Le me explain to you my problem (if it is). This year, one of my student is deaf, and he feels isolated (you know students) but I think even in my lessons he can feel this way because when I have to check their listening comprehension he can �t do the test. So, i �ve been thinking and thinking and thinking about this problem and (according to me, perhaps someone else will be in a position to give me another idea) I want to teach some sign languages to all my students (first the alphabet and then some words and then test them on it)  because I want them to understand that Nel is a gift.

Now, my first question will be : which sign languages (American or British) have I to teach?

and the second one : given that I �m not a great expert on the subject how can I teach it? I �ve thought thanks to flashcards or bingo games but if someone is or was in my situation I am all ears for any advice.

THANKS A LOT

Have a merry Christmas

Sophia

maybe this website can help you a little bit with some ideas

http://lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-layout/teachingasl/teachingasl.htm

I know of colleagues that use ASL even they don �t have deaf students among them, because for some students it can help a lot to keep vocab in their mind.
I haven �t tried it myself yet, but was planning to start sometime soon as the results were stunning from what I saw.

Have a nice day :)

The matter is that not long ago I watched a video about Signmark - a deaf rapper from Finland. You can google the name and have a look at that boy - he �s just amazing!!!

What kind of support do you and your student have in the classroom? Does he have an interpreter in class? If not, is there an expert in teaching the deaf in your school system you can talk to? What do the other teachers in the school do with this student? It sounds like administrators threw this student in your class without giving you any idea of methods of teaching. I don �t know about French schools, but in American public schools, the school is responsible for providing reasonable help for disabled students, and that might include an interpreter. See what resources for your student and you that the school would be willing (or coerced) to provide.

 

How much French Sign Language does your student know? ASL actually comes from French Sign Language, not British Sign Language. Your student could pick up ASL very quickly in all likelihood. BSL is probably closer to English itself. In the USA, students are often taught a version of ASL called SEE: Signing Exact English, where the words are signed in English order (adjective before noun, unlike true ASL) and individual morphemes are also signed and in the correct order (such as the hand going over the shoulder for past tense -ed). That might be useful for you, too. 

 

As papadeli notes, it may be easier to find materials in ASL than BSL. But let �s see if if Lynne or Les (or other British colleagues) have more words of wisdom for you.

 

MoodyMoody thanks a bunch I haven �t heard about SEE (it seems to be quite helpful) and about what you wrote It sounds like administrators threw this student in your class without giving you any idea of methods of teaching), it is exactly how it happened!!! Someone helps him to write all the teachers say (but only once a week in my case), she �s not an interpreter she is in my school in order to help dyslexic and dyspraxic students. About the administration, I don �t want to talk about that because in France it is a delicate, or even burning issue. And UNFORTUNATELY, since I began teaching I �ve learned I �m not in an utopian world. I often feel as if I �ve lost my illusions. Anyway! I just want to be there for him and I �m looking for something useful to do so that is why I asked for my ESL colleagues � advice. so thanks a lot.

Have a great day!

Sophia