answering in SW

[Shane Gilchrist O hEorpa]

James,

thats great about ur daughter being able to write her answers in
Written ASL but who will read it - thats if they are not fluent in it?

Shane

On 15/01/07, James Shepard-Kegl, Esq. <kegl at maine.rr.com> wrote:
>
>  I respectfully submit that when you propose SW as a bridge to English
> literacy in the school system, you are missing the point.
>
>  SW is a valuable tool for giving a Deaf signer metalinguistic skills in his
> or her native language (i.e., understanding labels like nouns, verbs,
> classifiers, role shifting, shared references, and so forth.)  Having
> metalinguistic skills in your own language is critical to learning the
> grammar and syntax of a foreign (that is, non-native) language.
>
>  But, if you are expecting miracle English literacy achievement through SW,
> think again.  SW helps, to be sure, and a greater proponent than I you will
> not find, but do not oversell the concept, as proof is scarce.
>
>  Where SW is really, really beneficial is:  MATH, SCIENCE, HISTORY.
>
>  Math, to be of any real value in life, is all about applied math, which we
> learn through practicing those dreaded verbal problems.  Use SW to teach
> them, so that the Deaf child knows what you are talking about.  Otherwise,
> the math problem just becomes an English problem, and if you do not read
> English, you appear to be moronic.  Try TWO PLUS TWO in Chinese and see how
> far you get.
>
>  My daughter's teachers in Portland, Maine High School are encouraging her
> to answer her science tests in SW -- because the goal is achievement in the
> material taught in that particular class, not rote memorization of English
> without any real comprehension.
>
>  -- James
>
>