ASL as a Foreign Language...
In a vast majority of high schools, students are required to take a foreign language. This requirement is meant to help build a connection with another culture and to be able to communicate with them more easily. This allows communication with more people in different areas around the world. It also helps us be more open to the cultures that exist in our own country, because we often find it hard to communicate with other people right here in the United States. Take a look at the deaf community, for example, which most of us likely don’t know about very well, but live closer to them than we think.
Most of us could not fathom what our lives would look like if sound were to be absent from our world. In our eyes, we would see this as a tragedy. Yet, people face this challenge every day. In an article titled This is What it is Like to be Deaf From Birth, a woman named Cristina Hartman explains that it is not bad, it is simply different. Cristina was born in the 1980's to two hearing parents. Her deafness came as a surprise to them and they acted quickly on it. Cristina's parents made the decision to teach her using ASL as opposed to oralism (an educational technique for deaf children that places its emphasis on speech and lip-reading) At the time, the latter was the more popular choice. The choice of educating Cristina through ASL was a large one for her parents to make and required a good deal of work out of them. They relentlessly made an effort to help Cristina by getting a teacher for her and attending night classes to learn the language for themselves. At an early age, Cristina was enrolled in a program for deaf children and eventually a school for the deaf. She was able to become part of a community with other deaf children which gave her access to the full potential of her education. Many deaf individuals don't have the same support Cristina did and are forced into an environment that is not set up for their best success. Children are unable to fully interact with their peers without the help of an interpreter, and their teachers are not capable of fully meeting their specific needs. This could be the fate of a child that is thrown into the hearing world and forced to attend mainstream schooling. This is not to say that this fate is what is for in store for all deaf children, but it could easily happen if they are unable to learn in a fitting environment. It’s really challenging to decide whether to attend a general public school or a deaf education school. This is made a challenge by the fact that public schools typically don’t offer any programs for deaf students or accommodate their needs very well. The Pedersens are a family of five who are all deaf except for one son, Kaleb. They made the decision early on to send all of their children to deaf schools because they knew it would be easier for them to learn, because a public school would only interfere with the things they really want to focus on. Kaleb shared that as someone who acts as a bridge for his deaf family and friends, he appreciates their community much more than most people would, since most people never had the opportunity to learn about it. There is also a downside towards taking ASL in place of a different foreign language however. Foreign language is the key to a better global community, which can't necessarily be met by taking ASL in place of a foreign language. Grace Chen, from the Public School Review, says students who learn a foreign language are more enthusiastic about the world around them and are more interested in other cultures. As important as it is to learn about the deaf culture in the US, it is limiting our education about the world. It very important to learn about the cultures that exist outside of the United States in order to help us get a better understanding of global issues and customs, and taking ASL in place of that excludes many people of that awareness. There are points that can be argued for both sides, but we still wonder how this might affect our awareness of the country and of the world. Do you think ASL should be offered as a foreign language in schools? Article written by: Jess, Alex, Sam, and Laura |
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Now that you have learned a little about Deaf Culture, learn how to sign your name in ASL. |
Click these links if you would like to learn a little bit more about the issue.
Deaf Students Face Lack of Interpreters
A deaf student in New York faces a day with an interpreter only in her social studies classes.
With a Deaf Community of Millions, Hearing India is only just Beginning to Sign
The country of India does not recognize sign language as an official language. Deaf people are suffering from lack of interpreters.
Deaf Students Face Lack of Interpreters
A deaf student in New York faces a day with an interpreter only in her social studies classes.
With a Deaf Community of Millions, Hearing India is only just Beginning to Sign
The country of India does not recognize sign language as an official language. Deaf people are suffering from lack of interpreters.
What do you think? Should ASL be offered in public schools as a foreign language? Should more kids be interested in taking ASL as their foreign language or would you?
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