What is useful practice for ASL students?
To fully expand on what is useful practice would require a book-length
response.
While there is no single "best" definition of ASL "practice," for discussion
purposes here is an idea:
Practice for ASL students refers to the intentional engagement in the use of ASL
for the purpose of improvement toward the goal of being able to successfully
communicate with other ASL signers.
Attitude check: Our definition could have used the term "ASL speakers." Those of
you who might bristle at the use of the word "speaker" in the sense of "a user
of a language" -- are perhaps not ready for a serious discussion regarding
language acquisition. ASL users "speak" ASL via signing. ASL has words. The
words of ASL typically take the form of signs. Terms such as "speaker" and
"words" are used in the fields of language instruction and language acquisition
but in the Deaf Community many tend to prefer the term "signer" simply because
in the Deaf Community the term "speaking" and "speaker" is strongly associated
with sound-based words.
ASL practice is useful to the extent that it furthers a student toward the goal
of successful communication.
To better understand what "useful practice" of ASL consists of it may be helpful
to observe skillful ASL instruction.
Skillful ASL instruction tends to incorporate practice.
While there are many ways to skillfully teach ASL, here is an approach to
consider:
The teacher demonstrates some vocabulary and then a question and one or more
responses based on that vocabulary.
Then the teacher asks a student the question and the student responds.
Then the teacher directs the student to ask the teacher the question and the
teacher responds.
The teacher occasionally responds in a way that is not appropriate as a form of
checking for understanding and to allow the student to develop clarification
skills.
The teacher then guides the student to ask another student a question (and
provides feedback).
The teacher then directs students to work in groups in which some of the
feedback shifts to the students in the form of peer feedback -- while the
teacher circulates to answer questions, clarify, and model as needed.
The class session for the day is ended and practice transitions to study groups,
online review, and formative quizzing. At the next class session feedback is
provided regarding any errors on the online quizzes.
The process repeats until eventually there is a summative final exam at the end
of the course.
Useful practice for ASL students at various levels of skill could consist of a
wide range of activities but if you want to know what I consider to be useful
practice you may want to consider watching the instructional videos I have
posted to
https://youtube.com/billvicars and notice how I interact and practice with
my students as part of the instructional process.
Also of possible interest is my article regarding my Responses Per Minute (RPM)
approach to instruction.
See:
https://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/topics/rpm_01.htm
I think also it is important to note that what is useful for any particular
student might not be as useful for some other student due to differences in
learning styles.
Notes: