Other reasons that ASL is a foreign language: it is conceptual, ie. signs communicate ideas, rather than words, and it is a form of communication associated with a distinct and unique culture.
Some people take ASL thinking it's an "easy" language. I heard a comment that the college ASL classes lose half the students after the first 2 weeks. It turns out to be much more challenging than they expected!
This is a language that can't be learned from a book. Videos or DVD's along with your book are better, but a live class or tutor is best. ASL is 3-dimensional, incorporating signs with one or two hands, directional movement and facial grammar. All these features combine to convey meaning.
This probably has made it sound intimidating, please don't give up if you are interested! ASL is useful, even for hearing people, you can ask questions or give directions over a long distance or in loud surroundings. You will learn cultural information about the Deaf people living around you, and maybe make some new friends. The Deaf people we've met have been kind, patient and encouraging.
By the way, speaking and signing together is the only way it is physically possible to communicate in two languages at the same time. Challenge your children to think about that!
Showing posts with label High School. Show all posts
Showing posts with label High School. Show all posts
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
American Sign Language
As I mentioned, my 19 year old daughter studied American Sign Language in high school. Most colleges accept ASL as a foreign language (check with the individual college to verify), and ASL is the 3rd or 4th most commonly used language in the US, depending on the source of information.
There are several forms of signed communication. The popularity and use of each varies by region. Think of them as a spectrum, with Signing Exact English (SEE) at one end, Pidgeon Sign Language (PSE) in the middle, and ASL at the other end.
SEE is NOT a foreign language. It is a sign system, but is essentially "English on the hands". Its grammar and structure are the same as English. Each word is at least one sign.
PSE uses signs from ASL and SEE, with its grammar rather mixed, but signs usually understandable by both ends of the spectrum.
ASL has its own grammatical structure, unique, and conceptual in nature. For example, in English, we might say; "The old man sat at the table in his small white house on the farm". To sign this information, we introduce the setting, the farm, then the house, indicating by the way it is signed that the house is small and white, then probably the table and the old man sitting at it.
This structure is why it's a foreign language. You learn not only the signs, but also the unique grammatical structure.
We started with a class at our adult education center, Beginning ASL. At the time my daughter wasn't old enough to take the class herself, so I attended (I had always wanted to learn ASL!), and later taught her. Not the very best way, but it was a start.
Once the beginning class was over, we looked around for more opportunities. To our surprise, we found a lovely lady at church who is an interpreter, and agreed to work with us. She tutored us for 1 1/2 years. We ended by completing the college text used for the first year ASL class at the local university, and Jesse interpreted a song of her choice and performed it at church. We invited a Deaf friend, and she enjoyed the performance. (She cried, I told Jesse I thought she'd done it right then!)
More coming on ASL!
There are several forms of signed communication. The popularity and use of each varies by region. Think of them as a spectrum, with Signing Exact English (SEE) at one end, Pidgeon Sign Language (PSE) in the middle, and ASL at the other end.
SEE is NOT a foreign language. It is a sign system, but is essentially "English on the hands". Its grammar and structure are the same as English. Each word is at least one sign.
PSE uses signs from ASL and SEE, with its grammar rather mixed, but signs usually understandable by both ends of the spectrum.
ASL has its own grammatical structure, unique, and conceptual in nature. For example, in English, we might say; "The old man sat at the table in his small white house on the farm". To sign this information, we introduce the setting, the farm, then the house, indicating by the way it is signed that the house is small and white, then probably the table and the old man sitting at it.
This structure is why it's a foreign language. You learn not only the signs, but also the unique grammatical structure.
We started with a class at our adult education center, Beginning ASL. At the time my daughter wasn't old enough to take the class herself, so I attended (I had always wanted to learn ASL!), and later taught her. Not the very best way, but it was a start.
Once the beginning class was over, we looked around for more opportunities. To our surprise, we found a lovely lady at church who is an interpreter, and agreed to work with us. She tutored us for 1 1/2 years. We ended by completing the college text used for the first year ASL class at the local university, and Jesse interpreted a song of her choice and performed it at church. We invited a Deaf friend, and she enjoyed the performance. (She cried, I told Jesse I thought she'd done it right then!)
More coming on ASL!
