ChelEler

I believe that ASL should be taught to public as a foreign language generally. I notice that more and more universities/colleges are accepting the fact, but not high schools. Why not? Express your opinion here about that.

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-ChelEler-
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Deafness

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Kalista

Good topic !

My son's High School rejected a foreign language as American Sign Language because itself language is not foreign. It disappointed for my sons. They grow up in this family first language as ASL. They hate to take spanish language.

Read this link:

http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/ASL.html

Some states accept or reject it. I would love to see many public school students to learn ASL to communication effectively with Deaf people in the real world. It would be a good expore for the hearing people to knowledge about the deaf culture and language.

http://www.uvm.edu/~vlrs/doc/sign_language.htm

scroll down, some states accept.

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ChelEler

Awesome links!! Thank you! Send some more, I want to hear more. Thanks!

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-ChelEler-
=^.~=

Interpretrator

For the most part, we seem to be past the days when ASL was not seen as being a true language.

However, any school with a foreign language requirement, be it high school or higher education, also has a "foreign culture" requirement. So when an American student is learning French, she is also learning about French culture.

The reason ASL is often not accepted is either because American Deaf culture is not seen as truly separate and distinct from American hearing culture, or because American Deaf culture is not recognized at all.

In both cases, it often takes dedicated and persistent advocates of Deaf culture -- be they Deaf and/or hearing -- to get the changes made. I have heard of some success stories where people were finally educated to the point where ASL was accepted as a foreign language, but it took years.

maryks

Its been *ahem* several years ago, but my college sign classes weren't even counted for a foreign language requirement. It was just "for fun" and we got 1 credit, I think, for attending three hours a week.

I agree with Interpretator that the culture isn't recognized as separate... there is also a traditionally geographic distinction that Spanish is spoken in South America and Spain, French in parts of Canada and in France, and so forth, but ASL is spoken in the US. Since Spanish is becoming a majority language in America, more people by far in the US speak Spanish than ASL. Also, the Spanish-American culture in the US is very strong--wherease the deaf culture is not generally recognized or considered by many hearing people. I wonder if the administrators of your high school would consider that?

If you gather enough info, you might want to take your findings to the state board of education, as well as your high school. The state board of ed generally sets requirements on a statewide level; if the local schoolboard doesn't accept your arguements, the state board of ed might, if you could befriend the right people!!

What state do you live in, BTW? Most states in the midwest don't do foreign language requirements, but humanities, which includes a wider variety of cultural possibilities (art, choir, band, foreign languages, literature are all counted as humanities).

ChelEler

I live in Wyoming, and there is no ASL class required as a foreign language anywhere. There are some, but they are just for fun, not for requirement in high schools.

__________________
-ChelEler-
=^.~=

signer16

California is doing a good job at incorporating ASL into the public school system. Over 90 high schools offer it as a "language other than English" requirement, and there seems to be more of a teacher deficit than an acceptance deficit. I am in an ITP program at my local college, although I am a high school student. I am more interested in teaching ASL than interpreting, and my high school principal acutally asked me to consider coming back and teaching at my high school once I had the skills. He wants to start an ASL program within his term as a principal. He has no deaf friends or family, he has simply learned that ASL is truly a separate language and that it is the 3RD most used language in the U.S (behind English and Spanish). I think that everyone should learn sign language. So many people lose their hearing as they get older. Wouldn't it make sense that instead of having to yell at your older relatives to TRY to explain something, that you would just sign to them instead? I think sign language is more useful than other foreign languages here in America, there are so many times a signed language is simply more appropriate than a spoken one.

Interpretrator

I think the original poster was talking about ASL being allowed to satisfy the foreign language requirement in high schools. For example, most students are given a choice of French, Spanish, German, Japanese, etc., and are required to take two years or two semesters or whatever.

But wouldn't it be great if students WERE required to learn some ASL in order to graduate!

ScrappyKat

yeah i agree on mice topic. in spotsy school here in VA, ASL is considered a foreign language. but in some of teh other counties and school sit is not.
odd? NOT FAIR!!!

