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Andree,<br>
<br>
For clarification, would you mind responding to a couple of questions?<br>
<br>
1. I know that ASL is used throughout Canada and both ASL and LSQ are
used in Quebec. Would you tell us what QSL is and where it is used?
Also, approximately what proportion of the Canadian Deaf community uses
this language?<br>
<br>
2. I am curious as to why you are proposing to introduce written QSL as
a "first
language" curriculum in the province of Ontario. What are you
expecting to do with ASL, the existing predominant language of the Deaf
community
there?<br>
<br>
3. You mentioned the Deaf school in Ottawa. Does the Deaf community in
Ottawa use QSL?<br>
<br>
I don't want to jump to conclusions and I''m sure I must have
misunderstood something in your description because what I understand
(or misunderstand) is akin to a group of educators in the hearing
school system deciding the English-speaking community in
Ontario should no longer use English and the students should be
educated in some other language which is not generally used in the
community, developing a curriculum for that language, and proposing it
to the Ontario government.<br>
<br>
I must be missing something and I sure would appreciate if you would
give a further clarification of what you are proposing.<br>
<br>
odeeodee<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Andrée Gagnon wrote:<br>
<blockquote cite="mid000801c6e98c$1dc57190$0300a8c0@ANDRE2" type="cite">
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<div class="Section1">
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><font face="Times New Roman" size="5"><span
style="font-size: 18pt; font-weight: bold;">Dear SW members,<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><font face="Times New Roman" size="5"><span
style="font-size: 18pt; font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><font face="Times New Roman" size="5"><span
style="font-size: 18pt; font-weight: bold;" lang="EN-CA"> Because
I feel that Val really
ought to know who I am, what I do and why I wish to establish contact
with the
SW members, please find below my message.<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><font face="Times New Roman" size="5"><span
style="font-size: 18pt; font-weight: bold;" lang="EN-CA"> <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><font face="Times New Roman" size="5"><span
style="font-size: 18pt; font-weight: bold;" lang="EN-CA">
Firstly, I will introduce
myself. I am deafblind. I attended the Deaf school in Québec city ( <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region>)
and I
grew up in their dormitory. I use <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Quebec</st1:place></st1:State>
Sign Language ( QSL). Since 1998, I am professor in the Department of
Education
at the University of Ottawa<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><font face="Times New Roman" size="5"><span
style="font-size: 18pt; font-weight: bold;" lang="EN-CA"> ( <st1:City
w:st="on">Ottawa</st1:City>
is the capital of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region>).
I have been teaching six different courses ( literacy and deafness:
development
of writing and reading for deaf students. The students can obtain a
certificate of deaf education in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Ontario</st1:City>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Canada</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><font face="Times New Roman" size="5"><span
style="font-size: 18pt; font-weight: bold;" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><font face="Times New Roman" size="5"><span
style="font-size: 18pt; font-weight: bold;" lang="EN-CA"> At the
Deaf school in <st1:City w:st="on">Ottawa</st1:City>, a project called
“ Fais-moi signe” (
in English, “ Make me a sign”) is being developed to be presented
to the <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ontario</st1:place></st1:State>
Ministery of Education for their approval. I am preparing the QSL
curriculum
as the first language from kindergarten to grade 2 ( 2006-2007), from
grade 3
to grade 8 (2007-2008) and from grade 9 to grade 12 ( 2008-2009). Upon
approval of the project, the guide of QSL curriculum will be
distributed to teachers
of Deaf students in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType w:st="on">province</st1:PlaceType>
of <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Ontario</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><font face="Times New Roman" size="5"><span
style="font-size: 18pt; font-weight: bold;" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><font face="Times New Roman" size="5"><span
style="font-size: 18pt; font-weight: bold;" lang="EN-CA"> And now I
would like to learn
more about SW curriculum. Do you have a Sign Writing curriculum from
kindergarten to grade 12 for deaf children, not adults? To my
knowledge I
believe that only 2 teachers<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><font face="Times New Roman" size="5"><span
style="font-size: 18pt; font-weight: bold;" lang="EN-CA"> ( Cecila
Flood in USA, Stefan
Worhenman in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Germany</st1:country-region>
and one
researcher(Kegl in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Nicaragua</st1:country-region>)
(another may be <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Brazil</st1:place></st1:country-region>)
have been teaching sign writing course to deaf children since many
years.
Also, I know that Juliette ( <st1:country-region w:st="on">France</st1:country-region>),
Katheren ( <st1:country-region w:st="on">Belgium</st1:country-region>)
and
others ( <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region>-
Swiss, and so on) have been teaching the Deaf children an introduction
to SW
for a few years. What about the popular hearing trainers ( Val, Ingvil,
Stefan)
and deaf trainers ( Therirry, Lucyna, Stuart) who give to hearing and
deaf
adults an introduction to SW.<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><font face="Times New Roman" size="5"><span
style="font-size: 18pt; font-weight: bold;" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><font face="Times New Roman" size="5"><span
style="font-size: 18pt; font-weight: bold;" lang="EN-CA"> While
visiting the Centre of Total
Communication in Danemark in 1998, I asked the hearing and deaf
teachers if
they were using the SW in the class in 1998 and the answer was no.<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><font face="Times New Roman" size="5"><span
style="font-size: 18pt; font-weight: bold;" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><font face="Times New Roman" size="5"><span
style="font-size: 18pt; font-weight: bold;" lang="EN-CA"> I already
checked your SW book for
adults and also found you have a few children books ( literature) for
reading.
Do you have a strategic instrument to teach deaf children how to read
and write
SW? As an example, French hearing children in grade 1 learn to form
the
regular plural of the nouns by adding an “ s”: chat-chats ( in
English, cat-cats). But, they cannot acquire the plural “aux”of
nouns ending in “al” in grade 1: cheval-chevaux ( in English
ox-oxen). It is only in grade 2 that the hearing children can acquire
appropriately the plural “ aux” of the nouns ending
“al”. <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><font face="Times New Roman" size="5"><span
style="font-size: 18pt; font-weight: bold;" lang="EN-CA"> As the
level of grades seems
important for deaf children to acquire the symbol of rotation, my
question is :
should it be in grade 2 or in grade 3? As far as I am conserned I do
not know. <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><font face="Times New Roman" size="5"><span
style="font-size: 18pt; font-weight: bold;" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><b><font
face="Times New Roman" size="5"><span
style="font-size: 18pt; font-weight: bold;" lang="EN-CA">Best regards<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><font face="Times New Roman" size="5"><span
style="font-size: 18pt; font-weight: bold;" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><font face="Times New Roman" size="5"><span
style="font-size: 18pt; font-weight: bold;" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><font face="Times New Roman" size="5"><span
style="font-size: 18pt; font-weight: bold;" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><font face="Times New Roman" size="5"><span
style="font-size: 18pt; font-weight: bold;" lang="EN-CA">André
Thibeault<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
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