Monday, July 6, 2009
Thinking ahead...
Several years ago I heard about Nanowrimo... National Novel Writing Month. The adult level challenge is to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. There is also a student site, the Young Writer's Program, in which the teacher sets the word goal for each individual student.
After reading about this, I decided to offer my high schoolers the option to participate in the National Novel Writing Month, or do the regular Sonlight writing assignments for the month of November. I also offered the choice of participating as an adult, with the 50,000 word goal, or I would help them determine a goal for the Young Writer's Program. Either way, I promised that I wouldn't read any part of it that they didn't want me to, but it had to be typed to be loaded onto the website for an official word count.
They both, to my surprise, chose to do the 50,000 words in a month. That's about the length of The Great Gatsby. One made it, and one didn't. I didn't either! But, it was a great experience. I was amazed by the difference in writing for quantity rather than quality.
I know that sounds like a bad thing, but you are truly able to think more creatively and not be paralyzed by trying to get everything 'just right'. My students were excited, challenged and enriched by the experience.
It also changes the way you read a book. Because you have dealt with unruly characters, questions and plot holes in your own novel, you notice and appreciate an author's skillful handling of his characters and story. You develop an insiders understanding of story structure that can't be easily learned any other way.
Locally there is a "Nano" group that meets weekly during November, and a few of us have continued to meet every 2 weeks, year round, for the last 2 years. Ours is not a homeschool group, our regulars have included only adults, myself and my daughter. It's been encouraging to meet together and write for a couple of hours, ask questions, talk about writing.
As a side benefit, by the way, it's a wonderful motivation to learn or improve at typing!
I have now finished the 50,000 word goal the last 2 years, and one of my daughters has exceeded the 50,000 word goal all 3 years she has participated. We both want to do this every year!
After reading about this, I decided to offer my high schoolers the option to participate in the National Novel Writing Month, or do the regular Sonlight writing assignments for the month of November. I also offered the choice of participating as an adult, with the 50,000 word goal, or I would help them determine a goal for the Young Writer's Program. Either way, I promised that I wouldn't read any part of it that they didn't want me to, but it had to be typed to be loaded onto the website for an official word count.
They both, to my surprise, chose to do the 50,000 words in a month. That's about the length of The Great Gatsby. One made it, and one didn't. I didn't either! But, it was a great experience. I was amazed by the difference in writing for quantity rather than quality.
I know that sounds like a bad thing, but you are truly able to think more creatively and not be paralyzed by trying to get everything 'just right'. My students were excited, challenged and enriched by the experience.
It also changes the way you read a book. Because you have dealt with unruly characters, questions and plot holes in your own novel, you notice and appreciate an author's skillful handling of his characters and story. You develop an insiders understanding of story structure that can't be easily learned any other way.
Locally there is a "Nano" group that meets weekly during November, and a few of us have continued to meet every 2 weeks, year round, for the last 2 years. Ours is not a homeschool group, our regulars have included only adults, myself and my daughter. It's been encouraging to meet together and write for a couple of hours, ask questions, talk about writing.
As a side benefit, by the way, it's a wonderful motivation to learn or improve at typing!
I have now finished the 50,000 word goal the last 2 years, and one of my daughters has exceeded the 50,000 word goal all 3 years she has participated. We both want to do this every year!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
"It turned out a little different..."
June was the month that "turned out a little different" for us (from a line in an old Jerry Lewis movie). We had anticipated a few things, helping another consultant at a convention, one daughter graduating from her massage therapy program, another heading off on a missions trip.
Then came the surprises. There are always those! The dog had an unexpected surgery to remove a strange nodule, my parents visited from out of state, our son and his wife visited, also from out of state, the daughter leaving on the missions trip needed more shots than I expected, as well as requiring multiple Dr. appointments for a sudden infection. Oh, and another daughter got her learner's permit, we started Driver's Ed in a Box again.
The visits went well, we so enjoy time with our son and his wonderful wife. We were able to finish the last shot needed on the day of departure for our daughter, and she has medications with her if the infection should flare up again. The Driver's Ed, we've had 2 short lessons and it's going fine.
I can highly recommend Driver's Ed in a Box, by the way. It thoroughly explains some of those things that as an experienced driver, I know, but didn't think to explain to my learner. (To my older children who learned to drive without this program, I apologize!)
