This paper argues in favor of the deaf or hard of hearing using American Sign Language or their native language over oralism or other methods of communication.
Abstract This paper explores the tradition of oralism vs. American Sign Language (ASL) in the West. Specifically the researcher proposes that deaf and hard of hearing students should be afforded opportunities to learn using their native language or American Sign Language. Forcing students to adopt other methods of learning including oralism or Signing Exact English (SEE) may promote frustration and inhibits learning in the classroom. This paper reviews the potential merits and demerits of each tradition, highlighting the significance of providing students with resources to use ASL in the classroom.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Personal Philosophy
The Essential Nature of Human Beings
Basic Meaning or Purpose of Life
Determination of Morality
Constancy of Life: Unchanging or Always Changing?
Philosophy of Education
My Perception of an Educational Philosophy
Why do you need a Philosophy?
What has been the Basis or Source of your Educational Philosophy?
How has your Philosophy Changed or Evolved over Time?
My formal Ideological and Philosophical Orientation
The Purpose of Education, Teaching and Schooling
Are Students Intrinsically Motivated to Learn?
Should Schools Address Human Differences such as Multiple Intelligence, Learning Styles etc. ?
Topics
Knowledge and Content
Knowledge with Knowing
My Conceptual Framework for Improving my Practice
Theoretical Framework for Improving Practice
Skills Competencies Necessary
Educational Skills Required
Communication Skills and Content
Nonverbal Communication Skills
Verbal Communication
Influence of Interpersonal Relationships
Importance of Self-Identity
Peer Relations
Influence of Support Networks
Knowledge and Learning
Direct vs. Indirect Learning
Direct vs. Indirect Communication
Conclusion
Reference
From the Paper "Many consider American Sign Language (ASL) the standard language beneficial for hard of hearing and deaf citizens. However, oralism shares a rich history much the same as ASL, and many often argue the potential merits and demerits of using one vs. another in an educational and communicational context. Wilcox & Peyton (1999) recognize that ASL is a fully developed language with unique grammar requirements distinguished from the English language (Coltrane, 2006). Oralism contrarily, involves lip reading to understand speech instead of using ASL to communicate with one another (Coltrane, 2006). This study will help review the merits and demerits of each, questioning whether one vs. the other is more beneficial for promoting communication and sharing among the deaf or hard of hearing community, or whether a combination of both may result in less frustrating choices among the hard of hearing and deaf community. "
Abstract This paper argues that American Sign Language is the ultimate mode of communication for the deaf community. It explains that like any other language, ASL changes and evolves to meet the needs of those who use it. The same as no two hearing people pronounce a word exactly alike, no two deaf people sign exactly alike. It concludes that American Sign Language is a complete, natural language that is growing everyday.
From the Paper "American Sign Language (ASL) is a visual language used by the deaf people in America and parts of Canada. Deafness, by definition, is the inability to hear spoken language, to discriminate and reproduce speech (Neisser 8). Because they weren?t able to understand sound or speech, ASL was developed by American Deaf people to communicate with each other and exists as long as there are Deaf Americans."
Abstract This paper presents a detailed examination of the role of American Sign Language Interpreters. The writer provides the basics of what the job entails and how it is done. In addition the writer describes recent conflicts about the use of sign language as opposed to other means of communication and how that affects the careers of ASL interpreters.
From the Paper "Each year, children are born without the ability to hear. Many more lose the ability due to disorder, disease or accidents. We do not appreciate the ability to hear until we meet someone who cannot do so. The ability to hear affects almost every aspect of life, especially when one is young and trying to learn to read or do other academic tasks. The job of an American Sign Language interpreter, in regards to children and students is to assist in the learning process as well as the child's need and ability to communicate with the hearing world. They not only tell the world what the deaf are trying to say, but they also report to the deaf what the hearing world is telling them. In recent years there has been controversial debate as to the need for ASL and interpreters. A grassroots movement has begun to encourage other means of communication. The world of the deaf is currently divided into separate camps; those who consider themselves purists and want to continue with ASL and those who want it abolished because it sends a signal to the world that they are different. While the battle wages the ASL interpreters are caught in the crossfire, and children who are deaf wait to see what they will be taught."
Tags: deaf, hearing, signal, translate, school, languages, education, class, communication
A discussion of the sign and symbol-based language experiments conducted with great apes over the last forty years, including criticisms, findings, and implications. Addresses projects with gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, and bonobos.
6,395 words (approx. 25.6 pages), 15 sources, 2002, $ 148.95
Abstract This paper addresses a number of different language experiments that have been performed with all four species of great apes - gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, and bonobos, and the advantages, disadvantages, and relative success of each, including conducted experiments. The author discusses the physical limitations of the apes, the advantages of using sign language as opposed to keyboard and symbol-based language, and criticisms brought up by various skeptics. The paper also mentions other types of cognitive activities in which the apes have participated, including painting and learning a system of economic exchange.
