Sign Vocabulary Recognition in Students of American Sign Language

The present investigation explored recognition memory for sign language vocabulary in sign language students. Ten beginning and ten advanced students were asked to judge their familiarity with 50 old and 50 new vocabulary items presented in both written (sign gloss) and signed stimulus modes. Both groups were able to recognize vocabulary items with a high degree of accuracy but there were significant differences in their performance with respect to signed versus written modes. Implications for teaching American Sign Language are discussed.