Blog 3- Language Analysis: Spoken Versus Signed

Sign Language analysis differs from spoken language analysis in that there are so many different components of each language that are unique to both languages. Sign Language has facial gestures and utterances, and is even translated or glossed in a different manner than spoken language is written out. In my opinion, sign language is not equivalent to spoken language. The grammatical features are completely different, so when people think that you can just easily translate spoken language into ASL, they're wrong. You also have to take into consideration how children acquire language. Nowadays, it's becoming so common for moms to teach their children sign language before spoken language because it's easier for them to form signs than to speak. I've never really analyzed how children acquire sign language, but I know there are many different stages of acquiring a spoken language. As with spoken language, you must take into consideration the different dialects, or signs that differ from region to region. To analyze the languages, you can't compare them to each other really. You have to individually analyze them and take into consideration all the components that make up each language. Why is it a language? How do people acquire it? If the languages were comparable, the Deaf Community wouldn't have their own language. They'd be doing signed english, versus ASL.

Parental involvement in conversing with their children is another crucial factor in language development. There is a definite relationship between a child's language learning rate and parental involvement. Children need language exposure everywhere, meaning at school, home, and elsewhere. Visual stimulation can be crucial in this process too. If the parent shows a picture of what they're signing, the child can physically see what it is they're learning a sign for and have the picture etched in their mind with the sign. Therefore, they've acquired language through visual stimulation.
I'm not really sure if this is what you were looking for in this blog post because I was out sick on Wednesday, but if I can change my blog in any way, please let me know! Thank you!

Blog Post 1- Introductions

My name is Amanda Brown. I'm from Atlanta, Georgia. I'm majoring in Deaf Education, specializing in Elementary Education. I'm expected to graduate this May from Undergrad, then May 2016 from Grad school. Five interesting facts about me are that I have lived in Holland, I was fluent in Dutch as a second grader, I have two finished show dogs (American and Canadian champions) that I showed as a junior showman, I'm an only child, and I'm ADD and have an Auditory Processing Disorder. That was part of the reason I became interested in Deaf Ed. 

Blog Post 2
I believe that studying language development of DHH students is important because children who are DHH do not learn language in the same manner as hearing children. It is often times much more difficult for them, so as a teacher, it is our job to figure out the best way to teach language. We need to know what is the most efficient way to teach them, how they will learn best, and how they will enjoy language through our teaching. I hope this class will help me learn how to be a great teacher of language skills to DHH children. I struggle with my sign language, and I hope that not only will my skills improve in this class, but that I will be able to use my signing skills to appropriately teach my students. There are so many things that I don't know about language, especially when it comes to children with hearing loss. I hope to apply the skills I learn in this class in my classroom, so that my students are not confused when I teach them. I hope that they will enjoy learning about language because of how I'm able to teach them, and I hope that they have fun learning. I believe that as a teacher, it is so important to have the children engaged in what you are doing, especially when what you are teaching is a more difficult subject, like language often is.