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EducatWnal.Methodsjor TeaGhi11tJ sfenLa11tJuaoe JOSETTE BOUCHAUVEAU am going to be discussing how to teach sign language to beginning students, but first I will share with you a little background about myself. I was born profoundly deaf, and I am now an educational director and teacher of sign language for the Academy of French Sign Language (ALSF), an association created ten years ago to promote the use of French Sign Language (LSF). The ALSF is headquartered in the Paris Institute for Young Deaf Individuals. In the school courtyard there is a statue of I'Abbe de l'Epee, founder of the first free public educational institution for deaf people. During the ALSF's years of operation, several people have influenced my teaching style, including Gil Eastman, a deaf American, and deaf Frenchmen Guy Bouchauveau (my brother) and Jean-Claude Poulain. These individuals taught me specific educational uses of eN.V. (nonverbal communication) skills. I also worked with Bill Moody, another American, and with several deaf individuals in research on grammar and on several books related to LSF. My work organizing and teaching classes in LSF in the evenings after my regular job was a very interesting experience. After that, I worked full-time for two years with the International Visual Theatre (IVT), which is devoted to LSF education. I am also an actress with IVT. Since 1988 I have been working again with ALSF full time. Teaching methods have been changing during the past four years, and I always try to exchange ideas with other deaf teachers and learn from their successes and failures. In my classes at ALSF, I teach beginning through advanced (nearly interpreter-level) students-adults, parents of deaf children, professionals, friends, and deaf people who do not know sign language. I also participate in LSF workshops for children. How to Teach The basic rule for teaching sign language to beginning students is to avoid speech, keep your mouth closed, and use only signs. I feel that an interpreter is not needed during the first days of the course. The instruction can manage to provide orientation to the students through other communication channels. Beginning sign language students often are uneasy when they first encounter a deaf teacher, so the instructor must be pleasant when welcoming them. Drawing or showing pictures as a way of communicating is not recommended, but classroom rules and explanations for them can be expressed through written signs or posters, such as: "No Smoking," "No Talking," or (as a joke) "No Looking at Each Other'S Hands," and so on. 442 THE DEAF WAY ~ The Study of Sign Language in Society Funny facial expressions can be added by the teacher when showing these posters-for example, "No Smoking" with a twist of the mouth. If the classroom includes people who are preparing to become teachers of deaf students , these student teachers must get into the habit of keeping silent during their entire training. They must be interrupted when they are seen speaking aloud to deaf students, for example, in the cafeteria during breaks. They need to learn about Deaf culture and be introduced to deaf individuals from the beginning of their training. Pictures illustrating LSF syntax are often useful tools in teaching LSF, as are videotapes and such miscellaneous instructional tools as guessing games, plays, or games of opposites. In order to be understood, teachers must try to provide wide, clear, simple signs. The result is often very successful, but sometimes students fail to understand because they themselves are blocked. Changing Attitudes Hearing people are often prisoners of their bodies. Because they are often inhibited, they must be taught how to touch with their hands and use facial expressions. At the start of my sign language courses, I group students in a circle and ask them to get each other's attention by firmly touching each other in turn. Then the sign teacher can begin a demonstration of initial signs using different facial expressions, for example, when calling someone by tapping him or her on the shoulder or shaking someone's hand while saying hello. The students usually have fun doing this, and it is a good way to begin helping them learn how to be physically expressive. Following such exercises, the students are more at ease in expressing themselves through sign language. Students also can join hands and arms, engaging in pulling and pushing exercises. This, too, helps them become more comfortable with touch. Touching people-on the shoulder or other parts of the...

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