Transforming e‐assessment in American Sign Language: pedagogical and technological enhancements in online language learning and performance assessment

The present study was designed to ascertain whether a relationship exists between the experience of an individual in American Sign Language (ASL) and performance on the Mental Rotations Test. 51 women were divided into three groups on the basis of self-reported ASL skill (years of experience). All subjects then completed the Mental Rotations Test, a paper-and-pencil test of spatial ability. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was also administered to examine possible apprehension about evaluation. Significant differences in scores on mental rotations were found, with 18 experienced signers scoring significantly higher than either mean of the two less experienced groups ( ns = 16 and 17). It appears that people experienced in ASL perform better on the Mental Rotations Test. No evidence for a difference in anxiety related to the amount of experience a person had in ASL was found.

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American Sign Language Learning Objects for Instruction

Learning Objects for Instruction ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-334-0.ch006 ◽

2007 ◽

pp. 95-103

Author(s):

Rosemary M. Lehman ◽

Simone C.O. Conceição

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Language Learning ◽

American Sign Language ◽

Sign Language ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Learning Objects ◽

American Sign ◽

University Of Wisconsin ◽

Use Of Technology ◽

Emerging Trends

Little consideration has been given to involving the deaf community in higher education teaching and learning as it relates to the use of instructional technology. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was mindful of this need and collaborated with Instructional Communications Systems, University of Wisconsin-Extension to work with instructors in the use of technology and develop American Sign Language (ASL) learning objects as components of ASL courses. The purpose of this chapter is to present a background on learning objects; the use of ASL learning objects in three higher education settings; recommendations for the use of learning objects for multiple higher education disciplines; and insights into future and emerging trends related to the use of learning objects in higher education.

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Intersectionality in American Sign Language Hip Hop Interpreting

The Oxford Handbook of Hip Hop Music ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190281090.013.50 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Elyse Marrero

Keyword(s):

American Sign Language ◽

Sign Language ◽

Hip Hop ◽

White Women ◽

Black Masculinity ◽

Deaf People ◽

American Sign ◽

Music Festivals ◽

White Femininity ◽

And Performance

Viral videos of American Sign Language (ASL) hip hop interpreters at music festivals have circulated the online mediascape, bringing attention to music interpreting, ASL, and Deaf culture. Hip hop interpreters create intersectional embodied texts challenging our assumed ideas of hip hop, Black masculinity, white femininity, and the connections between ASL, music, and Deaf people. Many hip hop interpreters are white women, which creates an interesting dynamic between interpreter and musical artist, specifically how both parties intersect and meet through their own expressions of hip hop music and culture. Using the concept of dialogical performance, this chapter provides textual analyses of a televised “sign language rap battle” and ASL interpretations of Kendrick Lamar’s “Swimming Pools” and Wiz Khalifa’s “Black and Yellow.” An interpreter’s presence, and how she adds news layers of meaning to a song and to her identity in relation to a song and performance, is explored in each presented scenario.

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The Multimedia Dictionary of American Sign Language: Learning Lessons about Language, Technology, and Business

Sign Language Studies ◽

10.1353/sls.2003.0019 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 3 (4) ◽

pp. 379-392 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Sherman Wilcox

Keyword(s):

Language Learning ◽

American Sign Language ◽

Sign Language ◽

American Sign ◽

Language Technology

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Comprehension benefits of visual-gestural iconicity and spatial referencing

Second language Research ◽

10.1177/02676583211037631 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 026765832110376

Author(s):

Emily Saunders ◽

David Quinto-Pozos

Keyword(s):

Language Learning ◽

American Sign Language ◽

Sign Language ◽

Exploratory Study ◽

American Sign ◽

Signed Languages ◽

Signed Language ◽

Spatial Referencing

Studies have shown that iconicity can provide a benefit to non-signers during the learning of single signs, but other aspects of signed messages that might also be beneficial have received less attention. In particular, do other features of signed languages help support comprehension of a message during the process of language learning? The following exploratory study investigates the comprehension of sentences in two signed and two spoken languages by non-signers and by American Sign Language (ASL) learners. The design allows for the examination of message comprehension, with a comparison of unknown spoken and signed languages. Details of the stimulus sentences are provided in order to contextualize features of the signing that might be providing benefits for comprehension. Included in this analysis are aspects of the sentences that are iconic and spatially deictic – some of which resemble common gestural forms of communication. The results indicate that iconicity and referential points in signed language likely assist with comprehension of sentences, even for non-signers and for a signed language that the ASL signers have not studied.

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