American Sign Language as a Bridge to English

By Vicky A. Allen, M.Ed.

American Sign Language as a Bridge to English is a unique guide for HEARING teachers of HEARING students to use ASL as a 'bridge' to learn English as a foreign language. This ebook version makes it a convenient way to always have the signs with you on your phone or tablet. The book contains over 250 signs to be used in the classroom, each with a simple illustration and description. By clicking on the word in the Index by alphabet, finding the word signs is simplified. Along with the signs, there are also 'snippets' of information that teachers will find helpful. These provide the teacher with information about signing, deaf culture, and other helpful resources.

 

The distinctiveness of this book is that it teaches the handshapes of ASL prior to learning the ABC's. By introducing the handshapes first, not the alphabet, a teacher who is learning to sign for the first time will have a better opportunity to teach the signs correctly to her students without needing to be fluent in ASL. The kinesthetic addition of ASL will help students more readily recall the English word by putting 'ever-present' flashcards in their hands. Since many of the handshapes represent letters of the alphabet, students will soon be fingerspelling their names without formally learning the ABCs.

 

NOTE: This book is not attempting to teach the language of American Sign Language but to use ASL as a tactile aid to recall the English word. But, in saying this, some students and teachers, hopefully, will be motivated to continue to learn American Sign Language as a subsequent foreign language.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alanna Publishing
• Release date: May 7, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393644071

Vicky A. Allen, M.Ed.

After more than 25 years of experience as an educator for the deaf, Vicky Allen discovered the benefits of integrating American Sign Language (ASL) with teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language (ESL/EFL). In American Sign Language as a Bridge to English, Vicky shares her successful teaching methods for hearing teachers and students in the EFL classroom. Vicky received a master’s degree in Deaf Education in the mid 1970s. Her course work included learning the language of ASL and thus began her life’s work. While teaching beginning ASL at the college level in the early 2000s, Vicky was required to teach fingerspelling and handshapes during the third semester. It was then that she realized teaching handshapes during the first semester would give her students an advantage in learning the signs and producing them more accurately. When Vicky accepted a teaching position in the Persian Gulf region in 2010 to teach English as a Foreign Language, she saw the value of integrating ASL in the ESL/EFL classroom. In 2012, she presented her idea at an international conference and since then has facilitated informative workshops in several other venues, seeing increased interest in ASL inclusion of teaching ESL/EFL. Teachers and students, excited about their successes, encouraged Vicky to document her work. Vicky’s book, American Sign Language as a Bridge to English, is a must for every educator’s library.

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