Documenting English syntactic development in face-to-face signed communication

The authors explored the face-to-face English competence of five students w ho were participating in a larger study of teachers' use of English-based s igning. Using case studies, the authors report on the students' development of English-based signing at the beginning and end of their involvement in this 4-year study. Grammatical forms similar in English and American Sign L anguage (ASL) were initially more readily produced when tested for in Engli sh, and showed consistently higher attainment levels across all the student s, than grammatical forms that are different in English and ASL. The author s found emerging English forms that could be documented (a) between prompte d and imitated utterances and(b)within blocks of test items examining the s ame grammatical constructions. The authors conclude that teachers' concerte d efforts to use English-based signing as a language of instruction enhance deaf students' English acquisition. Such signing helps build a bridge betw een native sign language and the development of English skills necessary fo r literacy.