Hi reader!
My name is Laura, and this is my very first blog for English 495ESM. My hopes are to become an English teacher for Deaf students. It is my goal to teach them in their native language, American Sign Language (ASL). Because I will be teaching in my second language, my fear is that I will not be as clear to my students as a native signer. I believe Deaf students should have the same opportunities to learn English as hearing students, and they should be able to learn without becoming bogged down by communication issues. By achieving fluency in ASL, I will be able to provide them with the opportunity to learn directly from their teacher without losing precious time in repairing errors made because of miscommunication. Technology will play an important role in my class. The internet provides an amazing amount of information, and students will most likely use the internet to research papers and find information for upcoming presentations and assignments. For a Deaf student, the internet is a vital tool, providing students with the ability to contact other students and the teacher. I would like to provide a place online for the class to come together. Film could be used to support or expand the student's learning, but as the teacher, I must be careful to choose media that has closed captioning or English subtitles. As Deaf students are often incorporated into classrooms with hearing students and teachers who do not know ASL, my hope is that more teachers will become aware of the needs of their Deaf students. Although the teachers may not be able to communicate in the language of their Deaf students, I hope they will be able to respect ASL, and provide a classroom environment that includes and respects the Deaf student.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Hi Laura!
It's the other Laura, Laura QB! I really think you are simply wonderful for what you are planning to accomplish.I think teaching English in the everyday classroom is a great enough challenge. It's great you know sign language because learning a second language has always been somewhat of a challenge for someone like me, let alone perfecting it so that I could use it in my everyday career! I took ASL 1 in one of my freshman years (ha ha). It was definitely one of the hardest classes I've ever taken(the other was Japanese). The teacher that I had was completely deaf and did not speak English. He was fun and hilarious, but I had a hard time learning without him speaking English. And one time, through a minor misunderstanding, he did the equivalent to yelling at me in sign language which literally made me cry! I know it's impossible to only teach your students in English, like he did in sign language, right?! I'm sure your students will do fine because you care and are working hard to make sure that you will be able to teach them properly. Good luck! I know you can do it.
Hi Laura,
I intend to teach ESL. Not the same thing, but another variation from the typical English teacher route. I too believe that deaf students are left behind more often than not. When I was in grade school (many years ago), we had deaf students at our school. For the Christmas concert, we (the choir) decided to learn one of our songs in ASL. We signed along as we sang. It was, of course, both fun and educational. I noticed that that was the first time I had seen the deaf students actually engaged, or even acknowledged, at a school function. That's terribly sad. America is doing embarrassingly badly in the education arena, and general changes do need to be made. However, it seems the fringe students are paying the price. I think deaf students and ESL learners are too easily left behind, and represent a virtually untapped source of potential.
You know, I never thought of me being that close to getting my AA in the way you put it. How many times are we that close? Probably more than we'd ever imagine! I'm just glad to be back on the path, and actually in my last semester to get my BA. You can be assured that when I graduate and someone says to me, "Maureen Grandchamp... you just graduated from college. What are you going to do next?!" My answer will be, "I'm going to Disneyland!"
But enough about me! I think it is very admirable of you to want to teacher deaf students. I tutored a boy who was deaf in math, and it was one of the most challenging things I've done. I only know the alphabet, so I had to write out most of the explanation. It certainly put things into perspective for me, and I'm glad there are future teachers like you out there!
Post a Comment