I love the focus on "Collision-free driving". That is after all, what I want. I want them to not only learn to handle a vehicle, the usual focus of driver's education programs, but also to observe conditions, anticipate other drivers, and avoid accidents. Check it out here.
I would have preferred it to be organized a little differently, so I did change the order that some skills were addressed. I also found that the order of presenting various driving conditions weren't practical for our surroundings. It had the student driving the interstate before back roads for example. I just had my student work on those in the order that I found to be best for our situation.
Then came the surprises. There are always those! The dog had an unexpected surgery to remove a strange nodule, my parents visited from out of state, our son and his wife visited, also from out of state, the daughter leaving on the missions trip needed more shots than I expected, as well as requiring multiple Dr. appointments for a sudden infection. Oh, and another daughter got her learner's permit, we started Driver's Ed in a Box again.
The visits went well, we so enjoy time with our son and his wonderful wife. We were able to finish the last shot needed on the day of departure for our daughter, and she has medications with her if the infection should flare up again. The Driver's Ed, we've had 2 short lessons and it's going fine.
I can highly recommend Driver's Ed in a Box, by the way. It thoroughly explains some of those things that as an experienced driver, I know, but didn't think to explain to my learner. (To my older children who learned to drive without this program, I apologize!)
I love the focus on "Collision-free driving". That is after all, what I want. I want them to not only learn to handle a vehicle, the usual focus of driver's education programs, but also to observe conditions, anticipate other drivers, and avoid accidents. Check it out here.
I would have preferred it to be organized a little differently, so I did change the order that some skills were addressed. I also found that the order of presenting various driving conditions weren't practical for our surroundings. It had the student driving the interstate before back roads for example. I just had my student work on those in the order that I found to be best for our situation.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Calling all Juniors!
If your student will be a high school Junior this fall, this is the year to take the PSAT. The PSAT is a Preliminary SAT exam. It is used as practice for the college entrance SAT exam, and as the qualifying test for the National Merit Scholarship competition.
The test is given once a year in October. Now is a great time of year to contact a local public or private high school and ask that they order a test for your student. The cost is approximately $13-$15, the school can set the exact price. The test is quite similar to the SAT, but does not have an essay portion.
Although the Junior year is the one that "counts" for the National Merit Scholarship, your student can take the test for practice in the 10th grade year as well. For the scholarship, it is the total score that is considered. While only the top few percent of students will receive any official recognition for their high score, the PSAT is well worth doing for the practice and allowing your student to become more familiar with standardized test formats. Feel free to use a "prep" book to help your student know what to expect.
The first time we considered having our 10th grader take the PSAT, I didn't realize I should have called well in advance. I found myself calling around to every local school, in a panic because September was too late to find a spare test available. One person finally explained it was only the 11th grade year that is considered for the scholarship competition. We waited until the next year for that student, and for subsequent students I knew to call early!
There is a homeschool code that your student will enter into a designated spot on the test form that will allow the test results to be sent directly to your home address. The score report will arrive around the first week of December.
For more information about the PSAT: http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/psat/about.html
The test is given once a year in October. Now is a great time of year to contact a local public or private high school and ask that they order a test for your student. The cost is approximately $13-$15, the school can set the exact price. The test is quite similar to the SAT, but does not have an essay portion.
Although the Junior year is the one that "counts" for the National Merit Scholarship, your student can take the test for practice in the 10th grade year as well. For the scholarship, it is the total score that is considered. While only the top few percent of students will receive any official recognition for their high score, the PSAT is well worth doing for the practice and allowing your student to become more familiar with standardized test formats. Feel free to use a "prep" book to help your student know what to expect.
The first time we considered having our 10th grader take the PSAT, I didn't realize I should have called well in advance. I found myself calling around to every local school, in a panic because September was too late to find a spare test available. One person finally explained it was only the 11th grade year that is considered for the scholarship competition. We waited until the next year for that student, and for subsequent students I knew to call early!
There is a homeschool code that your student will enter into a designated spot on the test form that will allow the test results to be sent directly to your home address. The score report will arrive around the first week of December.
