Do your kids "speak" in ASL?

shel90 said:
Totally agree...

I agree with you. One language and then the other. It is happening with my hearing son. He is progressing really nice with both languages.
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Agreed. The thing with using ASL grammar is to be expected, just like a kid that has been exposed to spoken language and then ASL. They will start signing in a more English syntax at first. Reason? Language delays. They have not grasped the application of using one language to learn another yet. That is a concept that is learned peripherally through language acquisition. A child that was not able to acquire language will be slower to grasp and apply the less concrete concepts of language usage. It is to be expected that it will show in Miss Kat's ability to sequence for a while. She will sequence in an ASL syntax. Doesn't make her wrong, just using a different congitive skill to accomplish the task. But then, I'm sure you already know this. Guess I put it all in my post to you because I agreed with your first post.

And everyone that has stated it is absolutely on target. Read, read, read. Not only will it help her English, it will provide her the opportunity for learning the transfer skills she needs between one language and the other.
 
I've always read a lot ever since I was very little. My Deaf friends with good English say the same thing, and grew up devouring books. I also had the Internet as I got older and could research topics I was interested in. Perhaps you could do something like that. Find books and articles on the Internet related to what your daughter is interested in, and she'll be more likely to pay attention and take interest. I know of hearing kids who weren't that great at reading whose parents forced them to read "classics" that they had no interest in. DUH! It did no good.
 
natty_4ever said:
I've always read a lot ever since I was very little. My Deaf friends with good English say the same thing, and grew up devouring books. I also had the Internet as I got older and could research topics I was interested in. Perhaps you could do something like that. Find books and articles on the Internet related to what your daughter is interested in, and she'll be more likely to pay attention and take interest. I know of hearing kids who weren't that great at reading whose parents forced them to read "classics" that they had no interest in. DUH! It did no good.
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Excellent advise and options.
 
I just thought I'd add that this isn't just and "English & ASL" issue ... most, if not all bilingual kids (and adults) will often "blend languages" especially while they are still learning each language's grammar etc.

We see this A LOT in Canada ... because we have many many people who are bi-lingual or multi-lingual (more than 2 languages). When I was learning English & French in school this happened a lot! (I went to a school that was both "English track" and "French track". All announcements where in French and English, Nation Anthem was in French & English etc ...
It was fairly common for students and teachers to start a conversation in English and then flip into French part way through, sometimes mixing the French and English (sometimes blending grammar, sometimes tacking English "word endings"(ed, ing, est, ist, etc.) onto French words, or French "word endings" onto English words. In Canada the mixing of English and French together actaully has a name ... "Franglais" (which is literally the first part of the word "French" and the last half of the word "English" in the French language)

While this might seem "bad" to some people - it's actually a sign that the users are becoming comfortable in both languages ... and are refining the grammar usage of each language. Mixing and matching languages to create an English word with a French suffix allows the user to get a "feel" of what the rules are in the language ... they are getting a feel for the "sound"/"look" of the languages :)

As long as the person is consistently working on learning correct grammar for each language (which in English means read, read, read read!!)... don't worry to much - as it really is a "natural step" in language acquisition , one that isn't unique to us Hoh/d/Deaf !


BTW - Over the Pond, I'm female :)


One thing to keep in mind and be open to as well is that every individual is unique and will have unique challenges in learning language - especially one they cannot hear. While I'm personally not an advocate of using SEE or Cuing as a primary means of daily communication & education (though I respect the choice of those who do use them)... I DO believe that for some Hoh/d/Deaf people that SEE and Cuing may be of great assistance when specifically learning English as a language ... the reason being that while ASL is a totally separate language, SEE and Cuing are visual means of relaying English. For some people this may be helpful, especially when learning to de-code reading.

I urge all parents, students, children and adults to not "shy away" from a system that may work for YOU (your child) - don't let a "system" stand in the way of literacy ... because literacy is POWER. Literacy is our equal connection with the hearing world and if adding SEE (signed English, including word endings etc) or Cuing to your "educational toolkit" (in addition to ASL, and Speechreading etc) helps "crack the code" of being able to read and comprehend what is written ... then USE IT (and do NOT let anyone tell you not to !!!

