American Sign Language
I have taught sign language to my classes since I started teaching preschool in 2007. It amazes me how quickly the children pick up on it. They seem to enjoy learning the sign for each letter and additional words that go with the curriculum. I've seen how it has made their learning more concrete when they can put a visual sign to the letter or word we are learning. By the end of each school year 80% of the students know the entire alphabet in ASL and the remainder of the students know the majority of the letters.
Why do I teach American Sign Language (ASL)?
The Effects of ASL on Increasing the Language & Literacy Skills of Young Hearing Children:
The most exciting research currently being conducted is focused on documenting the effects that learning sign language has on the development of language and literacy skills of young hearing children. In two different studies (Capirci, 1998) ASL was taught in context to children. In both studies those who received the instruction scored higher on tests in visual discrimination and spatial memory than did the groups of children who did not receive any signing instruction. Additional studies (Daniels, 1994) have consistently found that young hearing children of hearing parents who learned ASL in a school context, demonstrated a greater understanding of English vocabulary and achieved higher scores on the PPVT than their peers who did not receive any instruction.
It has also been documented that when young children are ready to learn how to read, that the learning of sign language can strengthen and increase oral language and literacy skills. It was observed that hearing children of deaf parents were often reading before they began school because their parents had fingerspelled with them. The researchers concluded that these children were able to make the connection between the manual letters of fingerspelling and the printed letters on a page. We have also learned a great deal about multiple intelligences from Howard Gardner and the importance of understanding and identifying the wide variety of individual learning styles as well as the importance of multi-sensory teaching. Sign language involves seeing, hearing, and movement. This is the perfect combination of how young children learn best. Using the multi-sensory approaches of sign language, children are able to use both sides of the brain, thus creating multiple pathways, which can strengthen memory and build connections for further learning. In conclusion, teaching sign language has incredible benefits for all young children. Its multi-sensory approach increases and builds language and literacy skills, motivates young learners through their natural desire for constant movement, and provides an atmosphere of play and fun!
The Effects of ASL on Increasing the Language & Literacy Skills of Young Hearing Children:
The most exciting research currently being conducted is focused on documenting the effects that learning sign language has on the development of language and literacy skills of young hearing children. In two different studies (Capirci, 1998) ASL was taught in context to children. In both studies those who received the instruction scored higher on tests in visual discrimination and spatial memory than did the groups of children who did not receive any signing instruction. Additional studies (Daniels, 1994) have consistently found that young hearing children of hearing parents who learned ASL in a school context, demonstrated a greater understanding of English vocabulary and achieved higher scores on the PPVT than their peers who did not receive any instruction.
It has also been documented that when young children are ready to learn how to read, that the learning of sign language can strengthen and increase oral language and literacy skills. It was observed that hearing children of deaf parents were often reading before they began school because their parents had fingerspelled with them. The researchers concluded that these children were able to make the connection between the manual letters of fingerspelling and the printed letters on a page. We have also learned a great deal about multiple intelligences from Howard Gardner and the importance of understanding and identifying the wide variety of individual learning styles as well as the importance of multi-sensory teaching. Sign language involves seeing, hearing, and movement. This is the perfect combination of how young children learn best. Using the multi-sensory approaches of sign language, children are able to use both sides of the brain, thus creating multiple pathways, which can strengthen memory and build connections for further learning. In conclusion, teaching sign language has incredible benefits for all young children. Its multi-sensory approach increases and builds language and literacy skills, motivates young learners through their natural desire for constant movement, and provides an atmosphere of play and fun!
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