2008 ASL Immersion Weekend Workshop

“Sociolinguistic Aspects in the Deaf Community”
Presented by Susan M. Mather, PhD

  • Using Props in Educational Settings
  • Introduction to Socio-linguistics
  • Strategies:  Developing narrative skills from English-printed texts
  • Visual & Auditory Differences in Communication: An Intercultural Experience
  • Presented by Susan M. Mather, PhD

 

     For this year’s Weekend, our presenter will offer us several workshops from which to learn!  “Using Props in Educational Settings” will have participants learning, then demonstrating uses of specific verbs in space, use of real props, and setting up two or more roles during a narrative.  This will be accomplished through individual and group activities.  Participants will also learn how to provide visual access and how to compare two or more issues or topics in space.  “Introduction to Socio-linguistics” will provide an overview of the major areas of socio-linguistics, with information on current aspects in the Deaf community.  Such topics as bilingualism, language contact phenomena, lexical borrowing, code-switching, pidgins, and Creoles will be discussed.  Additionally, language attitudes, policy, and planning will be covered.  “Strategies: Developing Narrative Skills From English-Printed Texts” will have participants doing hands-on work with texts and how to produce them in American Sign Language.  Using bridging exercises from the bilingual workbook, “Movers: Deaf People who changed the world”, we will explore issues one faces when working with two languages and printed materials.  Exercises will include idioms, handshape classifiers, and time sequencing. Finally, in “Visual & Auditory Differences in Communication” we will learn to identify cultural differences between visual and auditory-based communication, such as Sim-Com, turn-taking systems, eye gazes, and more.