No abstract

No abstract

D eaf culture has become an enormously popular term and its presence in deaf education has become much more visible, particularly in relation to the teaching of reading and writing to young deaf children. Likewise, although the term functional literacy is familiar, the word literacy used by itself is new and powerful. This term is being used in public, academic, and educational discourse to mark a phenomenon that is different from reading and writing. It is possible to think about the new ideas of Deaf culture and literacy as part of a new educational enterprise, but the connections between the two are not always easy to sort out. We think it would be worthwhile to identify the key elements of these new ideas and sort out how they might be brought together. Let us begin with a few basic questions. • What is "literacy?" How is it different from just "reading and writing?" • What is Deaf culture? • What is the relationship between culture and literacy?—and between Deaf culture and literacy? • What is the relationship between literacy and face-to-face language?—and between literacy and American Sign Language (ASL)? • How can we move from theory to practice? What new research is needed to help us understand the relationships among literacy, Deaf culture, and language?

This article describes the classroom discourse practices of an experienced Deaf teacher using American Sign Language (ASL) as the medium of instruction in a fifth-grade classroom in a residential school. The teacher is a native ASL user who has been teaching for more than thirty-five years. The analysis of three lessons illustrates the use of ASL linguistic features to encourage student participation. In constructing a teaching style using ASL, the teacher also employs discourse practices common among skilled teachers, regardless of the medium of instruction, such as maintaining a moderate level of control and selectively modeling na�ve questions. The teacher's ASL fluency and teaching experience interact to yield an effective strategy for increasing student involvement. Implications for classroom practice and suggestions for further research are included.

This article describes a residential school classroom for deaf third-graders. A critical school skill, the ability to engage in literacy activities, grows from the ability to exploit American Sign Language-based (ASL) literacy practices. These practices are indigenous to the culture of signing Deaf people and are critical for literacy learning when ASL is the medium of instruction.