MEDIA INFORMATION

 
 
 
COLLECTION NAME:
Deaf Studies, Culture, and History Archives
Record
Filename:
ds_0064_victorsonetal_cap_01.mp4
Identifier:
ds_0064_victorsonetal_cap_01.mp4
Title:
Achieving literacy with Deaf children an examination of American Sign Language story structure and the effects of storytelling on language acquisition
Creator:
Supalla, Samuel James, 1957-
Subject:
American Sign Language Study and teaching
Subject:
Storytelling
Subject:
Language acquisition
Subject:
Language awareness in children
Subject:
American Sign Language literature
Summary:
This presentation covers an ongoing study on the role of storytelling as a medium for facilitating the needed ASL acquisition with Deaf children. The development of literacy will be discussed based on T-unit length and story coherence in the signed narrative as well as the effects of intervention.
Publisher:
National Technical Institute for the Deaf
Digital Publisher:
Rochester Institute of Technology - RIT Libraries - RIT Archive Collections
Contributor:
Fraychineaud, Kathy
Contributor:
Wix, Tina
Contributor:
Singleton, Jenny
Contributor:
American Sign Language Literature Conference (2nd 1996 National Technical Institute for the Deaf)
Date of Original:
1996
Date of Digitization:
2018
Broad Type:
moving image
Digital File Format:
mp4
Physical Format:
VHS
Dimensions of Original:
54 minutes
Language:
American Sign Language
Language:
English
Original Item Location:
RITDSA.0064
Library Collection:
Sculptures in the Air: An Accessible Online Video Repository of the American Sign Language (ASL) Poetry and Literature Collections
Library Collection:
Karen Christie ASL Literature Collection
Digital Project:
2018-2019 CLIR Grant-ASL Poetry and Literature
Catalog Record:
Catalog Record:
Place:
New York - Rochester
RIT Spaces and Places:
Henrietta Campus
Rights:
RIT Libraries makes materials from its collections available for educational and research purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. It is your responsibility to obtain permission from the copyright holder to publish or reproduce images in print or electronic form.
Rights:
CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution NonCommercial NoDerivatives 4.0 International
Transcript:
HELLO.
THE TITLE OF THIS PIECE IS

"FIRE-ALARM, CURIOUS NEXT."

IT'S NOON, AND I SIT
AT A LONG TABLE

FULL OF OTHER CHILDREN,

TABLES AND TABLES,

LONG TABLES,

IN A HUGE ROOM.

THE OLDER KIDS GO
AND SIT IN THEIR AREAS

AND US YOUNGER ONES
HAVE OUR PARTICULAR PLACE.

WE SIT ON THE BENCHES
WITH OUR LEGS SWINGING.

THE BRIGHT WINDOWS SHINE
THE LIGHT INTO THE ROOM.

THE BIG, HEAVY CAFETERIA LADY

COMES UP AND PUTS A TRAY
RIGHT IN FRONT OF US.

"ONE EACH," SHE ADMONISHES US.

SO, WE GRAB OUR HARD, BLACK FOOD

AND START CUTTING INTO IT

AND TALK AMONGST EACH OTHER.

EVERYBODY'S HAVING
A WONDERFUL TIME

AS THEY CONSUME THEIR LUNCH,

AND THEN WE TAKE OUR TRAYS

AND PUT THEM IN THE SLOT

AND GO BACK AND SIT TO WAIT

UNTIL IT'S TIME TO LEAVE.

ONE BY ONE,
EVERYBODY TAKES THEIR TRAYS,

AND WE HAVE TO WAIT,

AND OF COURSE,
WE'RE BEING MONITORED

BY A STERN-FACED PROCTOR.

WE ALL TALK AND HAVE
A GREAT TIME

AND THEN IT'S TIME FOR RECESS.

WONDERFUL!

EVERYBODY GETS OFF THE BENCH

AND IT'S APPROPRIATE
THAT WE PUT OUR CHAIRS

BACK EXACTLY WHERE THEY WERE

AND FILE OUT OF THE BUILDING.

ALL OF US GO DOWN THE STAIRWAY

AND I SEE A LITTLE, RED BOX
ON THE WALL

WITH A SIGN THAT SAYS,
"DO NOT TOUCH."

AND I SAY TO MY FRIEND,
"LOOK AT THAT.

WE COULD PULL IT."

"NO, NO, NO," MY FRIEND SAYS.
"THERE'S NO WAY ON EARTH

I'M GONNA PULL THAT THING."

DO NOT TOUCH.
DO NOT TOUCH.

WELL, I COULD JUST TOUCH IT.

I COULD JUST TOUCH IT.

BUT WHEN I TOUCHED IT,
OUT CAME THE GLASS

AND ALL THESE ALARMS
STARTED BLARING

AND THESE LIGHTS
STARTED FLASHING

AND WE RAN AS FAST AS WE COULD.

RAN AND RAN AND RAN
OUT TO THE PLAYGROUND.

I RAN AS FAST AS I COULD
TO ANYWHERE

THAT I THOUGHT I COULD BLEND IN.

THERE'S A CROWD OF KIDS
PLAYING OVER THERE.

THERE'S SOME OTHER KIDS
ON A TUBE SWING.

I GO AND SIT INTO A SWING

AND I START JUST SWINGING,

HOPING NOBODY NOTICES ME.

ALL THE CHILDREN ARE PLAYING.

THEY'RE THROWING BALLS
AND THEY'RE PLAYING BASKETBALL.

I'M JUST SWINGING,
HOPING NOBODY NOTICES,

AND I LOOK TOWARDS THE BUILDING
WHERE THE LIGHTS ARE FLASHING

AND PEOPLE ARE COMING
OUT OF THE BUILDING.

AND I JUST KEEP SWINGING.

AND THEN THE MUSTACHED,
LARGE-NOSED,

BIG-GUTTED PRINCIPAL
COMES OUT...

AND ASKS SOMEBODY,
"WHO DID IT?"

THEY POINTED TO ME,

AND HIS EYES
FOLLOWED THE POINTING,

AND HIS GAZE FIXED ON ME.

"YOU, COME HERE."

I STOPPED SWINGING AND I
JUMPED OFF INTO THE SAND

AND WALKED SLOWLY TOWARDS HIM.

UP, UP, PAST HIS GIRTH,
I LOOKED UP INTO HIS EYES

AND HE SAID, "FOLLOW ME,"

WITH HIS LITTLE MUSTACHE
AND HIS FLARING NOSE.

ALL OF THE LIGHTS
WERE STILL FLASHING

AND I FOLLOWED
THE PRINCIPAL, SLOWLY.

KIDS WHO WERE
TALKING AND PLAYING

STOPPED TO WATCH
THE SAD PROGRESSION

AS I FOLLOWED HIM
BACK TO THE BUILDING.

ALL THE LIGHTS
WERE STILL FLASHING

AND THE ALARM WAS STILL GOING.

"COME HERE," HE SAID,

AND WE ASCENDED
THE LONG STAIRCASE.

I STILL SAW
THOSE LIGHTS FLASHING.

THAT ALARM WAS STILL GOING.
UP, UP, UP THE STAIRCASE WE WENT

TILL WE CAME INTO HIS OFFICE.

"SIT DOWN," HE SAID.

AND SO, I SAT
IN THE LARGE CHAIR.

FEET DIDN'T EVEN TOUCH
THE GROUND, I WAS SO LITTLE.

AND HE SAT BEHIND HIS BIG DESK

AND REGARDED ME STERNLY.

"TIME TO PHONE YOUR PARENTS,"
HE SAID.

"NO, NO, I'M SO SORRY,
I'M SO SORRY," I SAID.

HE OPENS UP A BOTTOM DRAWER
AND TAKES OUT A PADDY WHACK.

