[sw-l] BELGIUM: New SW Literacy Project and new web area...

[Valerie Sutton]

SignWriting List
October 13, 2004

Web Report #1
For Participating Teachers

1. Why do you want to learn SignWriting?

SignWriting is the written form of SignLanguage. We want to teach the 
children the difference between the two languages they live with, 
Flemish Signlanguage(FSL) and Dutch (written or spoken). If we want to 
teach the children FSL we would want to write it down, it would be a 
mistake to write it in Dutch but with the grammar of FSL. SignWriting 
is also very visual, for ex: if you want to actually show the children 
the difference between two sign. They can mark it on the board!

2. What have been some of your past frustrations when teaching?

Not being able to have something on paper about FSL. The children 
forgot what I told them about FSL because they had no means of 
remembering, like writing it down. The children didn’t really think FSL 
was a full language because they where always given Dutch, in books and 
on paper.

3. Are you hoping that SignWriting might help? If so, in what way?

I hope it will make the children realise FSL is as good as Dutch, it 
has the same components and difficulties. It is a FULL language, that 
is unique and beautiful.

4. The SignWriting Teacher's Forum has a free web page for you and your 
students, to use in anyway you wish, just as long as it relates to 
SignWriting. For example, you can post your opinions about SignWriting, 
or you can post student's writing assignments. How would you like to 
use your web page?
 
I hope to use the site together with the children to show that they or 
not the only deaf children who use SignWriting. I would like to send in 
some of there assignments because I saw on the site that there is no 
information on the Belgium hyper-link for SignWriting. Seeing it is 
being used in Belgium, Flanders, I would like to see it on the 
internet, to inform other teachers in Belgium.

5. Please write any other information about your group that you would 
like to share. You are welcome to write as much as you wish! Human 
interest stories will help us get to know you. It will make following 
your progress with SignWriting that much more exciting!

I have used SignWriting for one year last year with my younger pupils. 
I work in a bi-lingual school in Brussels, the children use Flemish 
SignLanguage and learn Dutch as a second language. We used to just sign 
away without teaching the grammar of FSL. When I first started lessons 
in FSL grammar I wanted to write something down and didn’t know how. A 
friend of mine told me about SignWriting and I started using it. I 
found it to be of great value. The children love it and learn it very 
easy.
Sara and I are the two teachers who work with SignWriting in the 
classroom, some of the other teachers use it to but never in full 
sentences, only single signs/words.
Sara is a deaf teacher in our school who is an assistant at the moment 
but is planning to get a degree in teaching for primary school. I 
(Kathleen) am a hearing teacher who uses FSL fluently and is active in 
the Flemish Deaf community.

Valerie Sutton and the Deaf Action Committee For SignWriting have my 
full permission to post this report to the SignWriting Email List, and 
on the SignWriting Web Site.

Name Teacher: Kathleen Heylen, Sara Geudens
Name of School:  Kasterlinden
Address: Dilbeekstraat 1, 1082, Sint-Agatha-Berchem, Belgium
Email: kathjeleen at hotmail.com
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