Tiny Hands Can Talk - Using Sign Language with Young Children
Teachers do a fantastic job at motivating ; children to learn. We use creativity in a variety of mediums to captivate ; children’s interest and let’s face it, if it’s fun, they’re motivated. I think ; we all agree that when children are involved in the learning process they are ; more likely to enjoy and remember what they are learning. I found this ; especially so when I incorporated sign language with my teaching.
The hearing children I taught loved using ; sign language. They were not just listening but they were seeing and doing, ; using more components and senses with their learning. My Grade one students ; enjoyed signing songs and were using ‘finger-spelling’ (Auslan alphabet) to ; learn their spelling words and my Grade four students did the same. It was also ; very satisfying seeing children in the playground communicating to each other, ; using ‘finger-spelling.’ They had their own code, they were motivated. Then for ; a school assembly one year, my Grade three class presented a song in sign ; language, they all wore white gloves and it looked fantastic.
After reading some research on the benefits ; of teaching sign language to infants and children, I was also convinced by the ; educational advantages that hearing children had, when exposed to speech and ; sign language. Dr. Daniels, a professor of Speech Communication and author of ‘Dancing ; with words: Signing for Hearing Children’s Literacy, states that using sign language from infancy to the sixth ; grade results in improved literacy. She worked with children who demonstrated ; ‘...better recognition of letters and ; sounds, better spelling and larger English – language vocabularies than ; children who were not taught Signs.’ After reading this, I thought what a ; wonderful tool sign language could also be for children whose English is a ; second language.
In 1985 a study was ; conducted in the United ; ; ; States by Robert Wilson, Gerald Teague and ; Marianne Teague. It involved seven first grade students who were struggling ; with their learning to spell. Prior to the experiment they could only spell 25% ; to 46% of their words correctly. In the experiment, the students were taught ; the spelling using finger-spelling and sign language to learn their words. ; Consequently the students could spell 56%-90% of their words correctly. At the ; end of the study the students proved they were able to retain their spelling.
Dr. Daniels also claims that signing while ; speaking can encourage whole brain development and memory skills. ‘… when information is taken in with the eyes, ; the right brain is being used. All languages are stored in the left brain, so ; when (young children) are exposed to ; signs and speech, both the right and left brain are being used.’ She says ; ‘….this is a wonderful advantage because ; you are using both hemispheres of the brain, building more synapses in the ; brain.’
In ; addition, studies demonstrate the positive effects sign language can have on ; learning math. ; Steve Kokette in his ; paper, ‘Sign Language: The Best Second ; Language?,’ writes, ‘In Middlesborough, ; England, one study illustrated how sign language improved students’ math ; skills. The students in this study were taught BSL (British Sign Language) and then taught math entirely through sign. ; These students scored significantly higher on their test scores compared to ; their peers who were not exposed to signs. The possible reason for this is that ; sign language, being so visual, fascinates children and causes increased ; curiosity, attentiveness and concentration; therefore causing greater mental ; retention and in this case, higher test scores.’
Using sign language, while teaching, is ; easy as it is only grasping some Auslan vocabulary. It can be used whenever you ; are speaking, as little or as much as you like. There is no need to pull ; children out of their natural environment to ‘teach’ them signs. Signing is ; fascinating to watch and do, children are curious, they concentrate and are ; motivated, therefore learning becomes memorable and fun. Additionally, exposing ; children to a second language such as Auslan touches on topics like; cultural diversity, bilingualism and inclusion. When a child is exposed to a second language, they receive exposure to ; different ways of experiencing life through the eyes of another culture. Sign language ; is inviting and accessible, and it provides an opportunity for children to ; experience success in learning another language. This early success can build ; the enthusiasm a child needs to enjoy a lifetime of learning other languages ; and cultures. Subsequently, children who are deaf or hearing impaired would ; also feel included in a mainstream ; school environment.
Jenny McConnell - Author
Jenny McConnell has been teaching for ten years in a variety of elementary school settings including; School for the Deaf in Sydney Australia, Schools for the Hearing Impaired and mainstream schools. Jenny has a Masters of Special Education (sensory disability), Certificate 4 in Auslan (Australian Sign Language) level 2 in ASL (American Sign Language).
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