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The Language of Education Matthew Arnold Imagine, as a hearing student in a public school system, being taught by teachers that only speak Spanish. However, the student's primary language happens to be English. How difficult would it be to learn, comprehend, and even remain interested in the various subjects taught at school? A similar problem faces many Deaf students within certain schools in the United States. Various types of sign languages are used to communicate with Deaf individuals throughout the U.S. alone. These different methods of signing have caused several people to question which sign language is most appropriate to use when teaching Deaf students. Sign languages that follow the syntax of the English language, like Signing Exact English (SEE II), are considered to be the best languages to teach Deaf students by several educators. Many liberal educators of the Deaf, however, believe and know that American Sign Language (ASL) is the best visual language to teach Deaf students. In 1972, Gerilee Gustason, Esther Zawolkow, and D. Pfetzing created a new sign language based on the English language known as Signing Exact English (Stedt and Moores 16). It was derived from a previous system known as Seeing Essential English (SEE I) (Schwartz 279). SEE I, SEE II, and other sign systems based on English are known as manually coded English (MCE) systems. This means that the structure of the sign language follows the same structure and grammar rules as the English language. In order to follow the syntax of the English language, SEE I and SEE II include signs to indicate the tense of a word, suffixes, prefixes, and small words that would not be signed in American Sign Language (278). Due to the various English-based sign systems, SEE II will be used to demonstrate the differences between ASL and manually coded English systems. Signing Exact English has a distinct rule that separates it from American Sign Language. According to Schwartz, the "two out of three" rule in SEE II asks three questions to decide whether or not additional signs are necessary for different words. For instance, one must ask: Are the two words spelled the same? Do these two words sound alike? Are the two words equal in meaning? If yes is the answer to at least two of the questions, then the two words will have an identical sign. The words "right" and "write" have different signs because the words are not spelled the same and they have different meanings. However, the word "bear" uses the same sign in phrases like "a big furry bear" and "to bear an infant" because the meaning is the only thing different (279). In addition to the "two out of three" rule, Signing Exact English is different from American Sign Language in the sense that SEE II creates other words by using letters or initials. For instance, American Sign Language uses one sign for the words "beautiful" and "pretty". Signing Exact English uses the same sign for beautiful, but denotes the word "pretty" by producing the sign with the letter "P" (Schwartz 279). American Sign Language also uses one sign for a compound word whereas Signing Exact English and other MCE systems use two separate signs for one compound word. One example of this is the word "cowboy". Instead of signing one sign, SEE II uses the sign for "cow" and the sign for "boy" together (Stedt and Moores 16). Ameslan, also known as American Sign Language, is the most common method of communicating among Deaf individuals (Fant 1). ASL does not use the grammar or syntax rules of the English language (Schwartz 277). One method that illustrates the grammar of ASL is known as topicalization. When using this technique, the topic or object is signed first. Next, any adjectives describing the object are signed. Finally, the signs that describe the action of the sentence are performed. For example, "I bought a new blue coat," is signed COAT BLUE NEW BUY ME . Usually, the adjective describing the color of the object appears before any other adjective (Fant 55-56). Simplifying the method of topicalization, Jensema says that, "ASL tends to set the stage, put in the characters, and then describe the action" (qtd. in Schwartz 278). The origin of ASL is not certain, but many believe that the language began developing on Martha's Vineyard, a small island off the coast of Massachusetts. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, a large population of Deaf families and individuals worked and lived on the island. Everyone, including hearing individuals, used a natural sign language to communicate. Deaf people even held prominent roles in the community including leadership positions (Stedt and Moores 5). While a highly Deaf populated Martha's Vineyard was using their natural sign language, an American, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, made a trip to Paris, France to investigate the possibility of adapting the French method of teaching the Deaf to teaching American Deaf students. In August of 1816, Gallaudet returned to the United States with an intelligent educator of French Deaf students, Laurent Clerc. Together, Gallaudet and Clerc developed an English-based sign language; similar to the one used in France at the time. In Hartford on April 15, 1817, the two men established the Connecticut Asylum for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb, which today is known as the American School for the Deaf (Stedt and Moores 4). During the 1820s and 1830s, Deaf children from Martha's Vineyard were sent to the American School for the Deaf. Later, more Deaf individuals moved inland causing the natural sign language, being used on Martha's Vineyard, to mix with