Regardless of whether one lives in an area with a high deaf population, there will always be those who are deaf or hard of hearing. There are also many children with disabilities that keep them from being able to verbally communicate. These citizens primarily rely on Sign Language to communicate, but hearing people often have a difficult time understanding them. As it is with any other language, hearing people are ignorant because they don’t understand sign language and haven’t had a chance to learn about it. Teaching ASL in public schools and colleges would give people the opportunity to learn the about the deaf community and their language. The problem is that there are United States’ schools that don’t offer foreign language credits for
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As such, thirty one of the fifty states have ruled English as their official language (Liu). This goes to show that ASL is a foreign language, as it and English are not the same. English is a verbal language, while ASL is a visual one. In addition, the syntax in American Sign Language is entirely different than that of English. Linguists argue that a foreign language is defined as originating from another country. While the dictionary wouldn’t describe ASL as a foreign language, it has its own history and culture that should not be ignored (qtd. in Lourgos). In his article, "Between-Learners' Outside-of-Classroom Uses of American Sign Language as a Foreign Language," Russell S. Rosen discusses the linguistic status of American Sign Language, ASL as a foreign language in school, and the identification of ASL in the medical field. Rosen concludes that hearing people are privileged, rather than the deaf, and that it is important that society puts forward extra effort into the acknowledgement of ASL as a legitimate language (“Ideological Barriers”). American Sign Language is a form of communication for an entire culture and it deserves …show more content…
One of the benefits of knowing ASL, as stated by Dirksen Bauman, a deaf studies teacher at Gallaudet University, is communicating in a loud environment or a place where people otherwise wouldn’t be able to hear each other (qtd. in Hallett). In the process of learning Sign Language, one also can learn about deaf culture. Quite a few people in the deaf community are passionate about their history and take pride in their deafness. Vicky Hallett believes that words can fail and that when they do, ASL is a great resource. Along with interacting with the deaf, people who know Sign Language can talk to each other without the fear of eavesdroppers and communicate through windows or underwater. Thus, ASL is an incredibly useful language simply due to the fact that it’s visual. Furthermore, Timothy Reagan writes that linguistic teachers want their ASL students to interact with the deaf community and other ASL students outside of the classroom. He believes that this is one of the biggest goals that American Sign Language as Foreign Language teachers have (“Between Learners’”). Reagan explains that most of the ASL-as-FL students do sign to each other outside of class and even create situations in which they can use their learned ASL. Through his own research, Reagan observed that copious amounts of students used ASL to express themselves, especially through signing songs. The students also made use of Sign Language when
As such, thirty one of the fifty states have ruled English as their official language (Liu). This goes to show that ASL is a foreign language, as it and English are not the same. English is a verbal language, while ASL is a visual one. In addition, the syntax in American Sign Language is entirely different than that of English. Linguists argue that a foreign language is defined as originating from another country. While the dictionary wouldn’t describe ASL as a foreign language, it has its own history and culture that should not be ignored (qtd. in Lourgos). In his article, "Between-Learners' Outside-of-Classroom Uses of American Sign Language as a Foreign Language," Russell S. Rosen discusses the linguistic status of American Sign Language, ASL as a foreign language in school, and the identification of ASL in the medical field. Rosen concludes that hearing people are privileged, rather than the deaf, and that it is important that society puts forward extra effort into the acknowledgement of ASL as a legitimate language (“Ideological Barriers”). American Sign Language is a form of communication for an entire culture and it deserves …show more content…
One of the benefits of knowing ASL, as stated by Dirksen Bauman, a deaf studies teacher at Gallaudet University, is communicating in a loud environment or a place where people otherwise wouldn’t be able to hear each other (qtd. in Hallett). In the process of learning Sign Language, one also can learn about deaf culture. Quite a few people in the deaf community are passionate about their history and take pride in their deafness. Vicky Hallett believes that words can fail and that when they do, ASL is a great resource. Along with interacting with the deaf, people who know Sign Language can talk to each other without the fear of eavesdroppers and communicate through windows or underwater. Thus, ASL is an incredibly useful language simply due to the fact that it’s visual. Furthermore, Timothy Reagan writes that linguistic teachers want their ASL students to interact with the deaf community and other ASL students outside of the classroom. He believes that this is one of the biggest goals that American Sign Language as Foreign Language teachers have (“Between Learners’”). Reagan explains that most of the ASL-as-FL students do sign to each other outside of class and even create situations in which they can use their learned ASL. Through his own research, Reagan observed that copious amounts of students used ASL to express themselves, especially through signing songs. The students also made use of Sign Language when