Interpretrator

That's wonderful...but I wonder if there are any qualified Deaf people in your area who might be able to teach? Have you thought about suggesting this to your principal? I'm not saying your ASL skills aren't good enough, I'm sure you must be very good if you're in an ITP as a high school student. But it's generally considered polite to the Deaf community to at least look for a Deaf teacher to teach ASL (or, second choice, a native ASL user like a CODA), rather than someone who has only recently learned.

kuifje75

Here is a more detailed link:
http://www.listen-up.org/sign/state-asl.htm

Utah has been really good at setting up ASL courses in many high schools and colleges/universities. It is really surprising sometimes when I bump into people at my work at the hospital and they try to talk with me, then I explain that I am Deaf, and then they start signing right away. I never experienced this until I moved to Utah, and I know about 5 people in the area where I work that knows some sign language. Cool!

Ethereal

I don't know whether Colorado high schools (in general) allow you to use ASL as a foreign language (I didn't attend high school), but there is a high school student in my ASL class at the college who is using it for foreign language credits at her high school. I think that ASL should be usable for foreign language in high school because when I was working at Wal-Mart (at age 16), I had a deaf couple who would come in and I was the only one in that giant store who could sign with them. After that, they told their friends that I could sign, so I gained my own "regulars" (even though I couldn't sign very well back then). I would think that learning ASL would be more useful than learning something like German, French, or Japanese.

signer16

I know that he should definitely look for qualified deaf people first. Deafies almost always teach sign better than hearies, I mean, obviously it depends on the person, but there is something about the way a deaf person (or SOME times CODA) signs, their passion for the language, their understandinf of its value. I realize before I teach I need the ASL skills (DUH!), the respect of my local deaf community, and definitely want to make sure the school has looked into deaf teachers. I don't plan on teaching for 5,6 years at least. It will depend on my skills and degree, I don't want to teach sign or interpret until I have educated, deaf friends who tell me I am ready. Thanks for your comment.

cady75

Teaching ASL In HS is accepted as a Foreign Language in NY State.

AS a matter of fact, that is what I do. I teach ASL in HS.

a good teacher training program for ASL teachers is in NYC.

Here is the link-

Teaching ASL as a Foreign Language

And yes, I agree, you should try to hire deafies. It works the same with Spanish and German teachers too. Would you rather have a teacher from Germany teach you German than some teacher who learned it in college?

Of course, not all deafies can sign ASL well or teach it well, so that is another matter to consider too.

Interpretrator

True. I mentioned in another thread that the hearing teachers I had wound up being much better than the Deaf teacher I had years before, but only because her system of teaching was very outmoded. (We basically just learned lists of signs, no system of learning grammar or anything.) She would have made a great tutor, though, once you had the grammar down and wanted to practice, because she was very patient and also liked to teach a lot about Deaf culture.

There is something about having learned a language rather than it being native that can make some people better at teaching it. Deaf people often don't know the structure behind ASL grammar any more than hearing people know the structure behind English grammar. I know plenty of hearing people I would never want to see teaching English -- and a few who ARE teaching who shouldn't be. And a few Deaf people who AREN'T teaching and should be!

Signer16, sounds like you really have the right idea. Just remember that some Deaf people may take issue with you teaching ASL no matter what...but you can't please everyone! Good luck with your training.

cady75

I do have to admit that my first language is not ASL.
It is English. I was born deaf, and I grew up using SEE2.

However, I attended Gallaudet and MSSD, so my ASL is
very fluent.

But you brought up a good point. Maybe I am able to teach
ASL well because I learned it as a second language?



-Cady

Ethereal

That's kind of like my teachers at school, Interpreter.
My first ASL teacher was deaf, a great teacher, and so much fun. However, she didn't have the best grasp on the English language. It's hard to answer student's questions when you don't understand everything they ask. Also, on the tests, we were supposed to change ASL sentences into English sentences, and were sometimes graded down because of her lack of total understanding of the English language.

However, my current teacher (also deaf) has a wonderful grasp of the English language. It's quite funny because she will actually correct student's grammar and spelling. She's also a great teacher and a lot of fun.

So, although both teachers are good, it helps too have not only fluidity in the language you want to teach, but also the language your students know. My current teacher is easier to work with because of her understanding of our first language, and it helps us to more easily learn her first language.

iluvWinterguard

im in oregon and take ASL at my high school where it is counted as a forigen language credit whats more the problem in oregon is colleges not accepting it as language credit. and i have an amazingly skilled teacher. he is very active in the deaf culture and constantly try to get us to be. my teacher is hearing and very good.

rjr2006

I was also born deaf and I use Signed Exact English too. I am currently teaching myself ASL Grammar and I noticed when my hearing teacher read the question to me and at the same time, my interpreter skipped some of the words commonly used in speaking English. After my interpreter finished interpreting the question, I read the question by myself. for example,
hearing: What is the cost of a car when the person .........?
Interpreter: What is cost of car when person................?
myself: read the question and Signed Exact English really helps me a lot so I understood more by reading the question.
I also respect ASL.