the sign language developed by Gallaudet and Clerc. The combination of these two sign systems is believed to have helped the growth of American Sign Language (Stedt and Moores 6). The development of ASL was not the only progress during the nineteenth century. Deaf education was spreading across America. During 1828, Laurent Clerc instructed several male teachers. Many of them left the American School for the Deaf and established their own schools for the Deaf (Stedt and Moores 7). By 1869, in the entire world, there were 550 teachers for the Deaf. In America, 41 percent of the educators were actually Deaf themselves (Sacks 24). Most of the schools during the 1830s used Clerc's sign language, but some institutions were beginning to use American Sign Language to teach Deaf students. An 1834 report released by the New York Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb stated that the school had started using the natural sign language, an early version of ASL, for classroom instruction rather than the English-based sign system developed by Clerc (Stedt and Moores 7-8). A constant changing of sign languages among schools in America led to a controversy among educators of the Deaf. Everyone believed that a sign language should be used to instruct Deaf children, but the type of sign language has been debated since 1850 (8). The sign language controversy today also involves the two types of teaching methods commonly practiced. Total communication (TC) has been around since the 1970s (Bodner-Johnson 212). In 1992, of all Deaf residential schools, 92 percent used a type of total communication. Of public school systems and other daytime programs that educated Deaf students, 72 percent acknowledged the use of TC in 1992 (Bodner-Johnson 213). This method of teaching involves the use of residual hearing, any hearing that a Deaf individual still has available, and some form of an English-based sign language. The sign language used could either be Signing Exact English, Seeing Essential English, Signed English, or any other English-based sign language. Spoken English may also be utilized during the instruction of Deaf children when using TC (Gallimore and Woodruff 89). Recently, the Bilingual-Bicultural (Bi-Bi) teaching approach has been spreading rapidly across America (Gallimore and Woodruff 90). According to Reynolds, Bi-Bi simply means "learning two languages and two cultures" (qtd. in Gallimore and Woodruff 90). This method enforces the "use of American Sign Language as the primary language of instruction in the classroom." The Deaf students are taught English, by means of reading and writing, as a separate and secondary language (89). Not only is ASL a major factor of the Bi-Bi method, but the Deaf culture, including customs and history, plays an important role in the students' education (90). Many ideas support the Bi-Bi method as opposed to the total communication approach. Gallimore and Woodruff present a list of these ideas that Bi-Bi advocates strongly believe.
For several years, educators have tried to teach students using manually coded English, such as SEE II. However, studies show "that the average reading level of a Deaf student graduating from high school is between the third and fourth grade level" (Gallimore and Woodruff 92). This average low academic achievement among Deaf students has caused several educators to begin supporting the Bi-Bi method. Law changes and the increasing awareness of individuals with disabilities has also supported Bi-Bi (90). The Bilingual-Bicultural method has been debated among scholars and educators for over 20 years. With that controversy comes the argument of whether or not to use ASL as the primary language in the classroom as opposed to a manually coded English system. Studies have shown that American Sign Language definitely "presents an adequate visual motor feedback system similar to the auditory-articulatory loop of spoken language users." This shows that ASL is undoubtedly the natural language of the Deaf community (Paul and Jackson 128-129). Researchers also believe that a Deaf child can learn ASL as a primary language much easier than English or a manually coded English system. Plus, even though studies are rare, evidence shows that English can be acquired as a second language by using American Sign Language with the Bi-Bi approach (129). How English should be taught to Deaf students produces a dilemma within the Bi-Bi teaching method. Most Deaf students have learned American Sign Language at an early age. Teaching these children English with ASL seems appropriate and efficient. For students who do not learn American Sign Language before attending school, or when ASL is not the primary language used in the home, ASL will not help the children obtain a decent understanding of the English language. It is emphasized that a child's primary language, whether it be spoken or a kind of sign language, must be chosen before entering the school system if any English is to be mastered as a primary or secondary language. Having a background in a primary language before the first year of school will likewise aid the Deaf student in other school subjects (Paul and Jackson 48). Teaching English at the high school level by using American Sign Language has been extremely successful. ASL can be an excellent way to teach English to Deaf high school students because the students have been previously exposed to the English language. Furthermore, subjects, ideas, actions, and expressions are all learned in ASL causing the education of English to be obtained by reflecting on the child's knowledge of his or her primary language, which in this case is American Sign Language (Fischer 103).