"SHOULD I GIVE YOU
A PADDY WHACK?" HE SAID.

"I'M SO SORRY, I'M SO SORRY,"
I SAID.

HE PUTS BACK THE PADDY WHACK.

HMM.

I SAID, "I'M REALLY,
REALLY SORRY."

AND THEN HE COMES AROUND TO ME.
HE SAYS, "STAND UP."

SO, I STOOD UP.

"TURN AROUND."

SO, I TURNED AROUND.

AND HE PUTS MY HEAD DOWN,

BENDS ME OVER, AND SPANKS ME,
AND I SCREAMED,

AND HE SPANKED ME AGAIN
AND I SCREAMED EVEN LOUDER

AND HE SPANKED ME AGAIN
AND I SCREAMED AND I CRIED.

OH, IT HURT SO BADLY.

AND THEN HE STANDS ME UP
AND HE SITS ME DOWN AGAIN.

I CRIED.
"I'M SO SORRY, I'M SO SORRY.

I'M SO, SO, SORRY."

THE DOOR OPENS AND I LOOK.

FROM BOTTOM TO TOP,

AT THE FIGURE OF A FIREMAN

WITH HIS BIG BOOTS
AND HIS YELLOW COAT

AND HIS BIG HAT.

"I'M SORRY," I SAID TO HIM.

HE STARTS TO TALK TO ME.
HE'S SPEAKING TO ME.

I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND
WHAT HE WAS SAYING.

I JUST KEPT SOBBING.
I HAD FALLEN TO THE FLOOR

AND HE STOOD ME UP,
AND THE MUSTACHED PRINCIPAL

LOOKED AT ME.

"I'M SO SORRY."

"GO ON, LEAVE," HE SAID.

THE FIREMAN PATTED ME
ON MY HEAD UNDERSTANDINGLY

AND I WENT OUT THE DOOR.

FINALLY, THE ALARM HAD STOPPED

AND WE SAW PEOPLE TALKING.

I STEPPED OUT AND SAW
MANY FIRE TRUCKS,

FIREMEN LOOKING AROUND
DISGUSTINGLY.

WHY WERE WE CALLED?
WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THIS?

I WENT DOWN THE STEPS.
ALL CONVERSATION STOPPED.

EVERYBODY WATCHED ME
COME DOWN SHAMEFACEDLY.

I'D BEEN CRYING SO MUCH I HAD

SPATTERED MY CLOTHES
WITH MY TEARS.

I CAME DOWN THE STEPS
AND I LOOKED AROUND

AND I SAID,
"I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY,"

AND THE PRINCIPAL SAID,
"DO YOU GET IT NOW?

DO YOU GET IT?"

I SAID, "YES, I DO,"

AND THEN HE GAVE ME A BIG HUG.

LET'S GET ON WITH OUR TOPIC NOW.

I THINK YOU'VE SEEN
WHAT IT IS IN YOUR...

IN YOUR PROGRAM.

IT'S ACHIEVING LITERACY
WITH DEAF CHILDREN,

AND IT'S NOT
THE ACHIEVEMENT OF LITERACY,

IT'S ACHIEVING THE PROCESS OF
THE DEAF CHILDREN'S LITERACY.

I'VE WORKED WITH KATHY AND TINA

AND THERE'S ALSO A FOURTH PERSON
WHO'S IN OUR GROUP.

THAT'S JENNY SINGLETON.

AND ACTUALLY, MY UNIVERSITY
ISN'T ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY,

IT'S UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA.

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME
THAT I'LL BE SHARING

MY RESEARCH THAT I'VE DONE UNDER

THE DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATION GRANT

ON WORKING WITH
DEAF CHILDREN'S LITERACY.

WE WANT TO SEE IF ASL LITERACY

WILL HELP WITH THEIR
INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER PEOPLE,

THEIR SOCIAL SKILLS,
AND THEIR EDUCATIONAL SKILLS.

THIS WAS PLANNED FOR
A 3-YEAR PROJECT.

AND PART OF THE PROJECT
I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU...

COMES FROM WORK
THAT SARAH SHELLEY

DID WORKING WITH
HEARING CHILDREN.

[INDISTINCT] DEAF CHILDREN.

SHE LOOKED AT THEIR
ASL PROFICIENCY

AND THEIR PROFICIENCY
IN ENGLISH WRITING.

THEY WANTED TO SEE
IF THIS WOULD--

IF THERE WAS A RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN THE TWO

AND IF IT WOULD LEAD
TO BETTER WRITING PROFICIENCY.

THE STUDIES WITH OTHER
HEARING CHILDREN

ARE QUITE INTERESTING
AND I'D LIKE TO LOOK AT THEM

IN RELATION TO HOW
DEAF CHILDREN COULD LEARN.

PART OF IT IS THEIR
ORAL TRADITION.

WE WANT TO KNOW IF
HEARING CHILDREN'S

SPEAKING ABILITIES,
STORYTELLING ABILITIES

ARE RELATED IN SOME WAY
TO THEIR WRITING ABILITY,

IF--IF IMPROVING THEIR
STORYTELLING ABILITY

WILL IMPROVE THEIR
WRITING ABILITY.

SO, WE WANT TO LOOK AT
BOTH THE WRITING AND SPEECH.

AND OF COURSE,
THEY DID THE STUDY

WITH CHILDREN WHO ARE HEARING

AND WHO ALREADY HAVE
GREAT ENGLISH COMPETENCY.

AND THEY FOUND THAT RETELLING
AS THE METHOD OF

TEACHING CHILDREN
HOW TO TELL STORIES

HELPED THEM WITH
ELABORATING THE STORIES

THAT THEY TOLD
AND INCREASED THEIR SKILLS

AT STORYTELLING.

THE MEASURE THEY USED
TO DETERMINE THIS

WAS CALLED THE T-UNIT.

IT SEEMED TO BE
A VERY GOOD WAY OF MEASURING

HOW ELABORATED
THEIR STORIES WERE.

IF THEY WERE QUITE ELABORATED,

IF THEY WERE QUITE EMBELLISHED

OR--AND INCLUDED
A LOT OF INFORMATION

AND TECHNIQUES FROM ENGLISH

OR WERE MORE SIMPLE AND PLAIN.

SO, I THOUGHT ABOUT USING THAT
WITH DEAF CHILDREN.

WE THOUGHT WE COULD
LOOK AT THE SAME ISSUES

IN THE DEAF COMMUNITY
WITH DEAF CHILDREN.

I THOUGHT MAYBE STORYTELLING
COULD HELP IMPROVE

THEIR ENGLISH SKILLS.

BUT BEFORE WE LOOK
AT THEIR ENGLISH SKILLS,

WE REALLY NEEDED TO LOOK AT
THE ASL SKILLS OF DEAF CHILDREN,

AND AS A GROUP, THEY HAVEN'T
REALLY ACQUIRED ASL YET.

IT'S NOT THE SAME SITUATION
AS IT IS WITH HEARING CHILDREN

WHO'VE ALREADY ACQUIRED ENGLISH.

AND THERE'S ALSO
DIFFERENT LEVELS

OF--OF THE LANGUAGE
THAT WE WANT TO LOOK AT,

THE LINGUISTIC LEVEL, WHICH IS

MORE OF STRUCTURES OF
INDIVIDUAL SENTENCES,

AND THE LARGER DISCOURSE LEVEL,
WHICH IS

MORE ABOUT THE STRUCTURE
OF THE STORY.

I LOOKED AT DIFFERENT GROUPS
OF DEAF CHILDREN--

DEAF CHILDREN WHO
HAD DEAF PARENTS,

DEAF CHILDREN WHO HAVE
HEARING PARENTS

BUT HAVE NO SIGN LANGUAGE
AT HOME--

THEIR PARENTS DON'T KNOW
SIGN LANGUAGE

AND THERE'S NO SIGN
IN THEIR ENVIRONMENT.

