ASL : Access , Benefits , and Quality
Rosen
related to ASL needs improvement . Deaf people as a group are known for being signers over the years , but their knowledge about their own language , ASL is frequently limited . The situation of hearing students who are themselves excluded from enrolling in a school for the deaf and thus miss the opportunity for immersion in ASL has ramifications as well . Only recently has Gallaudet University opened its enrollment to hearing undergraduates ( Behm , 2010 ; de Vise , 2011 ). Along with the needed changes to how deaf education is set up , such changes point to future directions for educators and policymakers .
Closing Remarks
This review of studies on access to , benefits of , and delivery quality in ASL reveal areas of accomplishments , concerns and promise . There is access to ASL in the American education system that can be improved in various areas . With remarkably rapid growth , offering ASL programs and classes serves as a testament to both the efforts of members of the deaf community and society ’ s increasing acceptance for sign language as a human language . What needs to be addressed in the future is the prospect of all hearing students having the opportunity to learn ASL , and not just for meeting the foreign language requirement . This would be part of fulfilling a universal design concept , where an entire society knows and communicates via an alternative language system such as ASL ( S . Supalla , Small , & J . S . Cripps , 2013 ). The idea that all hearing students study ASL as they do English , math , science , and social studies is bold , yet beneficial . Future studies should examine how learning ASL shapes the architecture of spatial working memory within and outside the linguistic domain among hearing learners and users . Any cognitive boost for hearing learners , as was reported for deaf learners , would be welcome in a society that supports stronger cognitive functioning for its citizens , for instance .
What must be recognized here is the disparity between hearing and deaf children in language development . The former are experiencing increasing access to ASL , while the latter continue to suffer from a lack of attention to sign language-based curriculum , instruction , and assessment and the persistence of spoken language bias in education and society . The polarity and social injustice as described here should not be tolerated . ASL owes its origins to deaf people themselves , but society must be held accountable for its signing citizens and be fully supportive of sign language . This requires sign language planning that ensures benefits and successful outcomes for all American citizens . Both L1 and L2 / Ln considerations and the professionalization of sign language education , are crucial to such planning . This will occur when inclusiveness and diversity are accepted practices in society so that deaf people are recognized as a part of the variegation of human life , and ASL as a natural , human language .
References
Ausbrooks , M . ( 2007 ). Predictors of reading success among deaf bilinguals : Examining the relationship between American Sign Language and English . Unpublished manuscript , Lamar University , Beaumont , TX .
Bahan , B ., & Poole-Nash , J . C . ( 1996 ). The formation of signing communities . In V . Walter ( Ed .), Deaf studies IV : Visions of the past , visions for the future ( pp . 1-26 ). Washington , DC : College for Continuing Education , Gallaudet University .
SASLJ , Vol . 1 , No . 1 – Fall / Winter 2017 23