Gesture as a Mediating Factor in Speech and Sign Language Storytelling :: Language Education Teaching

Gesture as a Mediating broker in Speech and Sign voice communication StorytellingThere ar umteen hearing individuals who do nonknow sign language just move their hands whenspeaking. Chances are these people would have a cloggytime telling the same narration if asked not to use their hands.Additionally, the story told without the assistance ofgesture would likely seem lackluster by comparison. The uncertainty becomes, to what degree is gesture an integralpart of effective storytelling and how much does it hitto the complexity and richness of a story? How doesthe gesture used in oral storytelling compare to thatused in American Sign Language (ASL) storytelling? Ifgesture is taken into consideration, will the complexity ofinformation conveyed be resembling between languages?These are questions that Drs. Sarah Taub, Dennis Galvan,and Pilar Piar sought to firmness in their recent pick outon the contribution of hand and tree trunk movements to thecomplexity and depth of ASL, E nglish, and Spanishstorytelling (Taub, Galvan, & Piar, 2004).Dennis Galvan Pilar Piar Sarah TaubPsychology Foreign Languages LinguisticsForming QuestionsThe inspiration to explore the above questionsgrew from the .ndings of Galvan and Taubs previousstudy (2004) in which they compared narratives bynative ASL and English users. Results from this studyindicated that when compared with English users, ASLsigners consistently incorporated much more conceptualA Publication of the Gallaudet Research Institute at Gallaudet University Spring 2005Kozol Presentation Combines Wit,Wisdom, Outrage, and pathos**By Robert C. JohnsonJonathan Kozol, author of suchbooks as Death at an archaean Ageand Savage Inequalities, gave apresentation at Gallaudet on exhibit30 called Shame of the Nation Resegregation,Inequality, and Over-Testing in Public Education. The give tongue to was sponsored by the GallaudetResearch Institute as part of itsSchaefer Distinguished delivery Series.In addition to the presen tation, Kozol participated inseveral other sessions with Gallaudet faculty and studentsin which he reported keying a great deal roughly deafstudents and their educational needs. He said he wasparticularly intrigued to learn from Gallaudet discussion sectionof Education faculty and studentsdeaf and hearingthat the statement come apart is never equal does notnecessarily apply to deaf students, galore(postnominal) of whom thrivein education programs outside the mainstream. Kozol saidhis focus has not been on separate programs that are welldesigned and effectively impact students needs. Hisconcern is that current governmental and socioeconomicfactors in America are depriving many students of qualityeducational experiences because of racial apartheidwhich is forcing too many minority children to stayin inferior learning environments. During a questionand closure session with Kozol, Dr. Barbara Gerner deGarcia, a faculty member in Gallaudets Departmentof Educational Foundations an d Research, pointed out