American+Sign+Language

American Sign Language (ASL) is "considered the natural language of the deaf" (Gargiulo, 2006, p.458). It is used mainly in the United States of America and Canada. Other languages and/or countries have their own version of Sign Language. For example, The United Kingdom uses [|British Sign Language] (BSL) and Denmark uses [|Denmark Sign Language] (DSL). The Manitoba Education has a guide accessible to the public. It is a [|resource guide] specific to "Supporting Students Who Are Deaf and/or Hard of Hearing" (Manitoba Education, Citizenship, and Youth, [MECY], 2009). American Sign Language "is a visual-gestural language created by people who were Deaf [and] defines expression through:
 * hand shapes and movements
 * facial expressions
 * body movements
 * spatial relationships
 * mouth movements"
 * (MECY, 2009, p.37)

ASL uses their eyes when listening to understand what is being said. It can be very different from English. In the MEYC resource guide (2009), it has a table that shows the difference between spoken language and ASL:

A girl was sitting in a tree. --Tree, girl sit-on-branch A boy walked up and stood. -Tree, boy walk-to-stand-by-tree The boy was looking around. Boy look-around The boy looked up and saw the girl. ---Tree, girl sit-on-branch, boy look-up, (face shows “saw”) The boy climbed up the tree. ---Tree, girl sit-on-branch, boy climb-up (sit near girl)
 * Spoken English -- American Sign Language **

ASL can be considered a first language and English as a second. As teachers we need to understand what our responsibilities are as a team member of assisting the student who uses ASL and incorporating their communication into our classroom. With the help of an interpreter and the student we can deliver our information in such a way that it is easy for the students to pick up on what information we are giving. When using an interpreter in the classroom, there are some very important components of your classroom, your body language when you are delivering your lesson, as well as your eye contact and voice level.

You can also incorporate [|ASL in your classroom] so that not only does your student with a hearing impairment feel more comfortable, but it may help the other students in the class communicate with that student. Another useful website that may help you with incorporating ASL in the classroom is [].