AND WE KNOW THAT THAT'S 90%
OF ALL THE DEAF CHILDREN,

AND...BUT WE STILL
HAVEN'T ESTABLISHED

ANY KIND OF
SIGN LANGUAGE SERVICES,

REMEDIAL SIGN LANGUAGE SERVICES
FOR THAT GROUP OF CHILDREN

WHO DON'T HAVE ASL YET.

THEY DON'T--THEY DON'T USE
DISCOURSE IN THEIR
EVERYDAY LIFE.

THEY DON'T USE ASL
IN ANY KIND OF

EXTENDED DISCOURSE.

DISCOURSE ENABLES CHILDREN
TO LEARN LANGUAGE,

SO, WE WOULD THINK
THAT IF THEY LEARNED--

IF WE WORKED ON
THEIR ASL DISCOURSE,

THAT IT ALSO WOULD IMPROVE
THEIR LINGUISTIC SKILLS.

SO, WE HAD 3 SETS OF QUESTIONS.

ONE QUESTION ABOUT
THE FEASIBILITY OF THIS--

OF HEARING--DEAF CHILDREN
OF HEARING PARENTS

LEARNING ASL.

THE SECOND PART
OF OUR--OUR STUDY

LOOKED AT HOW WE COULD
PROVIDE THESE SERVICES

THAT WOULD INCREASE
THEIR ABILITY IN ASL,

AND THE THIRD WAS EFFECTIVENESS.

WHAT--WHAT WAS THE RESULTS?

DID THESE WORK--DID IT WORK OUT

TO HELP THE DEAF CHILDREN

LEARN ASL BETTER?

SO, THAT WAS OUR--OUR PROJECT

AND OUR PLAN.

BUT THEN WE HAD TO FIND
A SITE THAT WE COULD USE

TO STUDY CHILDREN,

AND IT SEEMED THAT THE ARIZONA
SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF AND BLIND

WAS NEAR ENOUGH TO US
THAT IT WAS

FEASIBLE TO WORK THERE.

SO, WE PLANNED ON
A 3-YEAR PROJECT.

UNFORTUNATELY,
AFTER THE SECOND YEAR,

THE PROJECT WAS DROPPED,
SO, WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN,

WE DIDN'T GET
TO FINISH THE STUDY,

BUT WE DID GET DATA
FROM THE SECOND YEAR

THAT WE'RE ABLE
TO ANALYZE AND--

AND TELL YOU
THE RESULTS OF TODAY.

AT THAT TIME,
THE SCHOOL HADN'T HAD

ANY KIND OF PROGRAM OR PLAN

FOR WORKING WITH CHILDREN
IN THIS WAY,

AND SO, WE HAD TO START
THE PROGRAM OURSELVES,

AND WE STARTED A PROGRAM CALLED
ASL ESL,

WHICH WAS AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE
AND ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE
PROGRAM,

AND WITH THOSE SUPPORT SERVICES,
WE HOPED THAT

WE WOULD INCREASE CHILDREN'S
ABILITY TO USE ASL.

WE FOCUSED ON CHILDREN
IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

IN TWO GROUPS.

THE KIDS IN THE FIRST CLASS WERE

IN FIRST, SECOND,
AND THIRD GRADE,

AND THE CHILDREN IN
THE SECOND CLASS WERE

FOURTH, FIFTH, AND SIXTH GRADE.

THEY WERE RANGING FROM
AGES OF 6 TO 11

AND THEY WERE MULTICULTURAL
AND NATIVE AMERICANS, BLACKS,

HISPANICS, AFRICAN-AMERICANS.

WE HAD--OUT OF THE 22 CHILDREN,

WE WERE ABLE TO USE--WE--
WE WERE--STUDIED 15 OF THEM,

BECAUSE 20--THE OTHER
CHILDREN HAD

OTHER TYPES OF DISABILITIES
AS WELL.

WE HAD--WE DIVIDED
THE 9 CHILDREN IN--

THE 15 CHILDREN INTO 3 GROUPS.

TODAY, I'M ONLY GONNA TALK
ABOUT 9 OF THEM.

AND THERE'LL BE 3 CHILDREN
IN EACH OF THE 3 GROUPS.

THE 3 GROUPS ARE DEAF CHILDREN
OF DEAF PARENTS,

DEAF CHILDREN OF
HEARING PARENTS WHO SIGN,

AND DEAF CHILDREN OF
HEARING PARENTS WHO DON'T SIGN.

SO, WE'RE GOING TO BE COMPARING
EACH OF THOSE GROUPS

AND ALSO EACH INDIVIDUAL CHILD
WITHIN THE GROUP.

NOW I THINK WE'RE READY
FOR THE OVERHEAD, KATHY.

ACTUALLY, UM...

WE HAD TO THINK
ABOUT HOW TO STUDY

DEAF CHILDREN AND THEIR
SIGNING ABILITIES,

AND WE DECIDED THAT
WE WOULD LOOK AT

DIFFERENT INTERACTIONS THEY HAD.

SO, FIRST WE WANTED
TO SEE HOW THEY

INTERACTED WITH CHILDREN
WHO WERE LIKE THEM.

SO, WE TOOK CHILDREN WHO
HAD THE SAME BACKGROUND.

IF THEY HAVE DEAF PARENTS,
WE HAD A CHILD WHO
HAD DEAF PARENTS,

AND WE VIDEOTAPED
THEIR INTERACTION.

SECOND ELICITATION WAS
WHAT WE CALLED RETELLING,

AND IN THIS...THIS SITUATION,

WE HAD THE CHILD WATCH A MOVIE

FROM THE ASL TEST BATTERY

THAT IS A STORY OF THE RABBIT
AND THE TURTLE RACE,

AND WE ASKED THE CHILDREN
TO WATCH THAT

AND VIDEOTAPE THEIR RETELLING
OF THE STORY,

AND THEN THE THIRD ONE,
THIRD SESSION,

WE INTERVIEWED THEM.

AN ADULT WOULD INTERVIEW THEM
AND WE USED THAT.

SO, ALL 3 OF THESE INTERACTIONS

WERE VIDEOTAPED AND WE ANALYZED
THOSE VIDEOTAPES

FOR THEIR STORYTELLING
AND SIGN LANGUAGE ABILITY.

AND...OH, NOW WE'RE
GONNA TELL YOU WHAT--

WHAT THE DATA WAS
THAT WE LOOKED FOR.

THIS JUST SHOWS A PORTION
OF WHAT WE LOOKED AT.

THE NEXT OVERHEAD SHOWS
THE REST OF IT.

YOU MIGHT WONDER WHY WE CHOSE
THESE STRUCTURES TO LOOK AT.

ACTUALLY, WE LOOKED
AT THE LITERATURE

THAT--OF--OF THE LINGUISTICS OF
ASL THAT HAS BEEN DONE,

AND WE FOUND 8 DIFFERENT GROUPS.

FEATURES. 8 DIFFERENT GROUPS OF
STRUCTURES WE WANTED TO LOOK AT

AND THEN FEATURES UNDER
EACH OF THE GROUPS.

SO, YOU CAN SEE
UNDER SIGN UTTERANCE,

THERE ARE 3 DIFFERENT FEATURES
WE LOOKED AT--

SINGLE SIGN PRODUCTION,
PRODUCTION OF 10 SIGNS,

TO SIGN PRODUCTION.

SO, YOU CAN SEE THAT EACH GROUP

WAS DIVIDED UP LIKE THAT.

