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POST-TRIBUNE :: News :: Purdue event introduces children to sign language
Megan Pardee stood on stage, holding a stuffed frog, as youngsters and their parents learned how to say "frog" in sign language.
Kids pulled stuffed animals out of a bag -- a deer, lamb, moose -- while learning about sign language and deaf culture.
Megan, 8, was delighted. Her mother, Barb Pardee of Valparaiso, is an American Sign Language student at Purdue University North Central. She was grateful for the chance to teach her daughter more about the deaf community during the ASL Club's Game Night in the Library-Student-Faculty Building on campus.
"I try to attend as many deaf-oriented events at the school as possible with her," Barb said.
Bridging the gap between the deaf and the hearing communities is one is the club's goal, said Jason Maloney, a limited-term lecturer of ASL at the campus.
"I hope this event helps others to become more comfortable talking with deaf people," Maloney said, using sign language. "Sign language is unique because it has its own word structure. It is a visual language, not a verbal language. Adverbs and feelings are revealed through facial expressions."
Karen Donah, the club's faculty adviser and continuing lecturer and coordinator of the American Sign Language Department of English and Modern Languages at PNC, invited a guest to tell stories and lead the audience in activities.
Donah's sister, Nina Coyer, is a deaf ASL interpreter and assistant professor at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond. She waved and warmed up to children gathered for a pizza party and night of activities.
"I want everyone to become familiar and to begin to understand how to communicate with deaf people," Coyer said in sign language.
She led the audience in games geared toward learning sign language.
The ASL Club on campus sponsors on-site and off-site activities to promote awareness of deaf culture. The club conducts weekly silent lunches and monthly silent coffee houses.
This month, ASL students will travel to Indiana School for the Deaf in Indianapolis, Donah said.
"It's really a valuable experience for students; there are workshops at the retreat geared specifically for high school and college students," Donah said.
Megan Pardee stood on stage, holding a stuffed frog, as youngsters and their parents learned how to say "frog" in sign language.
Kids pulled stuffed animals out of a bag -- a deer, lamb, moose -- while learning about sign language and deaf culture.
Megan, 8, was delighted. Her mother, Barb Pardee of Valparaiso, is an American Sign Language student at Purdue University North Central. She was grateful for the chance to teach her daughter more about the deaf community during the ASL Club's Game Night in the Library-Student-Faculty Building on campus.
"I try to attend as many deaf-oriented events at the school as possible with her," Barb said.
Bridging the gap between the deaf and the hearing communities is one is the club's goal, said Jason Maloney, a limited-term lecturer of ASL at the campus.
"I hope this event helps others to become more comfortable talking with deaf people," Maloney said, using sign language. "Sign language is unique because it has its own word structure. It is a visual language, not a verbal language. Adverbs and feelings are revealed through facial expressions."
Karen Donah, the club's faculty adviser and continuing lecturer and coordinator of the American Sign Language Department of English and Modern Languages at PNC, invited a guest to tell stories and lead the audience in activities.
Donah's sister, Nina Coyer, is a deaf ASL interpreter and assistant professor at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond. She waved and warmed up to children gathered for a pizza party and night of activities.
"I want everyone to become familiar and to begin to understand how to communicate with deaf people," Coyer said in sign language.
She led the audience in games geared toward learning sign language.
The ASL Club on campus sponsors on-site and off-site activities to promote awareness of deaf culture. The club conducts weekly silent lunches and monthly silent coffee houses.
This month, ASL students will travel to Indiana School for the Deaf in Indianapolis, Donah said.
"It's really a valuable experience for students; there are workshops at the retreat geared specifically for high school and college students," Donah said.