Learning American Sign Language in High School: Motivation, Strategies, and Achievement

175 Pages·2015·4.79 MB·English

by  Russell S. Rosen

Learning
American Sign Language
In High School
Motivation,
Strategies, and
Achievement
Russell S. Rosen
LEARNING
AMERICAN SIGN
LANGUAGE
IN HIGH SCHOOL

L E A R N I N G
A M E R I C A N
S I G N
L A N G U A G E
in high school
MOTIVATION, STRATEGIES,
AND ACHIEVEMENT
Russell S. Rosen
Gallaudet University Press
washington, d.c.
Gallaudet University Press
Washington, DC 20002
http://gupress.gallaudet.edu
© 2015 by Gallaudet University
All rights reserved. Published 2015
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rosen, Russell Scott.
Learning American sign language in high school : motivation,
strategies, and achievement/Russell S. Rosen.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-56368-642-9 (paperback) – ISBN 978-1-56368-643-6 (e-book)
1. American Sign Language—Study and teaching (Secondary)—United
States. 2. Sign language—Study and teaching—United States. I. Title.
HV2476.4.R67 2015
371.91’246–dc23
2015001655
This paper meets the requirements
of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper).
To the students and graduates of the Program in the
Teaching of American Sign Language as a Foreign Language,
Teachers College, Columbia University,
New York, New York

Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xi
1 Background 1
2 The Study 16
3 Motivation for Learning American Sign Language
as a Foreign Language 30
4 Strategies for Learning American Sign Language 48
5 Learner Achievement 98
6 Conclusion 122
References 129
Appendix A 145
Appendix B 149
Index 153
vii

Preface
Two issues provided the impetus for this book. One is the growth of pro-
grams and classes in American Sign Language (ASL) as a foreign language
in United States (U.S.) high schools. The number of A merican high schools
with ASL programs and classes increased 4000% between the fi rst na-
tional survey conducted by the Center for Applied Linguistics in 1996 and
a national survey that I conducted in 2005. The other issue is the dearth of
studies on high school learners in ASL classes. In spite of the increase in
ASL classes and programs in American high schools, little is known about
the learners and how they learn ASL as a second language. No informa-
tion is available to inform high school ASL teachers and program admin-
istrators on why learners take ASL for foreign language credit, how they
learn new signs and grammar, and how their learning determines their
achievement in ASL.
This book is based on a study that looked at the demographics, motiva-
tion, language processing, learning strategies, and course performance of
two groups of learners (those with and without learning disabilities) in ASL
as a foreign language class. More specifi cally, it examines the characteristics
of the learners, the reasons they have for taking ASL, the way they process
ASL as a language, their preferred strategies for learning the language, and
their performance in ASL classes. Such information will help teachers and
school administrators in their recruitment of future learners to ASL classes
and in curriculum development and instructional planning.
The book begins with the historical background of teaching ASL as a
foreign language in American high schools. This history includes the de-
bates about the linguistic and foreign language status of ASL, the situation
of deaf and hard of hearing learners in public secondary schools, govern-
mental recognition of ASL as a language, and processes leading to its in-
clusion in the schools. The next section presents the fi ndings of a national
ix