THE ORDER THAT WE ARRANGED THIS

WAS IN THE ORDER THAT LITTLE--

THAT DEAF CHILDREN LEARN
THE STRUCTURES OF SIGN LANGUAGE

STARTING WITH SINGLE SENTENCES

ALL THE WAY TO MORE
COMPLEX CONSTRUCTIONS

LIKE CLASSIFIERS AND SO ON,
WHICH WOULD APPEAR LATER ON

IN THEIR ACQUISITION.

NOW, THE 3 GROUPS AT THE END

THAT YOU SEE ON THE OVERHEAD

ARE THOSE--THE ONES THAT
I TALKED ABOUT BEFORE--

DEAF CHILDREN OF DEAF PARENTS,

AND THE SECOND GROUP IS
DEAF CHILDREN WHO SIGN,

AND THE THIRD, DEAF CHILDREN OF
HEARING PARENTS WHO DON'T SIGN.

THEN WE LOOKED AT
THE CHILD'S VIDEOTAPE

TO SEE IF A CERTAIN
FEATURE APPEARED

IN THE VIDEOTAPE AT ANY POINT,

AND THEN WE RECORDED THAT
THEY HAD LEARNED THAT FEATURE.

THERE WERE MISTAKES AND WE
RECORDED THE ERRORS

IN ANOTHER PLACE, BUT I'M NOT

GONNA BE TALKING
ABOUT THAT TODAY.

AND THESE ARE THE SEVENTH
AND EIGHTH CATEGORIES

THAT WE LOOKED AT.

AND YOU CAN SEE ALSO
THAT THERE'S

ANOTHER COLUMN HERE FOR SPRING.

THE CHILDREN WERE INVOLVED
WITH THIS PROGRAM

BOTH THE FIRST AND SECOND YEAR,

AND WE WANTED TO TEST AT
THE BEGINNING OF THE SECOND YEAR

AND FALL WHAT THEY KNEW

AND THEN RETEST THEM
AGAIN IN SPRING.

SO, THERE'S A PRE-TEST
AND A POST-TEST

THAT WE HAVE SO WE CAN COMPARE

THEIR ABILITIES AT THE TWO
POINTS IN TIME.

REALLY, THE NUMBERS ARE
VERY ROUGH THAT WE HAVE HERE.

THERE ARE 8 STRUCTURES
THAT APPEAR,

SO, WE WANT TO KNOW
IF ALL 8 SHOW UP,

AND WE ALSO WANT TO KNOW IF
ALL OF THE INDIVIDUAL FEATURES

ALSO SHOW UP THERE.

THERE ARE 24--24 FEATURES
THAT THEY COULD LEARN.

24 CATEGORIES
AND FEATURES TOGETHER.

IT SEEMED LIKE THE DEAF CHILDREN

WHO LEARNED SIGN LANGUAGE
AT HOME FROM THEIR
HEARING PARENTS

AND--WELL, FROM THEIR PARENTS,
IT DIDN'T MATTER

IF THEY WERE HEARING OR DEAF,

THE PARENTS WERE
HEARING OR DEAF.

ALL CAME OUT WITH
THE SAME RESULTS

IN THE BEGINNING
AT THE PRE-TEST,

BUT NOT THE CHILDREN WHO DIDN'T
HAVE HEARING PARENT--

WHOSE HEARING PARENTS
DIDN'T SIGN.

HOWEVER, AT THE POST-TEST,
THEY WERE ALL EQUAL AGAIN,

SO, IT SEEMS THEY REACHED
THE MAXIMUM

FOR EFFICIENCY THAT
THE TEST STUDIED,

JUST ON STRUCTURES,

JUST ON THE NUMBER OF
STRUCTURES THEY HAD.

SO, IT SEEMS LIKE
MAYBE THEY HAVE

ACQUIRED THE LANGUAGE,

AND THEY'VE ALL ACQUIRED IT
AT THE SAME LEVEL, PERHAPS.

WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THAT.

SO, WHAT IS THE PROBLEM
WITH THIS? HMM.

SO, THIS SEEMS TO SAY THAT

DEAF CHILDREN,
AFTER THIS PROGRAM,

ARE ALL FINE AND THEY'RE ALL
AT THE SAME LEVEL OF ABILITY

AND THE ESL CURRICULUM
IS READY TO START NOW.

THEY'VE ALREADY LEARNED ASL
AND NOW THEY'RE READY TO START

ON ENGLISH, BUT ACTUALLY,
THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENED.

THERE'S A DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN LINGUISTIC STRUCTURE,

ACQUIRING LINGUISTIC STRUCTURE
AND ACQUIRING DISCOURSE.

NOW WE HAVE TO LOOK
AT WHAT THEY ACQUIRED

AND WHAT DISCOURSE LEVEL
THEY ACQUIRED,

AND ACTUALLY, I FOUND THAT

THEY STILL HAD NOT ACHIEVED
PROFICIENCY IN THAT.

WE THOUGHT THAT THE DEAF
CHILDREN WHO HAD DEAF PARENTS

WERE COMPLETELY COMPETENT,
BUT THEY WEREN'T YET.

WHEN WE LOOK AT DISCOURSE,
WE'LL BE ABLE TO SEE THAT.

ANYWAY, THIS SEEMS TO BE
A GOOD RESULT SO FAR.

YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW
EXACTLY WHAT THE PROJECT WAS

THAT WE--THAT WE HAD.

WHAT HELPED THE CHILDREN
LEARN THIS KIND OF LANGUAGE?

AND TINA'S GONNA TALK
TO US ABOUT THAT NOW.

WHAT SAM JUST DESCRIBED TO YOU,

THE TWO CATEGORIES OF
FIRST AND SECOND GRADERS

AND THE THIRD
AND FOURTH GRADERS.

THOSE CHILDREN NEEDED
TO HAVE LINGUISTIC SUPPORT,

SO, THEY WOULD COME TO MY ROOM,

WHICH IS CALLED THE ASL LAB.

IT'S THE SAME IDEA--
THESE CHILDREN WOULD BE

PULLED OUT OF THE CLASS AND THEY
NEED HELP WITH LANGUAGE,

SO, THEY WOULD BE
PULLED OUT OF THE CLASS

AND BROUGHT INTO MY LAB.

THE PURPOSE OF THE LAB
IS TO FACILITATE

THE ACQUISITION OF ASL.

AND THAT LAB,
IT HAS 4 WALLS AND IT--

LET ME TELL YOU WHAT
IT PHYSICALLY LOOKS LIKE.

IT HAS 4 WALLS
AND THE ACTIVITIES

THAT ARE INCLUDED IN THAT LAB,
WHAT MIGHT THEY LOOK LIKE?

WELL, WE PLAY GAMES.

THE PURPOSE OF THE GAMES IS
TO EXPAND THEIR LANGUAGE USAGE.

FOR EXAMPLE, THEY MIGHT LEARN
THE RULES OF TURN-TAKING

OR THE IMPORTANCE
OF EYE CONTACT,

OR THEY'LL LEARN
HOW TO TAKE TURNS.

THOSE ARE IMPORTANT ASPECTS
OF THE GAMES.

A SECOND ACTIVITY MIGHT BE
A DISNEY MOVIE, FOR EXAMPLE,

LIKE "THE LION KING"
OR "CINDERELLA."

THOSE MOVIES ARE GOOD FOR
CHILDREN TO SIT AND WATCH

AND TO RECEIVE STIMULATION,
LANGUAGE STIMULATION FROM.

AS THE ASL SPECIALIST,
I DO, LIKE, A SIGN OVER

FOR THE CARTOON, AND I EXPLAIN
TO THE CHILDREN

WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON
ON THE VIDEOTAPE

IN THE DISNEY MOVIE.

AND THE THIRD ACTIVITY
THAT HAPPENS IN THE LAB

IS...THE THIRD ACTIVITY
IN THE LAB

ARE SIGNED STORIES.

