by Amelia Johnson (8th)
Every student has a choice of three languages in CMS; Spanish, French, and Latin.
Those all have beneficial effects on students, but are we missing a key mode of communication for many? ASL, or American Sign Language is used to communicate with people who have lost or have trouble hearing. Should this be an additional language students could take at Colonial Middle School?
Why should students learn sign language? About 48 million people in the US are deaf or hard of hearing but only 500,000 of them know sign language. Increasing the number of people who do know sign language could help those hard of hearing to communicate with others easier. While 500,000 deaf individuals know the language ASL is the third most commonly used
language in the United States after English and Spanish.
Since 90-95% of children are born deaf to parents who don’t speak ASL the child may rely on lip reading instead of ASL, but if more people know the language access to learning it could be easier for families.
American Sign Language is very important to society today and has gained popularity in this decade alone. Sign language interpreters now are aside most public speakers and at public events too. Interpreters are at political events, community hospitals, and even at King Charles’ coronation.
Sign language has many positive effects on students such as, improved reaction time, long term cognitive benefits, and even enhanced peripheral vision. Also it improves listening, concentration, and thinking skills.
ASL has connected people who can and can’t speak to communicate in a language. It has many beneficial effects connected with learning the language and can introduce students to a possible career option in the future.
Image Citation:
"American Sign Language." Wikipedia.org Accessed June 5, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Sign_Language