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

Gesture as a Mediating Factor in Speech and Sign wrangle StorytellingThere are many hearing individuals who do notknow sign language but move their hands whenspeaking. Chances are these people would engage a hardtime telling the same story if asked not to use their hands.Additionally, the story told without the assistance ofgesture would likely seem lackluster by comparison. Thequestion becomes, to what degree is gesture an integralpart of effective storytelling and how much does it addto 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 equivalent surrounded by languages?These are questions that Drs. Sarah Taub, Dennis Galvan,and Pilar Piar sought to answer in their recent studyon the contribution of hand and body movements to thecomplexity and erudition of ASL, English, 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 Compassion**By Robert C. JohnsonJonathan Kozol, author of suchbooks as Death at an Early Ageand Savage Inequalities, gave apresentation at Gallaudet on March30 called Shame of the Nation Resegregation,Inequality, and Over-Testing in Public Education. Thetalk was sponsored by the GallaudetResearch Institute as part of itsSchaefer baronial Lecture Series.In addition to the presentation, Kozol participated inseveral other sessions w ith Gallaudet faculty and studentsin which he reported learning a great deal intimately deafstudents and their educational needs. He said he wasparticularly intrigued to learn from Gallaudet Departmentof Education faculty and studentsdeaf and hearingthat the statement specialise is neer equal does notnecessarily apply to deaf students, many of whom thrivein education programs outside the mainstream. Kozol saidhis focus has not been on separate programs that are welldesigned and effectively meeting 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 answer session with Kozol, Dr. Barbara Gerner deGarcia, a faculty member in Gallaudets Departmentof Educational Foundations and Research, pointed out