FOR EXAMPLE, SOME OF THE STORIES
ARE ORIGINAL STORIES IN ASL

THAT HAVE BEEN CREATED IN ASL
AND TOLD IN ASL,

AND ANOTHER GROUP
ARE STORIES THAT ARE

TRANSLATED FROM ENGLISH
INTO ASL.

SO, THOSE ARE THE TWO
TYPES OF STORIES,

THE DIFFERENT VIDEOTAPES
THAT WE'VE COLLECTED

AND HAVE IN THE LAB.

THE VIDEOTAPES, YOU MIGHT WANT
TO KNOW WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE, SO,

THESE ARE--THERE'S A VIDEOTAPE
THAT'S CALLED "4 FOR YOU."

YOU CAN SEE "4 FOR YOU"
VIDEOTAPE HAS 4 VOLUMES IN IT.

THE VIDEOTAPES IN "4 FOR YOU"
ARE DIVIDED INTO TWO CATEGORIES:

"FABLES STORYTELLING/
ROLE PLAYING"
AND "FAIRYTALES/STORYTELLING."

THE ONE ON THE LEFT, "FABLES,"
HAS TWO PARTS.

SOME ARE STORYTELLING
AND THE OTHERS

INVOLVE ROLE PLAYING.

THERE ARE--EACH STORY HAS
TWO DIFFERENT COMPONENTS TO IT,

AND THEN UNDERNEATH,
YOU CAN SEE THE NAMES

OF THE STORIES
THAT ARE INCLUDED.

THEY TEND TO BE
VERY SHORT STORIES.

THEY'RE VERY GOOD
FOR CHILDREN WHO HAVE

LIMITED ATTENTION SPAN
OR LIMITED ASL PROFICIENCY.

THEY TEND TO BE
THE CHILDREN FROM

THE HEARING PARENTS
WITH NO SIGNS.

THE COLUMN ON THE RIGHT,
THEY'RE ONLY STORIES.

THE FAIRYTALES,
THEY'RE ONLY STORIES.

YOU CAN SEE THE NAMES
OF THE STORIES LISTED HERE.

THESE TEND TO BE
ABOUT 15 MINUTES IN LENGTH.

THEY'RE GOOD FOR CHILDREN WHO
HAVE ALREADY ACQUIRED LANGUAGE

AND ARE READY FOR MORE
IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF ASL.

AND THAT'S WHAT STORYTELLING IS.

OK. WE'RE EMPHASIZING
THE CONCEPT OF RETELLING

FOR THE IMPORTANCE
OF LANGUAGE EXPANSION.

WE USE THE RETELLING PROCESS

IN ASL ACQUISITION AND ALSO
DISCOURSE DEVELOPMENT.

AND THIS IS THE PROCESS.

THIS ENTIRE PROCESS IS GOOD
FOR NORMAL DEAF CHILDREN,

LIKE THE DEAF CHILDREN
OF DEAF PARENTS

WHO HAVE ALREADY ACQUIRED
GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS.

THIS IS HOW NORMAL CHILDREN
WOULD GO THROUGH THE PROCESS.

NOW, IF WE LOOK IN THE LAB,

WHAT MIGHT THAT PROCESS
LOOK LIKE IN THE LAB

WHEN WE FOCUS IT ON A SPECIFIC
GROUP OF STUDENTS?

YOU CAN SEE THE BLACK HEADING
AT THE TOP OF THE OVERHEAD.

THE VIDEOTAPE VIEWING,
I MIGHT PICK ONE STORY.

IT'S THE SAME STORY WE USE
THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PROCESS.

WE DON'T USE DIFFERENT STORIES.
WE ONLY PICK ONE VIDEOTAPE

AND USE IT THROUGHOUT
THE WHOLE PROCESS.

SO, I'LL PICK A STORY,
AND THE CHILDREN

WILL WATCH THE VIDEOTAPE.

THEY'LL WATCH THROUGH BEGINNING
TO THE END.

AND THEN WHEN WE'RE DONE, WE DO
AN ANALYSIS OF THE CONTEXT

AND THE PRODUCTION OF THE SIGNS

THAT WE USED ON THE VIDEOTAPE.

FOR EXAMPLE, WHAT DO WE MEAN
BY A PARTICULAR SENTENCE

AND WHAT--I MIGHT SAY,
FOR EXAMPLE,

IN "THE BEAR AND THE BEE,"

THE BEE COMES AND STINGS
THE BEAR ON THE NOSE

AND THE BEAR'S NOSE,
THEY USE A SIGN

SUCH AS THIS
PULSATING ON THE NOSE,

AND I ASKED THE KIDS,
"WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?"

AND THEY HAD TO TELL ME,
"OH, THE BEAR HURT HIS NOSE."

SO, WE ANALYZE THE VERY SPECIFIC
SIGNS THAT ARE USED,

AND WE GO THROUGH THE VIDEOTAPE
AND WE PAUSE IT

AND WE DISCUSS THE VIDEOTAPE
AND WE DO A LITTLE BIT MORE

AND THEN WE STOP IT AND DISCUSS
THE CONTENT AGAIN.

AND THEN WE GO BACK AND REPEAT.

WE DO A REPEATED VIEWING.

AND NOW WE'RE INTO THE PINK BOX.

SO, THE FIRST ACTIVITY IS THAT
WE REPEAT THE VIEWING.

WE LOOK AT IT ALL OVER AGAIN
FROM BEGINNING TO END.

AND THEN WE'RE READY
TO DO ROLE PLAYING.

THE CHILDREN
ASSUME THE DIFFERENT

CHARACTERS IN THE STORY

AND ACT OUT THE STORY.

BUT, HOWEVER,
THERE IS A PROBLEM.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE KIDS
DON'T KNOW HOW TO ROLE PLAY?

SO, I AS AN ASL LANGUAGE MODEL,
AS AN ASL SPECIALIST,

I JUMP IN AND MODEL FOR THEM
ROLE PLAYING.

SO, I ACT OUT THE STORIES.

SO, THERE'S THIS
ADDED STEP IN THERE

FOR WHEN STUDENTS DON'T KNOW
HOW TO DO ROLE PLAYING.

I HAVE A VIDEOTAPE THAT HAS
VARIOUS CLIPS IN IT

AND, YOU KNOW, IF SOMETHING
BREAKS DOWN IN THE STORYTELLING,

I'LL JUMP IN AND HELP THEM OUT,

AND IF IT--AS LONG AS
IT'S GOING OK, THEY'RE FINE.

SO, LET ME SHOW YOU A VIDEOTAPE
OF THIS PORTION OF THE PROCESS.

[NO AUDIO]

THERE'S A QUESTION
FROM THE AUDIENCE HERE?

THAT'S THE LAB THAT--AND THOSE
WERE DEAF CHILDREN.

OK, NOW, YOU CAN SEE
ON MY PROCEDURE HERE

THERE'S A LITTLE ARROW.

IF WE NEED TO REPEAT
THE VIDEOTAPING,

THE CHILDREN WILL WATCH
THE VIDEOTAPING AGAIN, OR

WE CAN GO BACK AND HAVE
THE CHILDREN DO
THE ROLE PLAYING AGAIN.

THAT'S WHAT YOU WERE
JUST SEEING THEM DO.

THEY WERE DOING THE REPEATED
ROLE PLAYING.

AND NOW THEY'RE READY
TO GO TO STEP TWO.

OR PROCEDURE TWO.

IT'S THE SAME STORY WE'RE USING,

AND THE CHILDREN
ARE EACH VIDEOTAPED

TELLING THE STORY.

THEN, WE EVALUATE
THE RETELLING OF THE STORY

AS A GROUP.

