Increased Awareness and Sign Language

When asked what she liked learning from sign language class, one of the moms responded that she now has a greater appreciation for ‘observing’ . She felt that had she not learned sign language, there are a lot of subtle cues that she would would have missed in her baby’s efforts to communicate. Now she is hyper aware of how much information gets expressed from her baby’s eyes - whether they are big and round, or small and closed, whether the eye brows are raised or wrinkled - these are parts of signs that would typically be missed in a baby’s early efforts to communicate meaning. Likewise, a baby who learns to sign will also be more in tune with the subtle cues the parents are including in their nonverbal communication. For example, you will often see a baby who is learning to sign, raise his eyebrows and shoulders, and tilt his head in an effort to express "I don't know". This awareness on the part of both baby and parent contributes to increased bonding and understanding in a special relationship.

Signing in Bilingual Homes: ASL is the Common Bond

Are you fortunate enough to know more than one language? Feeling a little confused about how to teach your child your native language? Do you slip back into English because you fear your little one won’t understand you otherwise? Do you struggle between the desire to give your child the gift of a second language and the concern that your personal communication and connection will suffer? Well, you’re not alone. I hear over and over again from bilingual parents that it’s easier just to speak English with their kids because that’s the “norm” among other parents and the kids’ friends. But what a gift they would be missing out on.

Our home happens to be quad lingual. You’re probably wondering how we get through the day! We have figured out how to make it work for us. My first language is Hebrew, while my husband and children are Americans and the extended family knows about one word in Hebrew – Shalom. Our wonderful nanny is a native Spanish speaker and we have always encouraged her to share her language with us. I knew early in my first pregnancy that I wanted my children to benefit from all these languages, but until I discovered signing, I wasn’t sure how to integrate so many different vocabularies without causing confusion in our home.




Signing became a common language for everyone in our household. Whether my husband was offering our daughter some milk or her nanny handed her a cup of leche or I poured her chalav, we all used the same ASL sign to describe it. In this way, it was easy for my kids to learn new words in all the languages, because the sign was always the same and it became the common bond.

Signing as a multiple-language tool is a wonderful way to demonstrate to our children the similarities among people and races all over the world. In this way, signing encourages tolerance. Signing is a way to make the unknown familiar, and teaches our kids the most important skills in the world: understanding and compassion.

Regardless of how many languages are spoken in your home, teaching your child ASL is a proven way to begin to hardwire yet another skill – the ability to learn other languages. We have long known that it is easier to learn a second language as a small child, while the pathways of the brain are still being mapped. Studies now suggest that a child who has learned a second language (including sign language) early in life has an easier time learning additional languages as they age, because their brains already understands the process. Signing can be your child’s “gateway” second language. It’s the gift that’s bound to enrich your child’s life tremendously!

http://www.babysignshine.com/bilingual.shtml


Let the Sign Shine!
etel


Etel Leit, M.S.
Founder & Owner http://www.signshine.com/
Publisher http://www.babysignshine.com/
310.613.3900 etel@SignShine.com