Keywords
American Sign Language, ASL, Deaf, Deaf Community, Deaf Culture, Bilingual, Remote, Online learning, Second Language Acquisition, COVID-19
Abstract
Second language acquisition of American Sign Language (ASL) requires opportunities for engagement with native language models (Krashen, 1988). The shift to online instruction due to the impact of COVID-19 presented unique challenges for ASL programs across the United States. With little time to redesign courses, instructors and students had to navigate the experience of online learning together. The students who participated in this 2020 study at Western Oregon University (WOU) shared their raw experiences related to this transition, and unfortunately, one year later, many of the same barriers reported by students persist. The purpose of this article is to share their stories, and present evidence that face-to-face instruction of ASL is essential and cannot simply be replaced with online learning without negative consequences. Access to immersion opportunities and consistent engagement with native language models are not easy to replicate in online environments, pointing to the fact that there is a need for face-to-face opportunities to acquire ASL when it is safe to do so.
DOI
10.15760/nwjte.2022.17.2.6
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/37629
Recommended Citation
Gournaris, Kara
(2022)
"Adjusting to Change: Learning American Sign Language Online During A Global Pandemic,"
Northwest Journal of Teacher Education: Vol. 17
:
Iss.
2
, Article 6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15760/nwjte.2022.17.2.6
Included in
American Sign Language Commons, Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Language and Literacy Education Commons, Online and Distance Education Commons