THE CHILDREN ALL SIT AROUND

AND I'M THERE TO
FACILITATE AND DISCUSS

AND I MIGHT SAY, "OH, YOU MISSED
SOME INFORMATION," OR

"YOU MISSED AN IMPORTANT PART"

OR MAYBE THE SEQUENCES
WERE OUT OF ORDER,

AND SO, WE'LL SIT AROUND
AND WE'LL DISCUSS THOSE.

IT'S NOT A CRITIQUE, REALLY,

BUT IT'S A WAY
TO HELP THE STUDENTS

FACILITATE THEIR LEARNING
AND EXPAND THEIR LANGUAGE.

AND THEN WE LOOK
AT THE MOVIE AGAIN.

THEN WE DO THE RETELLING AGAIN

AND WE GO BACK
AND DO THE RETELLING.

I'M INVOLVED IN THIS AS WELL
AND I VIDEOTAPE IT

JUST LIKE THE STUDENTS.

AND THEN WE REPEAT
THE RETELLING.

WE DON'T NEED THE VIDEOTAPING.
WE MIGHT DO IT INDIVIDUALLY.

WE MIGHT TAKE TURNS.

AND AGAIN, WE MIGHT
HAVE PROBLEMS AGAIN.

SO, THEN I'LL STICK
MY VIDEOTAPE IN, FOR EXAMPLE.

SO, AGAIN, I MIGHT BE TALKING
WITH THE CHILDREN

AND MAYBE SOMETHING
ISN'T PARTICULARLY CLEAR

IN THE DISCUSSION OR--SO,
THEN WE LOOK AT

MY VIDEOTAPE, MY MODEL
OF THE RETELLING OF THE STORY

AND THEN WE TALK ABOUT THAT.

SO, EITHER WE MAY
WATCH THE VIDEOTAPE AGAIN

OR WE MAY GO BACK AND WATCH
THE ORIGINAL STORY AGAIN.

AND THEN WE DO
THE RETELLING PART.

THEN INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS
TELL THEIR STORIES.

THEY EACH TAKE TURNS
TELLING THEIR STORIES.

AND THEN IF IT'S ALL A SUCCESS,

THEN WE GET TO GO ALL THE WAY
BACK TO THE TOP AGAIN,

BACK UP TO THE BLACK BOX,

AND WE'RE READY FOR A NEW STORY.

THE OLD ONE'S ALL DONE,

AND THEN WE GO ALL THROUGH
BOTH PROCEDURES ALL OVER AGAIN.

FOR STUDENTS WHO
HAVE LIMITED ASL,

THEY REALLY START TO ACQUIRE

A GREAT DEAL OF
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT,

AND THEN THEY'RE READY TO GO
BACK TO THE CLASSROOM

AND JOIN WITH THEIR OWN CLASS.

READY TO JOIN WITH THE CHILDREN
OF DEAF PARENTS, SO,

WHEN THEY JOIN THEIR CLASSES,

WE REMOVED
THE LANGUAGE MODEL NOW.

THAT CLASSROOM,
IN THE CLASSROOM,

THE TEACHER'S RESPONSIBLE
FOR THE THIRD PROCEDURE.

IT'S THE SAME PROCESS
ALL OVER AGAIN.

PROCEDURE ONE, PROCEDURE TWO,

AND NOW WE'VE ADDED PROCEDURE 3.

THE STORY STRUCTURE ANALYSIS.

THE MORE DETAILED ANALYSIS
OF WHAT'S GOING ON.

MORE SEQUENCE, MORE DISCUSSION
OF A SEQUENCE,

MORE DISCUSSION OF THE ANALYSIS,

MORE DISCUSSION OF THE
CHARACTERS THAT ARE INVOLVED,

HOW THEY RESPOND, HOW THEY ACT,

WHAT'S INCLUDED,
WHAT ARE THE OUTCOMES,

SO THAT THERE'S
MUCH MORE ANALYSIS

OF WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE STORY

AND A MUCH MORE DETAILED
DISCUSSION AMONG THE CHILDREN.

THEN WE DO A RETELLING AGAIN

AND INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS,
WE VIDEOTAPE ALL OF THE STUDENTS

RETELLING THE STORY
ONE MORE TIME.

THEN THERE'S AN EVALUATION
BASED ON THE STORY STRUCTURE.

HOW DETAILED WAS IT?

AND THEN WE LOOK
AT THE VIDEOTAPE.

MAYBE YOU DIDN'T SHOW
THE FEELING CORRECTLY

OR THE CHARACTER'S RESPONSE
WASN'T DONE CORRECTLY.

SO, THEN THE STUDENTS GO BACK
AND PRACTICE IT SOME MORE,

AND THEN ONCE AGAIN,
THERE'S A RETELLING

OF THE INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS
TELLING THE STORY.

AND IF IT'S SUCCESSFUL,
IF THE LOOP IS SUCCESSFUL,

THEN WE GET TO GO ALL THE WAY
BACK TO THE BEGINNING AGAIN

AND SELECT ANOTHER STORY AND GO
THROUGH PROCEDURE 1, 2, 3

ALL OVER AGAIN WITHOUT
THE LANGUAGE MODEL.

NOW...IN THE LAB, WE LOOK
AT PROCEDURES ONE AND TWO.

ARE THEY SUCCESSFUL
FOR CHILDREN?

KATHY FRAXCHINEAUD NOW WILL TALK
ABOUT THE RESULTS OF HER STUDY

TO FIND OUT IF, IN FACT,
PROCEDURE ONE AND TWO

ARE SUCCESSFUL FOR STUDENTS.

OK.
SAM JUST TALKED ABOUT

THE RESULTS OF HIS PROJECT,

LOOKING AT THE RABBIT
AND TURTLE STORY.

I'M GOING TO ALSO
LOOK AT THE STORY,

BUT I ALSO WANT TO DISCUSS
SOME MORE IN DEPTH.

I'M GONNA LOOK AT
THE INDIVIDUAL CHILDREN,

THEN THE CHILDREN AS GROUPS,

AND THEN I'M GONNA LOOK AT--

AND YOU NOTICED THAT
HE TALKED ABOUT

THE FACT THAT WE HAD 3 DIFFERENT
ELICITATION SITUATIONS,

AND I'M ONLY GONNA BE LOOKING
AT THE SECOND ONE

AND DO A CLOSE STUDY
OF AN ANALYSIS

OF THEIR STORYTELLING IN THAT.

THE SECOND ONE WAS
THE RABBIT/TURTLE STORY
ELICITATION.

SO, I'M GONNA LOOK AT THE--
I LOOKED AT ALL OF THE STORIES.

WE HAD THE CHILDREN
LOOK AT THE ENTIRE STORY

AND THEN ASKED THEM
TO RETELL IT.

I THEN TRANSCRIBED THEIR STORY
IN [INDISTINCT]

FOLLOWING THE SYSTEM THAT
[INDISTINCT] CURRICULUM USES.

THE TRANSCRIPTION
WAS AN EXACT RECORD

OF WHAT THE CHILD SIGNED,

AND I USED IT TO DO MY ANALYSIS.

WHEN I DID MY ANALYSIS,
I MEASURED IT IN T-UNITS,

WHICH STUDIES THE ELABORATION
OF THE SENTENCE

AND THE COMPLEXITY
OF THE STRUCTURES

THAT THE CHILDREN USE.

THIS MEASURES
DIFFERENT STRUCTURES

THAT ASL USES.

AND I TRIED TO USE T-UNITS
IN THE SAME WAY THAT

PEOPLE WHO HAVE STUDIED
SPOKEN LANGUAGE
AND ENGLISH HAVE,

BUT I NEEDED
TO CHANGE IT IN SOME WAY

TO FIT ASL STRUCTURE.

IN ENGLISH...

