Signing Naturally Student Workbook Units 1-6 eBook

Transform Your ASL Skills with the Ultimate Signing Naturally Student Workbook Units 1-6 eBook and DVDs

Unlock your full potential in ASL with the Ultimate Signing Naturally Student Workbook Units 1-6, designed to perfectly complement your coursework in American Sign Language (ASL).

These comprehensive introductory materials, along with class instruction, provide you with essential vocabulary, grammar, and expressive practice to develop your everyday conversational skills in ASL.

This introduction will cover what to expect in the classroom. It will also provide brief insights into ASL, Deaf Culture, and the Deaf community, review the materials, and guide you on how to prepare for class with the Signing Naturally Student Workbook, Units 1-6.

You’re Taking An ASL Class!

Since you’ve enrolled in this course, you probably already have a keen interest in ASL. Maybe you’ve seen an interpreter at a performance or in a classroom.

Perhaps you’ve met a Deaf person or have a Deaf family member, friend, or neighbor. Now that you’ve decided to learn ASL, be prepared to embrace a new language and culture with the Dynamic Signing Naturally Student Workbook Units 1-6.

Human communication is essentially a set of symbols (this applies to signs, sounds, and printed pictures or words) that users agree to have the same meaning. For ASL, an obvious difference from spoken language is the modality, which for ASL is visual and gestural.

Students of ASL can expect to gain valuable insights, not only into the universal aspects common to all languages but also specific knowledge found in studying ASL and learning about its vibrant community of users.

A Brief History Of ASL

For over 250 years, ASL has evolved in the U.S. and Canada as the primary means for Deaf people to express and share their ideas, needs, and thoughts.

Although it is primarily Deaf people who use ASL, hearing individuals around them acquire and use the language as well. They may be children born to Deaf parents, siblings of Deaf children, or other family members, neighbors, friends, co-workers, supervisors, or employees of Deaf people.

Since the mid-1960s, when linguists recognized ASL as a distinct language, a growing number of hearing individuals have chosen to learn ASL in major colleges, universities, and high schools across the country.

The origins of ASL can be traced to significant historical influences. Evidence suggests that in the 1600s, some inhabitants of Martha’s Vineyard off Cape Cod had a genetic pool that resulted in a large number of Deaf people in the community. This led to naturally formed signing communities on the island.

Similarly, on the mainland, various indigenous signs were used by Deaf people in villages. The students brought these regional sign languages to the first school for the Deaf, founded in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1817.

The second major influence was French Sign Language, brought by the school’s founders, Laurent Clerc, a Deaf teacher from France, and Thomas Gallaudet, a hearing American minister.

The blending of indigenous sign language and French sign language formed the basis for ASL as we know it today.

Bilingual Education and Moralism

The early 19th century saw ASL flourish through residential schools, which achieved immense success in Deaf education utilizing ASL and written English.

Gallaudet University was founded in 1864 with a charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln. Gallaudet University has been a bastion for using ASL in higher education and has contributed to the standardization of ASL among Deaf people in various states where many graduates returned home to teach.

From there, highly evolved Deaf signing communities formed complex networks across the country. These communities maintained constant contact through organized sports, conferences, social and political events, and the arts.

However, a pivotal moment in ASL and Deaf America’s history occurred in 1880, with repercussions still felt today. At the International Congress on the Education of the Deaf Conference in Milan, Italy, educators who supported oral instruction for Deaf students successfully blocked the influence of educators advocating for sign language.

The Congress voted in favor of oral education for all Deaf children. In the 40 years following the conference, the percentage of Deaf children taught through oral methods grew from a very small percentage to an astounding 8%.

Before this, Deaf teachers constituted 45% of all teachers of the Deaf, but that figure dropped to only 11%. In many parts of Europe, Deaf teachers were dismissed because they were unable to teach speech.

The oral approach to Deaf education became a contentious issue for the next century and a half, reflecting the broader society’s misplaced belief that spoken language is superior to sign language.