From the paper:
"The Koko Project is currently the longest running and most successful of all the ape language projects. Patterson's goal was for Koko [the gorilla] to learn 200 signs ? she now knows over a thousand, and understands at least 2,000 words of spoken English. She asks questions, she lies, she tells stories, she uses the negative, she uses and understands abstract words like love, hate, and death, and she even tells jokes. One of the most famous incidents involves a conversation between Koko and one of her teachers regarding the color of her blanket. As she was getting ready to go to bed, the teacher asked Koko what color the blanket was. Koko responded "red," even though the blanket was white. The teacher admonished her and asked her again, refusing to believe that Koko would make such a simple mistake. Still, Koko responded "red," and repeated it several times. The teacher was perplexed. Then Koko pulled a tiny piece of red lint off the blanket, pointed to it, and signed "red," and started laughing her deep, breathy, gorilla laugh. Humor, then, is another quality we humans can no longer claim for ourselves alone."
Abstract This paper explains that American Sign Language (ASL) involves home signs that resemble the objects, which they are meant to indicate. The author points out that, like any other language, ASL has its abbreviations, slang and contractions, often used by omitting full signs when fluent persons are conversing, especially in groups of persons known to one another. The paper stresses that ASL is a dynamic, evolving language that responds to cultural and environmental changes. The author underscores that the inventors of the prime ASL symbols and gestures could not imagine the impact of the Internet or various technology-assisted devices now available to persons who cannot hear or speak as others do.
From the Paper "ASL includes symbols and actions that are just as arbitrary as spoken language. When consulting a person fluent in ASL, she noted that with many people having become fluent in the language over time and with the particular ways in which ASL was taught, some 'shortcuts' or abbreviations had become usual, understood by deaf persons with whom she spoke or when observing third persons communicate in ASL who were not deaf. Some symbols refer obviously to the objects or actions they represent but others are just customary, ... "
Abstract This paper analyzes Cynewulf's four signed poems. The paper specifically discusses the colophons of the signed poems and describes what they tell us about Cynewulf's poetic practice. The paper cites many examples from the four poems, "Juliana," "Christ II," "Elene" and "Fates" and shows how "Elene" differs from his other three signed poems.
From the Paper "Cynewulf's self-presentation is ambivalent. He is a sinner and distant from God. Yet he is not fully self-abasing. In Christ II he speaks of himself explicitly as a teacher of men, which he also does implicitly in the other poems, indicating that although he is sinful, he is at least knowledgeable about how a Christian ought to behave. And the act of writing, of educating people and asking their aid, is a deed that may eventually lead to his salvation. He takes credit for the majority of his writing rather than claiming it as divine inspiration. Only in Elene does he involve God in the poetic process. Finally, the very presence of the signatures and colophons indicate a strong sense of himself as a poet. He has worked his name into the poems in such a way that it cannot be removed without damaging the poem. And he has appended personal colophons to four poems in contrast to any of their original sources. Although he has failings as a man, Cynewulf conceives of his poetry as a means to salvation."
Abstract This paper studies the sign of the cross, or the ritual hand motion emulating the structure of the cross. The paper examines how the sign of the cross originated and follows its development throughout history. The paper also provides descriptions of what the symbol of the cross meant to different cultures and also explains the symbolic significance of the sign of the cross in several instances such as baptism and mass.
From the Paper "An interesting contemporary sociological significance of the sign of the cross and its implications in secular culture arose at a football match in 2006. Last year a Celtic football player by the name of Artur Borac, during a game in Scotland, created an instant controversy when making gesticulations that were directed towards crowd members that were supporters of the opposition. He also blessed himself throughout the football match. The combination of his gesticulations and blessing himself was considered offensive. He was cautioned by the Crown Office. The Roman Catholic Church in Scotland issued a statement that a gesture of religious significance should not be considered offensive."
Abstract This paper explains that Christ used miracles and signs of wonder upon the earth, not as acts of magic, but of showing the ability of the divine to be made flesh, of being able to make the world a good place in its physical as well as its spiritual essence. The author stresses that every time an individual rises from bed every day, weathers the difficulties of ordinary existence in the physical, sinning world and still accomplishes good, these acts are a kind of miracle. The paper concludes that, today, signs of miracles are everywhere, if only one looks at the goodness of the world and the manifestation of Christ.
From the Paper "One cannot demand signs and miracles of the world and of God. Such manifestations of faith occur spontaneously, of course. The Acts of the Apostles 2:22 says that Christ's manifestation of signs and miracles proved him a man of God. Yet signs and miracles are ever-present in the world today, in extraordinary as well as ordinary manifestations. To dwell in a God-created world is a miracle."
Abstract This paper discusses the hypothesis that learning and using sign language is relatively easy to do because there are so many books and web sites available that teaches it to anyone who wants to learn. The paper presents a personal account of an encounter with a deaf person and the writer's exposure to sign language. The writer's ultimate realization of what it means to be deaf is described.