PEOPLE STUDY ENTIRE SENTENCES

AND CONSIDER THAT
THE T-UNIT IN ENGLISH.

THEY'LL LOOK AT A CLAUSE...

THEY'LL LOOK AT THE NOUN PHRASE

AND THE VERB PHRASE
OF THE SENTENCE

AND NOT THE ENTIRE SENTENCE

BUT JUST AT THE PHRASAL LEVELS.

NOUN PHRASE
AND VERB PHRASE LEVELS.

SO, WE LOOKED AT CLASSIFIERS,
FROZEN SIGNS.

SO, THAT WAS IN THE FIRST GROUP.

THE REASON I HAVE THIS ONE "X"

IS BECAUSE WE WANT
TO BE ABLE TO GIVE

A WEIGHTED SYSTEM SO THAT

MORE COMPLEX STRUCTURES IN ASL

WOULD BE GIVEN MORE WEIGHT

AND CHILDREN WHO HAD
THOSE STRUCTURES

WOULD GET MORE CREDITS
FOR HAVING THAT

AS OPPOSED TO HAVING THE MORE
SIMPLISTIC STRUCTURES.

SO, WE HAVE--I HAVE THIS
CATEGORIZED BY

COMPLEXITY OF A STRUCTURE.

FROZEN SIGNS--YOU MIGHT WANT
TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE

BETWEEN CLASSIFIERS
AND FROZEN SIGNS.

WELL, THIS WOULD BE A CLASSIFIER
FOR "RUN,"

AND THIS IS THE FROZEN SIGN
"TO RUN."

THIS CLASSIFIER

WOULD BE SEPARATELY CODED.

[INDISTINCT] CODED, HAVE THEIR
CLASSIFIERS AND FROZEN SIGNS

SEPARATELY CODED.

WHEN I TALK ABOUT ROLE SHIFTS,

WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE MOVEMENT

OF THE SHOULDERS AND THE BODY
AND THE EYES

TO REPRESENT
DIFFERENT CHARACTERS.

VERB AGREEMENT WOULD BE
THE MOVEMENT OF A SIGN

TO SHOW NOUN, SUBJECT/OBJECT
RELATIONSHIPS.

VERBS OF MOTION.

AND THEN NOUN/VERB PAIRS

SHOULD BE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN

SIGNS LIKE "SIT" AND "CHAIR"

THAT DIFFER IN MOVEMENT.

ASPECT AND NUMBER.

TALK ABOUT...

INFLECTIONS ON VERBS

AND ON MANUAL MARKERS
WOULD BE, LIKE,

EYEBROW RAISING AND SO ON

THAT MARK CLAUSES IN ASL.

SO, THEN WE HAVE AN ANALYSIS OF

HOW MANY FEATURES THE CHILD USES

AND HOW MANY T-UNITS.

AND T-UNITS,
WHEN STUDYING ENGLISH

AND CHILDREN'S ABILITIES
IN ENGLISH,

PEOPLE LOOK AT SENTENCES,
BUT WE'RE NOT REALLY SURE

EXACTLY WHAT THE SENTENCE
STRUCTURE IS OF ASL.

I MEAN, THE INDIVIDUAL SENTENCES
ARE OF ASL.

SO, INSTEAD, WE'VE USED
A DIFFERENT CRITERIA

FOR DECIDING WHAT A T-UNIT IS
IN ASL.

SO, WE HAVE TWO BASIC
CRITERION--CRITERIA.

ONE BASED ON THE NOUN PHRASE

AND ONE BASED ON
THE VERB PHRASE.

THAT INCLUDES NOUNS [INDISTINCT]
POINTING AND [INDISTINCT].

THEN ON SEGMENTATION
FOR VERB PHRASES,

THEY'RE BASED ON VERBS
ON THE CONJUNCTIONS

"THEN" AND "BUT"
[INDISTINCT] FINISH.

SO, I USED THOSE CRITERION
TO SEPARATE T-UNITS

IN AN UTTERANCE.

THERE ARE ACTUALLY SEVERAL MORE.

I COULD SHOW HOW I USED
EACH OF THESE FEATURES

TO DETERMINE T-UNITS,
BUT INSTEAD,

I'M JUST GOING TO SHOW
HOW I USE NOUNS

TO DETERMINE THE UNITS.

NOW I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU
WHAT ONE OF THE--

THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT
ONE OF THE CHILDREN SIGNED.

OK.

SO, THEN I--IF THIS--

DID I SEE THE SIGN "RABBIT,"
WHICH IS A NOUN,

THEN I SEGMENT THE T-UNIT THERE.

THEN I SEE THE SIGN "HARE."

THAT'S ALSO DONE.

I SEGMENT THE SIGN THERE.

AND THIS IS A MEASURE
OF THE COMPLEXITY

OF THE UTTERANCE.

THERE'S AN ENTIRE STORY TO THIS,

BUT I JUST WANTED
TO SHOW YOU ONE BIT

OF RETELLING OF THE STORY

OF A CERTAIN SEGMENT,

SO, I'M JUST TAKING OUT
THIS ONE SEGMENT HERE

WHERE THE RABBIT IS ASLEEP
AND THE TURTLE PASSES BY...

AND I HAVE EXAMPLES OF
THE SIGNING OF

A CHILD WHO HAD DEAF PARENTS,

A CHILD WHO HAD HEARING PARENTS
WITH SIGN AT HOME,

AND A CHILD WHOSE
HEARING PARENTS DIDN'T SIGN.

AND I'M GOING TO BE
COMPARING THE CHILD

WHO HAD DEAF PARENTS
WITH A CHILD

WHO HAD HEARING PARENTS
WHO DID NOT SIGN

AND SEE THE COMPARISON
OF HOW MUCH WAS--

HOW MANY FEATURES PER T-UNIT
EACH CHILD SIGNED,

AND IF WE COMPARE THEM,
WE SEE THAT

THE CHILD WHO HAD
DEAF PARENTS HAD

5.40 FEATURES PER T-UNIT

AND THE CHILD WHO HAD
HEARING PARENTS WHO DIDN'T SIGN

HAD 3.67, SO, WE SEE THAT

THE CHILD WHO HAD DEAF PARENTS
HAS A MUCH MORE

ELABORATED SYSTEM.

OK, NOW, THESE ARE STUDIES
OF INDIVIDUAL CHILDREN.

FIRST GROUP--FIRST CHILD
HAD DEAF PARENTS;

THE SECOND CHILD HAD
HEARING PARENTS WHO SIGNED;

THE THIRD CHILD, WHO HAD
HEARING PARENTS WHO DIDN'T SIGN.

NOW, WE'VE--ON THE X AXIS,
YOU SEE FALL AND SPRING

AS THE TWO LABELS.

FALL REPRESENTS THE PRE-TEST
THAT WE GAVE THE CHILDREN

AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR

AND THEN AFTER THEIR EXPERIENCE
IN THE LAB

AND IN THE PROGRAM,

WE GAVE THEM A POST-TEST
IN THE SPRING

AND THOSE WERE THE TWO
POINTS IN TIME

THAT WE TESTED.

IT'S QUITE INTERESTING
TO LOOK AT THE DIFFERENCE,

BECAUSE YOU SEE THAT
IN THE BEGINNING,

THERE WAS A GREAT VARIANCE
BETWEEN THE 3 CHILDREN

IN THE FALL.

HOWEVER, THIS IS MUCH SMALLER
IN THE SPRING.

IN THE FALL, THE CHILD
WHO HAD HEARING PARENTS

HAD ABOUT 2.5,

AND THE CHILD WITH DEAF PARENTS

HAD ABOUT 6.5, BUT

IN THE SPRING, YOU SEE
THAT THAT CHANGES

AND THAT THE CHILD
WHO HAD HEARING PARENTS

WHO DIDN'T SIGN
INCREASED QUITE A BIT.

