From: Scott.Johnson@FtCollinsCO.NCR.COM ( Scott Johnson)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: Learning Sign Language
Date: 26 Jan 93 14:00:55 GMT
	<1993Jan26.152022.22367@cbnewsd.cb.att.com>
Organization: NCR Microelectronics, Ft. Collins, CO
In-reply-to: nance@cbnewsd.cb.att.com's message of 26 Jan 93 15:20:22 GMT

>>>>> On 26 Jan 93 15:20:22 GMT, nance@cbnewsd.cb.att.com (nancy.l.colucci) said:

N> In article <1993Jan25.182541.21825@voodoo.ca.boeing.com> howie@yo.ca.boeing.com (howie) writes:
>Our two girls have memorized the sign language alphabet from a library book 
>and are interested in learning more.

N> Wonderful!  The more people who know sign language, in my opinion the
N> better.  Many word signs are made using the sign for the first letter of
N> the word with another gesture, so learning the manual alphabet is a
N> great place to start!  Learning the numbers from 1-10 would be a good
N> second step.  Then they can learn signs for days of the week, months,
N> and simple noun words like boy, girl, man, woman; then how to vary
N> them to make sister, cousin, grandfather, etc.
>
>Is there a standard vocabulary of signs for words?

N> American Sign Language is most commonly used in the USA.  A good bookstore
N> or library should have a section, and there are a few very good books
N> geared toward hearing children who want to sign.  There are also some
N> rather comprehensive books available for adults. 

Also, you may want to discuss with people the pros and cons of SEE
(Signed Exact English) vs. ASL (American Sign Language).  SEE is
*generally* easier for reading age hearing kids to learn because the
know the alphabet and the English language already, and it is basically
just using signs for English words and English word order.  ASL is a
"natural" language and is not based on English really at all (expect for
the fact that it has existed in the US and as new words etc. develop,
new signs may develop along with them).  ASL is actually more closely
related to French Sign Language in word order etc. than it is to
English.  Basically there are a lot of people on both sides of the
argument on which is better to learn and to use.  ASL is a "natural"
language, where as SEE was developed artificially to try to help the
HI/Deaf student in an English speaking culture.

I leave it as a task to the reader to form their own opinions as this is
a very highly debated topic.  Myself, well, I took 2 years of ASL, but
unfortunately they weren't the best courses.   So over time I end up
using a pidgin of the 2 (basically ASL signs with English word order.
Gets me understood in most circumstances).

>
>Anybody know of good sources for teaching kids (ages 8 and 10) this sort
>of thing?

N> It's best to learn signs from another person so you can see the
N> movements instead of a flat drawing.  Some colleges and YMCAs offer evening
N> or summer courses for all ages.

N> Good luck!  I got interested in signing when my own hearing started to
N> deteriorate but it won't be completely gone for awhile yet.

Completely agreed that it is best to learn sign from another person.
You might also want to see if local colleges have any clubs as they are
good sources of information as well.  I have also heard that there is a
program called "Deaf Mosaic" that is open captioned on Saturday mornings
on the Discovery channel.  I have never seen it, so I have no idea how
well this show might appeal to children, but you may want to check it
out if you have cable.

Most importantly, take a class with someone (for your 2 kids this should
be good).  Learning in the class is generally very easy.  What is hard
is remembering it, and if you don't have someone you can communicate
with in this new language, you will forget parts of it (I do speak from
experience here).  I'd recommend that you take a class with or at the
same time as your kids if you have the time/interest/money, etc.  Really
gives you a whole new perspective on things when you go out in public
after being a hearing person all your life and try to use only sign
language.

Good luck and it's great fun to learn!


N> -- 
N> -+*+-+*+-+*+-+*+-+*+-+*+-+*+-+*+-+*+-+*+-+*+-+*+-+*+-+*+-+*+-+*+-+*+
N> Nance Colucci                                      att!ihlpl!colucci
N>   "I'm not absolutely sure I want to do ANYTHING, so quit asking."
N> -+*+-+*+-+*+-+*+-+*+-+*+-+*+-+*+-+*+-+*+-+*+-+*+-+*+-+*+-+*+-+*+-+*+

-Scott
--
-----------------------------------------------------------
E-Mail:  Scott.Johnson@FtCollinsCO.NCR.com
	 uunet!ncrlnk!ncr-mpd!Scott.Johnson
My opinions are mine and mine alone (unless I only live in your dream, in
which case they are yours and I denounce all responsibility).
GA to SK