A brief "hello" from someone new: Hearing soon to be teacher

[Parjila]

I am a hearing graduate student at SUNY Fredonia in Western New York. I studied adolescent education in English Language Arts for my undergraduate degree, and I am certified to teach in that area for New York state. In graduate school I am earning an additional certification in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, commonly known as TESOL or ESL. I am hoping to become the best teacher I can be for any student who walks through my classroom door. I believe that means being educated about Deaf culture and ASL as much as about ELA or ESL. It was at SUNY Fredonia that I took my first ASL course. I have always been interested in learning multiple languages which is what prompted my TESOL path in graduate school. It is an interest I have had since I was a child where I learned some ASL in a home school support group. My college has only two levels of ASL, and a very small Deaf community, mostly in Jamestown. Therefore, I continued to pursue ASL for a third level at Gallaudet University for one of their summer classes. I love learning ASL and more about the Deaf culture, and I want to make connections so that I can keep learning, even in an isolated area. The second language I learned was Japanese which has helped me in learning ASL because there are more similar grammar structures and concepts than ASL has with English. If anyone has insight on how I can become a better teacher, particular for any deaf students I may have, or is interested in being a language partner I would greatly appreciate it. I am interested in learning all I can and having cultural exchanges.