ALMOST--AND SEEMS TO BE
TRYING TO CATCH UP

WITH THE CHILDREN WHO
HAVE SIGNING PARENTS.

I PERFORMED A LOT OF STATISTICS
ON THESE DATA

AND ANALYZED THEM,

DIVIDED THE CHILDREN
INTO 3 GROUPS.

A, B, AND C.

THOSE ARE THE CHILDREN
WHO HAVE DEAF PARENTS,

THE CHILDREN WHO HAVE
HEARING PARENTS WHO SIGN,

AND THE CHILDREN WHO HAVE
DEAF PARENTS WHO DON'T SIGN,

AND I SEPARATED
THEM INDIVIDUALLY.

WE SEE IN THE BEGINNING THAT...

TWO OF THE STUDENTS HAVE
TWO POINT SOMETHING, BUT

IN THE SPRING, ONE STUDENT WHO

STARTED WITH
A TWO POINT SOMETHING

BECAME AS PROFICIENT AS THE
STUDENTS WHO HAD DEAF PARENTS

AND KIND OF JOINED THEIR GROUP.

WHEN WE LOOK AT THE CHILDREN,
C1 AND C3,

WE SEE THEY ALSO IMPROVED,

BUT NOT QUITE AS MUCH.

THEY BECAME AS PROFICIENT
AS THE CHILDREN

WHO WERE IN GROUP B
DURING THE FALL.

AND WE LOOK AT B2.

WE SEE ONE OF THE CHILDREN

BECAME AS PROFICIENT
AS THE DEAF--

THE CHILDREN WHO
HAD DEAF PARENTS,

BUT B1 AND B3 SEEMED
NOT TO IMPROVE THAT MUCH.

THEY DID IMPROVE, YES,
BUT THEY DIDN'T--

THEY DIDN'T BECOME
MORE PROFICIENT

THAN THE CHILDREN
IN THEIR OWN GROUP

AND DIDN'T MOVE
INTO THE NEXT GROUP.

BUT WHEN I LOOKED
AT THEIR EXPERIENCE,

I REALIZED THAT
THE FIRST CHILD HAD ONLY

1 1/2 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
IN OUR PROGRAM,

AND THE SECOND CHILD
ONLY ONE YEAR.

SHE'D BEEN VERY NEW
TO THE PROGRAM AND SO,

IT SEEMS LIKE THAT THEY NEEDED
MORE TIME IN THE PROGRAM

IN ORDER TO...

FULLY ACQUIRE THE LANGUAGE.

YOU SEE THE CHILDREN WHO HAD
STARS BY THE NAME

HAD THE FULL
TWO YEARS' EXPERIENCE.

WE LOOK AT THE CHILDREN
WHO HAD DEAF PARENTS,

AND WE SEE THAT THEY HAD--
THAT BY THE SPRINGTIME,

THEY HAD 8.626.95
AS THEIR SCORE,

AND I WONDERED
IF MAYBE THAT MEANS

THAT THEY HAD ACHIEVED
PROFICIENCY IN ASL.

SO, TO TEST THIS, I LOOKED
AT A PROFESSIONAL STORYTELLER

AND DID THE SAME SORT
OF ANALYSIS ON

THAT PROFESSIONAL STORYTELLER
THAT I DID ON THE CHILDREN.

I USED THE SAME RABBIT/TURTLE
STORY AS WELL.

AND HE AVERAGED 9.50
FEATURES PER T-UNIT

COMPARED TO THE BEST
CHILD WHO HAD DEAF PARENTS,

WHICH WAS 8.62, AND HE WAS STILL
MUCH MORE PROFICIENT

THAN THE CHILDREN
OF DEAF PARENTS.

SAM?

SO, IN SUMMARY...

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

IT MEANS THAT
THERE ARE VARIOUS LAYERS

AND STUDENTS CAN MOVE
THROUGH THOSE LAYERS

IN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION.

MEANS THAT THE LAB HELPS THEM

WITH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION.

HOWEVER, NOT NECESSARILY
WITH STORYTELLING.

WE CAN DISCUSS THE TECHNIQUES
AND WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE

AND PROVIDE THE SUPPORT SYSTEMS
FOR THAT.

BUT IT'S...

THE LEVEL OF
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

THAT STUDENTS EXPERIENCE
REALLY DOES DEPEND

ON THE LEVEL OF TIME
THAT THEY'RE INVOLVED

WITH THE PROGRAM ITSELF.

REMEMBER, THE GOAL IS TO HAVE
THEM ALL AT THE SAME LEVEL,

BUT IF THE MOTHER AND FATHER
ARE DEAF,

THEY HAVE MORE TIME TO PROGRESS.

90% OF THE STUDENTS
HAVE HEARING STUDENTS

AND 10% HAVE DEAF,

AND THE IDEA IS
TO GET THEM ALL TO 100%.

THAT IS THE GOAL,
TO GET THEM ALL

TO THE SAME LANGUAGE LEVEL.

BUT DOES THAT MEAN THAT

THE LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
IS COMPLETE? NO.

THEY NEED TO CONTINUE
THE PROCESS IN THE CLASSROOM.

THEY NEED TO MAKE THE TRANSFER
FROM THE ACTIVITIES IN THE LAB

INTO THE CLASSROOM.

SO, IN SUMMARY, REMEMBER
IN THE BEGINNING,

WE TALKED ABOUT OUR QUESTION?

THE FEASIBILITY ISSUE?

SO, DEAF CHILDREN
OF DEAF PARENTS.

YES, IT SEEMS THAT THEY
CAN LEARN ASL.

DEAF CHILDREN OF HEARING PARENTS
CAN LEARN ASL.

AND WHAT MIGHT
THAT PROGRAM LOOK LIKE?

THE SIGN LANGUAGE SERVICES
THAT ARE NEEDED?

THE THIRD ASPECT WAS
THE EFFECTIVENESS.

YES, WE'VE SEEN STUDENTS
THAT CAN JUMP BETWEEN GROUPS,

BUT THEY WERE ABLE TO PROCEED,

PROGRESS UPWARD IN THEIR
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT.

BUT WE NEED TO HAVE
MORE TIME TO SEE

THE ACTUAL FINAL RESULTS.

IT'S UNFORTUNATE THAT
THE PROGRAM WAS CLOSED.

AND ALSO, WE LOOKED AT

DEAF CHILDREN OF
HEARING PARENTS ONLY.

WE DIDN'T LOOK AT--WE DIDN'T
DO THE COMPARISON

OF DEAF CHILDREN
AND DEAF PARENTS.

WE WANTED TO DO DEAF CHILDREN
AND DEAF PARENTS

GOING THROUGH THIS PROGRAM, BUT
WE STILL HAVE NOT DONE THAT YET.

WE NEED TO SET THAT UP THIS YEAR

AND THE PROGRAM HAD BEEN CLOSED.

WE NEED TO JUST TAKE THAT GROUP
ALL THE WAY THROUGH THIS.

THERE WAS NO SUPPORT
THROUGH THE PROGRAM.

THE TEACHER HAD NOT GONE
THROUGH THE ENTIRE PROCESS.

THE TEACHERS DIDN'T
SUPPORT THE PROGRAM.

ONLY THE SUPERINTENDENT DID.

SO...WE HAVE TO KEEP
SIGN LANGUAGE...

SO, THE SIGN LANGUAGE
SERVICES AREN'T ENOUGH.

WE NEED TO CONTINUE
DEAF EDUCATION.
Notes:
"This project is supported by a Digitizing Hidden Collections grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR). The grant program is made possible by funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation."

Achieving literacy with Deaf children an examination of American Sign Language story struc...