From the Paper "American Sign Language is well represented on the internet and in libraries. You can take classes in schools like community colleges or special schools for the deaf and in some cases through community services or the local Recreation Council. Like the English language, the American Sign Language base is in constant flux. Just like the English language, they had to add terms for the internet and web sites and any new thing or technology. "New word definitions are being added, and this will soon bring the total number of American Sign Language terms to more than 1270! Also included is the basic alphabet and numbers 1-10." (American Sign Language)"
Abstract This paper discusses how there can be little question that effective communication is vital to teaching in any classroom. With this in mind, the following paper explores how signing actually facilitates language development and why it essential to any progressive educational program or institution. In the process of so doing, one of the most important revelations of all is that language acquisition is not automatically achieved most efficaciously through auditory-cognitive means but that it is just as effectively acquired through visual-cognitive means. That being noted, the paper then discusses signing and language acquisition.
Abstract This paper examines the use of ASL as the main form of communication between the hearing-impaired and discusses reasons for its popularity. Different features and unique methods of ASL are mentioned and explained. The paper discusses how ASL has spread to be recognized as a proper language and how it is being offered as an accredited course in some universities. It also looks at how sign language has been adopted by animal trainer and scientists to study communication amongst animals.
From the Paper "Sign language is a language of gestures and hand symbols used to communicate due to a number of reasons including, language barriers, ritual, or disabilities, such as speech impairment and/or deafness. Sign languages, like oral languages, "are acquired spontaneously and have highly intricate, rule-governed signs grammar and phonology" (Sign pg). Hand configuration, movement, and body position are the three classes of features that make up individual signs (Sign pg). There are numerous sign languages, including ?those of Trappist monks, who have a rule of silence, and Plains Indians, where speakers of mutually unintelligible language communicated freely,? moreover, "Australian aborigines and people of Sudan and the Sahara also have a complete sign language" (Sign pg). Many languages have incorporated body gestures to elaborate, accompany or supplement speech. The language of sign for the deaf was first systematized by Charles Michel de l?Epee during the Eighteen century introduced in the United States by T.H. Gallaudet (Sign pg). "As with any sign language, only a small percentage of signs suggest the form of thought they represent" (Sign pg). There are many dictionaries of sign available, including the American Sign Language, ASL, the most popular used for the hearing impaired."
Abstract This paper examines how the movie "Signs" is more about faith than it is about either crop circles or aliens. Although the plot centers around the imminent arrival of extraterrestrial beings and what that arrival entails, the film focuses on the disillusioned Reverend Graham Hess, played by Mel Gibson. Following the untimely death of his wife, Hess loses his faith in God and renounces the church.
From the Paper "This loss of faith is established early in the film, when he tells the police officer to ?please stop calling me Father,? and this theme is reexamined throughout the film as Hess confronts the alien presence. Flashbacks and conversations with family members eventually restore Hess's faith in the church. However, religion is only one expression of faith; faith in God and religion is ostensible, but so is the faith in the unseen, in reason, or even in the status quo. Confronted with a foreign, incomprehensible, and frightening reality, various characters in "Signs" develop an individual faith. According to the Gage dictionary, faith means ?believing without proof.? Therefore, the children and all the people who believe that the signs signal the arrival of extraterrestrials have faith that these beings exist"even before they witness them. It is not until Graham Hess sees the green, gnarled claw of the alien in Ray Reddy's pantry that the audience"and Hess--can believe without a doubt that the aliens exist. "Signs" sets up a definition of faith that encompasses primarily faith in religion, but expands this definition to entail faith in family, in miracles, and in any power greater than material life."
Abstract This ten-page post-graduate paper compares and contrasts sign language and oral language. The author examines various aspects of the two types of language, offers specific examples of differences and similarities, and analyzes the respective effectiveness and structure of both types.
Abstract Presents conflicting approaches to education of deaf children or children with vocal language impairments. Discusses educational philosophy and American Sign Language (ASL).
From the Paper "While sign languages are generally regarded as languages that are most useful for individuals with hearing or verbal communication impairments, research suggests that such languages are also useful in other contexts ..."
Abstract This paper looks at the eight miracles of Jesus that are signs of his divinity in the gospel of John. The miracles that are mentioned in this paper are the turning of water to wine, healing of the nobleman's son, the healing of the lame man, the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus' walking on water, the healing of the blind man, the raising of Lazarus from the dead, and the miraculous catch of fishes.
From the Paper "In the Gospel of John in the New Testament there are eight sign miracles that Jesus performs, which are: the turning of water to wine, healing of the nobleman's son, the healing of the lame man, the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus' walking on water, the healing of the blind man, the raising of Lazarus from the dead, and the miraculous catch of fishes. This paper will look at how each of these miracles further reveals the deity of Jesus. The first miracle that John records is the turning of water into wine at the wedding in Cana shortly after Jesus recruits his first few followers. When the wine runs out, Jesus' mother comes and tells him, and he understands that she wants him to do something about it, but tells her it is not time yet."
