Miss-Delectable
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Hands-On Learning
In Saundra Roger’s English as a second language (ESL) class at Francis Scott Key Elementary School in Arlington, third through fifth grade students are using American Sign Language (ASL) to learn English.
They are using ASL Tales — materials developed to teach students ASL in a fun way. Students watch videos of fairy tales told by deaf master storytellers. The DVDs and accompanying books come with a variety of special features designed to help teach the children more than just vocabulary. Currently, the stories of Rapunzel and the Princess and the Pea are available in ASL Tales. Four more books are on the way, including Hansel and Gretel and the Tortoise and the Hare.
Rogers is the sibling of a deaf adult (SODA). She said because of this, "trying to learn how to communicate with people visually has always been a part of me." She ran across the ASL Tales version of the Princess and the Pea and decided she could adapt it to work for her ESL students.
She contacted Laurie Meyer, one of the founders of ASL Tales. Meyer said, "The teacher has really done an amazing job with creating curriculum and creating applications in the classroom. She was the first ESL educator who saw the possibilities we’d been talking about. In a short period of time, she got incredible results."
Meyer continued, "This is what we had dreamed would happen. In the first week, without any formal curriculum from us, the students got excited about using ASL to learn English.
"Our whole dream is to transform how education happens. There are so many people who think they are learning ‘sign language,’ but they don’t realize that learning sign words isn’t learning language. You can’t say how you feel or what you want, or how things connect. We wanted to give people access to the benefits of how ASL creates a message."
In Meyer’s opinion, this is what separates ASL Tales from other sign language programs in schools. "Many schools are using sign vocabulary," she said. "By actually teaching visual language, they’d get so much more for all kids. Not just ESL students, regular ed students and special ed students, too.
Truly learning ASL is not easy, but there are features of ASL that can be learned quickly and provide valuable opportunities for students."
Meyer said using ASL is valuable because it helps children "create a visual image of what the story is about."
Rogers said, "The materials that have been provided by ASL Tales have been excellent … It’s vocabulary rich. The stories are very interesting. They are standard fairy tales with a modern twist … The kids really get a chance to imagine themselves in the setting in the story."
She thinks using ASL is worthwhile because "a lot of the children that I work with have not been very successful readers … These kids don’t have the movie playing in their head of what’s going on in the story. It helps them see what’s happening as they’re reading it. It helps them visualize the story by themselves. For these kids, it has been extremely helpful and extremely motivating."
Explaining why he liked watching ASL Tales, student Juan Flores said, "Sometimes the lady makes funny faces."
His sentiments were echoed in the words of Alisha Bronk, one of the deaf master storytellers on the project: "ASL is fun and kids think it’s cool. With ASL Tales you get to see features of the language that you don’t see anywhere else. The face is not just facial expressions; it’s a part of the grammar. ASL is much more than just the hands."
Deborah Jaldin, another student, said, "Now I can sign to deaf people."
Some students have even shared materials with their families. "I taught my mom four new signs," Nour Tayari said.
Principal of Key School Dr. Marjorie Myers said, "It’s a really great opportunity for the kids to get an introduction to signing. You never know when that will come in handy."
In Saundra Roger’s English as a second language (ESL) class at Francis Scott Key Elementary School in Arlington, third through fifth grade students are using American Sign Language (ASL) to learn English.
They are using ASL Tales — materials developed to teach students ASL in a fun way. Students watch videos of fairy tales told by deaf master storytellers. The DVDs and accompanying books come with a variety of special features designed to help teach the children more than just vocabulary. Currently, the stories of Rapunzel and the Princess and the Pea are available in ASL Tales. Four more books are on the way, including Hansel and Gretel and the Tortoise and the Hare.
Rogers is the sibling of a deaf adult (SODA). She said because of this, "trying to learn how to communicate with people visually has always been a part of me." She ran across the ASL Tales version of the Princess and the Pea and decided she could adapt it to work for her ESL students.
She contacted Laurie Meyer, one of the founders of ASL Tales. Meyer said, "The teacher has really done an amazing job with creating curriculum and creating applications in the classroom. She was the first ESL educator who saw the possibilities we’d been talking about. In a short period of time, she got incredible results."
Meyer continued, "This is what we had dreamed would happen. In the first week, without any formal curriculum from us, the students got excited about using ASL to learn English.
"Our whole dream is to transform how education happens. There are so many people who think they are learning ‘sign language,’ but they don’t realize that learning sign words isn’t learning language. You can’t say how you feel or what you want, or how things connect. We wanted to give people access to the benefits of how ASL creates a message."
In Meyer’s opinion, this is what separates ASL Tales from other sign language programs in schools. "Many schools are using sign vocabulary," she said. "By actually teaching visual language, they’d get so much more for all kids. Not just ESL students, regular ed students and special ed students, too.
Truly learning ASL is not easy, but there are features of ASL that can be learned quickly and provide valuable opportunities for students."
Meyer said using ASL is valuable because it helps children "create a visual image of what the story is about."
Rogers said, "The materials that have been provided by ASL Tales have been excellent … It’s vocabulary rich. The stories are very interesting. They are standard fairy tales with a modern twist … The kids really get a chance to imagine themselves in the setting in the story."
She thinks using ASL is worthwhile because "a lot of the children that I work with have not been very successful readers … These kids don’t have the movie playing in their head of what’s going on in the story. It helps them see what’s happening as they’re reading it. It helps them visualize the story by themselves. For these kids, it has been extremely helpful and extremely motivating."
Explaining why he liked watching ASL Tales, student Juan Flores said, "Sometimes the lady makes funny faces."
His sentiments were echoed in the words of Alisha Bronk, one of the deaf master storytellers on the project: "ASL is fun and kids think it’s cool. With ASL Tales you get to see features of the language that you don’t see anywhere else. The face is not just facial expressions; it’s a part of the grammar. ASL is much more than just the hands."
Deborah Jaldin, another student, said, "Now I can sign to deaf people."
Some students have even shared materials with their families. "I taught my mom four new signs," Nour Tayari said.
Principal of Key School Dr. Marjorie Myers said, "It’s a really great opportunity for the kids to get an introduction to signing. You never know when that will come in handy."