ASL
Preface: This is a conversation I had over the weekend that I thought was very interesting. I am not saying this is the right choice for Loyola, just sharing one school's experience.
One of the many language options on the long list of "considered languages" was American Sign Language (ASL). Which I admittedly never looked at closely or seriously considered since it had received lower support in terms of all our polling, though it did get some votes.
Over the weekend I had lunch with a grad school friend who teaches Spanish at a school in Irvine and of course the first thing I asked her was "What languages do you offer? and how do you decide which student gets which language?". They currently offer 3 languages: Spanish, French, ASL. ASL was a new program (within the past 3-5 years). I asked how they had come to that decision.
Several years back a female student severely struggled with Spanish and ultimately failed out of the course. She had to attend community college in order to earn the necessary language credit. So the girl and her mother took an ASL class together in order to meet her language requirement. The mom is a Special Ed. teacher and in taking the course with her daughter witnessed that she had a much easier time with ASL than she had with Spanish because her daughter was a kinesthetic learner and for the first time really enjoyed learning another language (we won't call it a foreign language because it is still English =)
So this parent/teacher decided to launch an ASL program at my friend's high school. She had all the course work approved by UC as college prep and has since created a flourishing program. Essentially she is reaching out to a different type of learner. She is employed part-time as a Special Ed teacher and part time (3 sections) as an ASL instructor. She further noted that the ASL program didn't diminish any one program because it drew collectively from those kids who already struggle with English, those students who are more hands-on artistic, and those aspiring to be doctors, lawyers, politicians, etc. She said it did reach a broad range.
Furthermore, you're looking at a language that isn't a "fad" of the time. There will always be a community of people who need this skill--in medicine, legal fields, the arts, etc. So it's also a very practical skill and NOT just in Southern California. I have put in an email to a very good friend of mine currently learning ASL. She took Spanish in high school and I emailed her asking her to share her experience and the differences, successes and struggles she's had. I'll be curious to read her response and will share it with you when I have it.
One of the many language options on the long list of "considered languages" was American Sign Language (ASL). Which I admittedly never looked at closely or seriously considered since it had received lower support in terms of all our polling, though it did get some votes.
Over the weekend I had lunch with a grad school friend who teaches Spanish at a school in Irvine and of course the first thing I asked her was "What languages do you offer? and how do you decide which student gets which language?". They currently offer 3 languages: Spanish, French, ASL. ASL was a new program (within the past 3-5 years). I asked how they had come to that decision.
Several years back a female student severely struggled with Spanish and ultimately failed out of the course. She had to attend community college in order to earn the necessary language credit. So the girl and her mother took an ASL class together in order to meet her language requirement. The mom is a Special Ed. teacher and in taking the course with her daughter witnessed that she had a much easier time with ASL than she had with Spanish because her daughter was a kinesthetic learner and for the first time really enjoyed learning another language (we won't call it a foreign language because it is still English =)
So this parent/teacher decided to launch an ASL program at my friend's high school. She had all the course work approved by UC as college prep and has since created a flourishing program. Essentially she is reaching out to a different type of learner. She is employed part-time as a Special Ed teacher and part time (3 sections) as an ASL instructor. She further noted that the ASL program didn't diminish any one program because it drew collectively from those kids who already struggle with English, those students who are more hands-on artistic, and those aspiring to be doctors, lawyers, politicians, etc. She said it did reach a broad range.
Furthermore, you're looking at a language that isn't a "fad" of the time. There will always be a community of people who need this skill--in medicine, legal fields, the arts, etc. So it's also a very practical skill and NOT just in Southern California. I have put in an email to a very good friend of mine currently learning ASL. She took Spanish in high school and I emailed her asking her to share her experience and the differences, successes and struggles she's had. I'll be curious to read her response and will share it with you when I have it.
Very interesting! Thanks for posting these reflections. Walt Wolf also made an interesting case for ASL, praising its value in teaching linguistics. I am curious to see what other people think . . .
ReplyDeleteI read your posts on choosing lamguages to add and found it very thought-provoking. PLus, it LOOKS really professional as well! I was intrigued by the ASL idea. I hadn't thought about it before, but upon reading the post abou it I am thinking it could be a really good choice for Loyola.
ReplyDeleteGood job.
Cristina Faulkner
First--Thank you for the comments/feedback!! I'm glad to see people taking an interest and having strong opinions. It's wonderful I agree with Jeff that technically speaking ASL isn't a "foreign" language. But neither is Spanish for the native speaker and that does meet his foreign language requirement.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I would say the majority of our students are going to seek a career path in the United States making ASL relevant to many (not all of course) but many career paths--though it would wonderful to be able to integrate sign language into the other languages just as a point of comparison and allowing for some overlap of classes.
English is obviously one of the most widely spoken languages on an international level, but I would say that our job in the language department is giving them an alternative language of communication, and ASL would provide that. Our primary job is not to strengthen their English skills (though often that is a by-product of learning another language), that is the for the English Dept.
Just some thoughts I had as I read comments.