Daft

The number one main reason why High Schools do not want to accept ASL as a foreign language is that "ASL can't be written". You can't write vocabulary, you can't have a spelling test in ASL (besides fingerspelling that is). You can't have a written test.

SJCSue

My high school had only one class of ASL. I took the class. When I was deciding which language to take as a language, if my middle school offered ASL, I would studied ASL. I had a choice of Spanish, French, and Itialan.

crockettasl

To add to the idea that schools do not like accepting ASL as a foreign language, due to the fact that is not written is the basic idea of why ASL is not accepted everywhere.

I teach ASL at a high school in Texas. Of course it is accepted for credits, however it is not really 'accepted' by other teachers, administration, etc. They feel we do not have anything to 'offer' the school. In this day and age of testing most focus is on core classes anyhow. Now when they look towards other courses they want the courses to be able to bring something to school. All other languages allow students to take AP (advanced placement exams) through a National Board Testing Center. The other teachers I work with, this is their entire goal for the year. Their number of students passing depends upon the future of their program. I have contacted the testing organization and their stock response is, 'We do not have plans to develop any testing in the area of ASL at this time.' This is due solely because ASL cannot be written and graded quickly by their graders. Unfortunately, this is one of the reasons that is causing current ASL programs to fold. NO SUPPORT from the school districts.

Also, concerning the teachers -- whether they be deafies or hearies. The MOST important goal is that they have a background in teaching, classroom management, child psychology, something that will benefit them in the classroom. We had about 8 (I think) ASL programs in high schools in the district. Now we ONLY have 4!!!! Part of the reason is no support since they feel ASL has nothing to offer the schools (on paper), but also the choice in hiring teachers.

I met one teacher who barely knew how to fingerspell, but they hired her because she said she took an ASL class!!! *gasp* They hired a high-level interpreter who was extremely skilled in sign, but had no idea how to teach it. There was also deaf teachers that did not know how to teach ASL, since they had no background in teaching either. However, there were some excellent deaf and hearing teachers that had been through teacher training programs that proved to be awesome in our schools.

First and foremost, you need to have a teaching certification in the field of ASL. It is hard to get, due to the fact that very few schools offer training. However, you may get certification in another field (Special Education = me) and then attempt to pass your state certification test as an additional teacher certification. Although, you must be skilled in ASL to pass the test. Also, not all states even require you to be certified --- this is the ultimate problem.

Our students have decided to gain attention from our school administrators by doing the following; ASL III students mentoring students in the deaf education program in our district (for the entire year), performing Deaf History Month events and inviting the deaf community, reading books in sign language in the library to our special education students, hosting events for The School for the Deaf and inviting them to campus, placing "Did you Know" signs up around campus about deaf culture, etc.. The more our campus is exposed to the deaf community the more students sign up and cause our administrators to take note! Hopefully, your school can decide to do additional things to have your school notice you.

In fact our student numbers doubled this year, increasing our program to another ASL teacher!

ps. I am hearing, but I have a deaf cousin. I learned sign at a very young age. However, I still would not be a good teacher unless I had been in a teacher prepration program and also taken ASL courses. By merely signing from a young age and being in the deaf community I was still not aware of deaf culture concerns or ASL grammar until I was enrolled in ASL courses.

rjr2006

High schools should realize that ASL is a foreign language, because it doesn't follow English grammar structure. For example:
ASL: me go store.
English: I am going to the store.

apathrev

I see ASL as being more of a foreign language then Spanish or French. English, Spanish, and French are all Romance, and many words are strikingly similar. ASL is a completely different language based on ideas and concepts instead of words.

Interpretrator

I wish I could remember what school this is. There is some university program -- I think it might be for teaching ESL or something like that -- that has a foreign language requirement, but what's special about it is that the langage must be something significantly different from your first language. For example, French would not qualify for an English speaker (as cental34 pointed out, since English shares so many similarities with romance languages), but Russian or Chinese would. This program does accept ASL as satisfying this requirement. I thought that was very cool.

cdmeggers

My interpreter and I tried to get an ASL class going at a high school where I live one year.. we passed out petitions and everything, but of course, it got nowhere. Maybe someday.