It is not expected that a Deaf student become fluent in both ASL and English. However, it must be understood that evidence illustrates that American Sign Language can be used as a way to teach a classroom of Deaf students. It is true that more research is needed to understand whether ASL or MCE can increase a Deaf student's academic achievement when utilized in the classroom. However, several researchers believe that all recent data point educators in the direction of the Bi-Bi approach. A major factor in the controversy between the usage of ASL and MCE systems within the Deaf classroom includes the perspective of the Deaf community. The American Deaf community has been pushing forward as a minority group with American Sign Language as their strong point. ASL has been proven to be the best method of communicating among the Deaf since the sign language enables the Deaf to easily "communicate with their hands, face, and body and for their eyes." Educators who have tried to instruct Deaf children using MCE systems have noticed the students using the manually coded English signs with ASL grammar. Because American Sign Language naturally makes sense to Deaf individuals, the Deaf students change the MCE systems to ASL grammar (Tucker 365). This completely defeats the purpose of teaching Deaf students with MCE systems because the children are not learning correct English syntax and grammar using manually coded English. The National Association of the Deaf, the nation's largest advocacy group of the Deaf, recognized ASL as the language of Deaf people in 1984. This was not a milestone for the Deaf because the recognition was long overdue. Today, several businesses, schools, museums, and other organizations are reaching out to the Deaf community by learning ASL and hiring interpreters. Universities, colleges, and even high schools are now offering ASL classes as a foreign language course. The changing world of today continues to increase acknowledgement of American Sign Language as the language of the Deaf (Tucker 366-367). Anyone can see that several reasons exist as to why educators for Deaf students should utilize American Sign Language in the classroom. The Bilingual-Bicultural method enables Deaf students to learn using ASL, a language that dominates the Deaf community, and helps the children to understand the Deaf culture and history. Research and evidence at Deaf schools, including ISD, prove that ASL helps a Deaf child learn faster and more effectively. If ASL can become a Deaf student's primary language, there is great hope that the student will acquire adequate English skills as a secondary language. Furthermore, the use of American Sign Language seems to be the only logical way to teach a Deaf classroom. Deaf students growing up in a society where Deaf people prefer ASL should learn in the language commonly used by the Deaf.
Bibliography Bodner-Johnson, Barbara. "Total Communication: A Professional Point of View." Choices in Deafness: A Parent's Guide to Communication Options. Ed. Sue Schwartz. 2nd ed. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House, 1996. 209-217. Fant, Lou. The American Sign Language Phrase Book. Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1983. Fischer, Susan. "Sign Language and Manual Communication." Deafness and Communication: Assessment and Training. Ed. Donald Sims, et al. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1982. 90-106. Gallimore, Laurene, and Susan Woodruff. "The Bilingual-Bicultural (Bi-Bi) Approach: A Professional Point of View." Choices in Deafness: A Parent's Guide to Communication Options. Ed. Sue Schwartz. 2nd ed. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House, 1996. 89-95. Paul, Peter, and Dorothy Jackson. Toward a Psychology of Deafness: Theoretical and Empirical Perspectives. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 1993. Sacks, Oliver. Seeing Voices: A Journey Into the World of the Deaf. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1989. Schwartz, Sue. "Systems of Manual Communication." Choices in Deafness: A Parent's Guide to Communication Options. Ed. Sue Schwartz. 2nd ed. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House, 1996. Appendix A. Stedt, Joseph, and Donald Moores. "Manual Codes on English and American Sign Language: Historical Perspectives and Current Realities." Manual Communication: Implications for Education. Ed. Harry Bornstein. Washington D.C.: Gallaudet University Press, 1990. 1-20. Stutler, Donna. Personal interview. 14 April 2000. Tucker, James. "The Impact of ASL Research on the American Deaf Community." The Deaf Way: Perspectives from the International Conference on Deaf Culture. Ed. Carol Erting, et al. Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press, 1994. |
In
a recent discussion with Donna Stutler, Ball State University liaison at the
Indiana School for the Deaf (ISD), the Bi-Bi program has given ISD successful
results since its adoption in 1989. Today, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade Deaf
students attending ISD have acquired an English reading and writing level equal
to their hearing peers. This means that the Bi-Bi program with the usage of ASL
in the classroom has improved the English skills of Deaf students to a level
equal to their grade and age. Never before have Deaf students at ISD reached
such high English skills. So many students are gaining the reading skills at the
seventh grade reading level, that ISD is being forced to purchase more seventh
grade literature books. This shows an enormous improvement using ASL and Bi-Bi
considering that it use to be an accomplishment if a Deaf student reached a
fourth grade reading level by high school graduation (Stutler interview).
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Send e- mail to mattarnold@visto.com
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