I know you are familiar with the term, it’s not what you said, it’s how you said it. In e-mails, or even in posts like this, a person can write something and the person reading it get a completely different meaning out of it. Some one can send an e-mail and the person reading it think, why are they mad at me when that is not the intent. If the person said it in front of them rather than the e-mail the meaning would have been clear. Even with two hearing people the written word can hold different means for the person writing it and the person reading it. Yes with ASL there are spatial concerns as well as mouth morphemes that are crucial to grammar. But when you have one class a week, and most of these people only contact with the Deaf community the professor, they need to see how the two languages relate. They need to see it try it out at home and make corrections. If your knowledge of sign is very limited you cannot do this effectively. But if you write down English, then translate it to ASL gloss you will be able, at the same time, to see the differences in the two. My Professor advised us that she will have us do that, but only one copy in English translate it, then throw out the English version. For the higher levels of ASL classes I don’t think this should be done. For beginners with limited to no contact with sign and the Deaf community I think it is an invaluable tool