I personal example of this ... I am thinking of taking a university level Linguistics class (and later Latin Language class) ... As a :deaf: Hoh/Deaf person, I LOVE having ASL interpreters & note-takers for all my other classes (Abrahamic theology, world religions, etc) I know that because much of the linguistics class will focus on "word roots", "sounds" in speech etc ... that ASL alone will not (likely) give me "complete access" to what is being taught in that class. Because I really want to take the class ... I am contemplating learning Cuing - especially for that class... and future language classes (Latin, Spanish etc) because Cuing will help me understand the "sounds of language" (including how to pronounce words) that ASL isn't able to do.

I don't see making the decision to add Cuing to my "communication toolkit" as a negative ... rather, I see it as a means of increasing my ability to learn new things (languages, specifics about how languages are "made" etc) as well as give me the ability to communicate with a Cuer (who doesn't know ASL) if that happens (we have very very very few Cuers in my area ... in fact I only know of 3 aside from ASL/English interpreters who also Cue)


:ily:


[Random: how is it that we don't have a "2 cents" smilie ???]
 
Alex hasn't had the time to restore the smilies & emoticons that got corrupted from the crash. :|
You can see the list of them here, the corrupted ones are blank/borked.

Smilie List - AllDeaf.com
 
OIC - no problem - I just typed the usual "code" and it didn't show up, then I looked on the smilies list and there was no icon ... and I was confused!

I didn't realize it was "crash related" :)
 
Another vote for reading. Read Read Read, when she gets older, encourage her to read too. Also consider putting captions on the tv (if you don't already) so that she can read what is being said to understand it better.
*EQL*
 
Anij said:
In Canada the mixing of English and French together actaully has a name ... "Franglais" (which is literally the first part of the word "French" and the last half of the word "English" in the French language)
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Gotta love that Franglais! Throwing in french words when there just isnt an english equivalent, vice versa, etc!
*EQL*
 
Frisky Feline said:
I agree that reading is the key. When I was a kid, and had a hard time being forced to read anything of books but I often got sleepy and bored for some reasons. My mom had a hard time sitting with me and encouraged me to read over and over and over. All I did was to picked the fussy fights. Like I said, If I were a kid, using the internet then I would read more through the internet such of kid reading stuffs on the internet that won't make me sleepy. LIke now I am reading more on the internet than reading the book. I do read local newspapers, some magazines and romantic book (danielle steel only). I do enjoy reading anything on the internet.
Now I know, reading is more sense to me then I can write and do ASL separately but in a way of making sense to express myself better. I rely on my strong eyes more than rely on my hearing that is more comforts to me even though I had HAs. Teachers made me to use my voice and listen at the same time by reading and learning the sentences and it got me confusing more. I know when I was a kid and using my eyes to visualizing everything like absording words going through my eyes to my brain rather than my hearing with HAs to my brain. So I am a visual learner and I am more comfortable with it.
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For a long time, I wouldn't read books without pictures. I have mentioned that I have been reading Charles Dickens (A Christmas Carol was my first Dickens short story) since 2nd grade but I also didn't mention that it was illustrated in one of my posts. Although I have read Watership Downs (with few illustrations) and Old Curiosity Shop with out the illustrations in the Fifth grade, these books were the expectation to the rule.

I didn't read many non illustrated books till the 8th grade.
 
Anji, VERY GOOD point. This is NOT an "ASL" specific thing.
It's a bilingal thing! even thou I didn't learn ASL til my twenties I still sometimes "speak" in ASL gloss. You know.....you may want to talk to someone who is experianced in teaching ESL (English as a Second Language) kids. They might be able to give you some pointers......and just to reassure you, it's actually pretty common for ORAL kids to have significent grammar issues...(ie they say " How many spiders have legs instead of how many legs do spiders have?)
 
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