Annie Whiddon
Annie.whiddon@tsd
Orange County Public Schools
Itinerant Teacher, Deaf/Hard of Hearing Program
Master Teacher
Problem/Solution
Problem:
Connecting English and ASL vocabulary and appropriate grammatical use is an ongoing
issue for deaf students. While there are a variety of ASL dictionaries available, they
show a picture of the sign and then give an English sentence. There are few if any
resources for students to see the appropriate use of the signs they are learning while
connecting them with their English use.
Solution:
NTID is in the process of developing a CD-ROM ASL dictionary. My class was
fortunate enough to be part of the pilot program of this product and I was able to develop
many lessons to incorporate the use of this CD into my student’s learning. The CD offers
an incredibly broad list of English vocabulary organized into several categories as well as
a complete alphabetical listing. This makes vocabulary easy for students to find
according to the topic they’re interested in. If there are multiple meanings for signs, the
word is listed repetitively showing the variations in sign meaning. There is an option on
the CD to add an English sentence. Then a person comes on and signs the English
sentence in ASL.
As a grammar lesson, I found this to be incredibly useful and motivating for my students.
Most of them are at a place academically where they want to connect the two languages
and are experimenting with ways to do this. They are excited about using the CD and
request additional activities involving it. I have a computer set up in my classroom that
has become dedicated to the ASL dictionary and when the students are reading
independently, they often will come across unfamiliar words, stop, and go find it on the
computer.
While this product is not available yet for purchase, I would highly recommend it as an
educational investment. My students have started making connections between English
and ASL on their own and as a bonus have become more careful readers as they are
constantly looking for words they don’t know so they can use the ASL dictionary.