For more information about the PSAT: http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/psat/about.html
Monday, May 11, 2009
High school: The OTHER scary part...
People have often told me the two scariest times in their homeschool experience are teaching reading and homeschooling high school. We've talked a little bit about teaching reading, let's look at high school.
First, deep breath, maybe have a cup of tea, calm those trembling hands and shaking nerves. You can do this.
A great first step (after your tea) is to make sure you are familiar with the homeschool law in your state. This will help you know what you need to comply with, such as keeping a basic log of hours spent, topics taught, etc. More about records in another post.
Before the beginning of high school, I strongly suggest you make a simple chart. I like to list the courses down the left side of my page and the years across the top, 9th, 10th, and so on.
As you fill in "X's" in the intersecting boxes, you are planning out your student's high school years. Remember this is a general plan. You can list "English" on the left. It's usually done, in some form, each year, so place X's in all four years. That's fine, even though later as you plan in more detail, one year might end up, "Poetry" or "Composition 1" or "Creative Writing".
This will help you plan out the pace of the four years so your student isn't twiddling his thumbs one year, or hearing; "Honey, guess what, you're going to earn 32 credits this year!" Along with the overall pace, you can plan out courses that need certain courses done first. For instance, Algebra 1 is usually a prerequisite, a "do-first" (or at least a co-requisite, a "do-at-the-same-time) for Chemistry.
If that sounds awfully organized, I'll let you in on a couple of secrets: I do this in pencil, not pen, and I've lost that master chart at least once for each child. You can re-create that chart if needed (because you not only lost it, but didn't find it again. Ask me how I know!).
Where do you get the courses? I've looked at the Office of Public Instruction website and the Montana state law to make sure I am exceeding that. Then at lots of college websites for admission requirements. I made sure to look at a range of large and small, public and private colleges, and a wide variety of geographic locations.
At first glance, this might seem daunting and very rigid. Keep in mind that most of those places listed something like: "Engligh, 4 yrs, must include composition and literature". As I mentioned, you have lots of freedom to both meet the student's needs and satisfy his interests, Poetry, Creative Writing, American Literature, English Literature, etc.
We've just scratched the surface! I have lots more to offer, stay tuned here, and I hope to see you at the Montana Homeschool Convention, coming up this weekend!
First, deep breath, maybe have a cup of tea, calm those trembling hands and shaking nerves. You can do this.
A great first step (after your tea) is to make sure you are familiar with the homeschool law in your state. This will help you know what you need to comply with, such as keeping a basic log of hours spent, topics taught, etc. More about records in another post.
Before the beginning of high school, I strongly suggest you make a simple chart. I like to list the courses down the left side of my page and the years across the top, 9th, 10th, and so on.
As you fill in "X's" in the intersecting boxes, you are planning out your student's high school years. Remember this is a general plan. You can list "English" on the left. It's usually done, in some form, each year, so place X's in all four years. That's fine, even though later as you plan in more detail, one year might end up, "Poetry" or "Composition 1" or "Creative Writing".
This will help you plan out the pace of the four years so your student isn't twiddling his thumbs one year, or hearing; "Honey, guess what, you're going to earn 32 credits this year!" Along with the overall pace, you can plan out courses that need certain courses done first. For instance, Algebra 1 is usually a prerequisite, a "do-first" (or at least a co-requisite, a "do-at-the-same-time) for Chemistry.
If that sounds awfully organized, I'll let you in on a couple of secrets: I do this in pencil, not pen, and I've lost that master chart at least once for each child. You can re-create that chart if needed (because you not only lost it, but didn't find it again. Ask me how I know!).
Where do you get the courses? I've looked at the Office of Public Instruction website and the Montana state law to make sure I am exceeding that. Then at lots of college websites for admission requirements. I made sure to look at a range of large and small, public and private colleges, and a wide variety of geographic locations.
At first glance, this might seem daunting and very rigid. Keep in mind that most of those places listed something like: "Engligh, 4 yrs, must include composition and literature". As I mentioned, you have lots of freedom to both meet the student's needs and satisfy his interests, Poetry, Creative Writing, American Literature, English Literature, etc.
We've just scratched the surface! I have lots more to offer, stay tuned here, and I hope to see you at the Montana Homeschool Convention, coming up this weekend!
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