Fortunately, during this time, Deaf children spent most of the year at schools. Despite not understanding much of the classroom instruction, ASL was still used to exchange information, share understandings, and learn vital life lessons.

Generally, ASL was tolerated by the staff in the dormitories. This approach—banning signing in the classroom while tolerating it outside—took its toll on the Deaf community’s overall perception of ASL and themselves as capable individuals.

Confidence and pride waned as the quality of education for Deaf people declined. What sustained them through those years was the ability to continue networking with each other at Deaf clubs, Gallaudet University, and other social events.

In The 1960s And Onward

In the 1960s, linguists at Gallaudet University proved that ASL is a fully developed independent language unrelated to English. This discovery sparked a resurgence of the positive view of ASL and Deaf culture, empowering Deaf individuals to reclaim control of the institutions that affect their lives.

In 1988, when the Board of Trustees at Gallaudet University appointed a hearing president who didn’t know ASL, the students staged a week-long protest and succeeded in appointing the first Deaf president of the university.

Interestingly, while Deaf individuals have fought for decades to reinstate ASL as the language of instruction in Deaf education, ASL has gained tremendous popularity among hearing parents and their babies.

Literature shows that learning signs early in infancy positively impacts overall language development and enhances the parent-child relationship. Studies further demonstrate that signing babies understand more words, possess larger vocabularies, and engage in more sophisticated play than non-signing babies.

Yet, this valuable language has not been systematically made available to many Deaf infants.

Issues surrounding ASL and Deaf education remain contentious, but the resilience of ASL in the face of numerous obstacles is a testament to its significance in meeting the fundamental human need for communication.

A Brief Introduction To Deaf Culture

There are two popular uses of the term “culture.” One refers to having sophisticated tastes or being well-read, appreciating art, literature, and cuisine—to be cultured.

The other relates to the unique attributes of a specific group of people. Various groups develop distinctive ways of describing, valuing, and behaving in the world; this is their culture.

Anthropologists have formally studied world cultures for years, and thoughtful individuals have pondered and examined culture for as long as human societies have existed. Yet, achieving a deep understanding of culture can still be elusive.

One way to comprehend a culture is to examine how its members identify themselves. Over the years, different terms have been used to refer to Deaf individuals.

Some older terms are now considered offensive and should not be used, such as “deaf and dumb” or “deaf-mute.” Terms like “hearing impaired,” “deaf and hard of hearing,” or “people with hearing loss” have been used by public institutions and some individuals to be inclusive, but these terms focus on perceived deficiencies.

The term “Deaf” with a capital “D” is more inclusive as it emphasizes a living culture, an accessible language, and the infinite, untapped possibilities that being Deaf can offer.

Members of Deaf culture value staying informed about their environment, community, and its members. Since the majority culture’s primary means of disseminating information are not visually centered, Deaf individuals are expected to have a sense of social obligation to share information and offer updates on what is happening within the Deaf world as well as in the broader society.

In fulfilling this duty to the group, long-term relationships and complex networking systems tend to develop.

Similar to more than 70% of cultures worldwide (many found in Africa, Asia, and Latin America), in Deaf culture, the group takes precedence over the individual.

While the Deaf community recognizes individual achievements and talents, contributing to the group’s success is highly valued. This contrasts with American culture, where significant emphasis is placed on independence, self-reliance, achievement, and individual success.

Cultural Behaviors in Deaf Culture

One visible cultural behavior among Deaf signers is how they utilize their eyes during signed interactions. For example, while watching another person sign, they focus on the signer’s face while reading the signs within their peripheral vision.

This practice provides essential information about the grammar of the sentence conveyed simultaneously on the face.

Another notable behavior is how Deaf individuals capture others’ attention. Common methods include waving in others’ peripheral vision, tapping on certain parts of the body, or hitting a surface to create vibrations.

Additionally, Deaf people exhibit unique behaviors regarding their movement in signing situations.

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