arriving in a deaf school just have about no language skills at all<BR>
</FONT>2. Do schools, then, provide a language acquisition environment for those who are not? My experience says NO!<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#0000FF">My experience (here in Switzerland) says NO too!!! but I have to add that most "bilingual school" try to offer a language acquisition environment using SL... they hired deaf professionnals (even so it's far to be perfect!) I would n't call these school bilingual (most of them just offer a few hours sign language course...) and SL is not used all the time....<BR>
</FONT>3. Do schools hold off "trying to" teach English reading and writing to Deaf children until they have ASL proficiency at least equal to the English proficiency hearing children have when they are expected to read their first language - English? My experience says NO!<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#0000FF">My experience says NO too... but I personnaly tried to do so with the children I used to work with (as a speech therapist) and It's just great to notice how once deaf children master their own language they can get what we expect from them in french, they already now what language is about, they already have metalinguistic skills that help them work on a second language. I'm 100% sure SW them acquiring more metalinguistic skills on their own language, which they can then use learning another writing language.<BR>
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So, there is "agreement". What are educators doing about it? Is this "agreement" part of pedagogy developed for Deaf education? Sad to say, my experience says NO!<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#0000FF">I'm very sorry to say NO too... but things can be changed!!! I'm giving my time and energy to try and introduce SW into deaf schools here, and also working to help the deaf professionnal showing politics how important it is to develop true pedagogical tools to teach and work on SL... Not easy... especially when there's just no money at all... and especially when the politics tend to say deaf children have to be in "normal" classes with hearing children (not in deaf schools any more...) The deaf community here is afraid about this situation... and the influence it's going to have on their language Signlanguage!!!<BR>
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I like your posting very much.... because it just reminds me how much work I still have to do... I'm just so sure about this I just can't give up!!<BR>
Maybe I'm too optimistic... oh well at least I will have tried!!<BR>
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Take care and have a beautiful sunday<BR>
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Anny<BR>
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odeeodee<BR>
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Anne-Claude Prélaz Girod wrote: <BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE>did you read Cecilia Flood thesis ?<BR>
that's a good start about how SW can bring self esteem....<BR>
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I personnally don't have experience using SW with deaf children but I'm<BR>
profoundly convinced it can help them acquire litteracy in the oral<BR>
language... skills in sign language can help deaf children develop better<BR>
skill in the oral language<BR>
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There are different works on bilingualism (nothing to do with SW BUT... )and<BR>
the advantage of developping good skills in SL in order to help chiuldren<BR>
develpop skills in their second language : did you read the different<BR>
articles of Philip Prinz and Mickael Strong US (I can find the article if<BR>
you are interested I should have it somewhere in my papers...)<BR>
Did you also read François Grosjean's works on bilingualism (university of<BR>
Neuchâtel, Switzerland)... (I have these document in my computer so I can<BR>
send them to you if you're interested... just have to check with François<BR>
(he used to be my teacher) if it's Ok for me to do so!!)<BR>
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both works tend to show how important it is for deaf kids to develop good<BR>
skills in their first language (SL)....<BR>
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I wrote a short text on using Sw to help deaf children develop litteracy...<BR>
but it's in french... (you can find it on the www.signwriting.org/swiss <http://www.signwriting.org/swiss> ...)<BR>
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Hope it helped<BR>
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Anny<BR>
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<BLOCKQUOTE>De : "Shane Gilchrist O hEorpa" <shane.gilchrist.oheorpa@gmail.com> <mailto:shane.gilchrist.oheorpa@gmail.com> <BR>
Répondre à : sw-l@majordomo.valenciacc.edu<BR>
Date : Thu, 26 Jan 2006 22:33:00 +0000<BR>
À : SW-L@majordomo.valenciacc.edu<BR>
Objet : [sw-l] detailed argument for SignWriting to be used in Deaf Education<BR>
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hi everyone,<BR>
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sorry for not contributing in the past month - as much as I love you<BR>
all, work demands my fullest attention of lately!!!<BR>
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as some of you know im one of the Trustees for the Deaf School here in<BR>
Belfast, im trying to put together a detailed argument why we should<BR>
teach sign-writing to deaf children in my School - perhaps you can<BR>
tell me why it is important for them to learn this - and for what<BR>
purposes?<BR>
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Shane xx<BR>
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