Sign of other cultures.Arlington Arlington, county, United States Arlington, county (1990 pop. 170,936), N Va., across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. Arlington is a residential and commercial suburb of Washington. (Texas) High School teacher Shane Hensley grew up with a deaf sister and deaf parents, grandparents grandparents npl → abuelos mpl grandparents grand npl → grands-parents mpl grandparents grand npl and great-grandparents. So it is only logical that Hensley, who can hear, grew up with American Sign Language American Sign Language n. The primary sign language used by deaf and hearing-impaired people in the United States and Canada. American Sign Language (ASL), n. as his first language. It is also logical that when his school district decided to add ASL ASL - Algebraic Specification Language to their language curriculum, Hensley would be just the person to teach it. He is the third sign language teacher to be hired for Arlington's new program, a program that is growing in popularity among students. Two years ago, Carolyn Stephens, then a freshman at Arlington High, petitioned successfully to bring the language to the school. Hensley now has 150 students in five classes at both Arlington and Lamar High Schools There are three Lamar High Schools, named after Mirabeau Lamar, in Texas.
"I am having a blast teaching the classes. It's all play time for me to teach my favorite My Favorite is an independent synthpop band from Long Island, New York. They released two CDs: Love at Absolute Zero and Happiest Days of Our Lives. My Favorite broke up on September 14, 2005, when singer Andrea Vaughn left the band. and native language. We do activities, games, videos and lots of role play and practice. Charades is a big hit for practicing non-verbal communication," Hensley says. Sign language was first taught in Texas as "a language other than English" in 1989 but has steadily been increasing in popularity since then. Hensley says the benefits of learning ASL are the same as learning any other language, verbal or otherwise. "It broadens horizons, changes your world view and helps you to appreciate other cultures," he says. Many colleges are also accepting the language for credit and many career options exist for those who have mastered ASL. The National Association of the Deaf National Associations of the Deaf are national bodies that represent Deaf people and the Deaf community in their respective countries. They are usually members of the World Federation of the Deaf and advocate for sign language. "most certainly" supports the trend toward sign language in school, a spokesman says. nad.org, www.aslta.org FAST FACTS * More than 11,000 students are enrolled in ASL classes in Texas high schools in 2001-2002--Texas Education Agency * At least 35 states recognize ASL as a modern language for public education--National Association of the Deaf * There are approximately 250,000-500,000 ASL users in USA and Canada--NAD |
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