The dangers of sign language

I know several deaf people in Savannakhet now. I usually see them when I'm on my bike. We'll ride side-by-side for a while and chat. I need to keep one eye out for traffic, one eye on our conversation and one hand securely on my handlebar.

Even with one hand, however, it's possible to communicate. It's enough. I hear deaf people are using cell phones with videos and are able to use one hand. It proves that people are flexible and innovative when there's a will to communicate. The problem is that there isn't always that will.

Sign language is coming in very handy when teaching English to hearing students. It has remarkable results. Imagine having the complete attention of a class of 40 in 40 degree heat? They can keep up their concentration and enthusiasm easily for an hour.

Retention is also extremely high. The students are just coming back now from the Lao New Years holiday. They're tired from long rural bus rides and endless days of drinking beer in the hot sun. Thus, I was very happy to find that almost nothing had been forgotten during that time.

There is still little research on gestures/signs/language, but one study has shown that recognition of signs and language development happen in the same place in the brain. Sign laguage and gestures apparently trigger an understanding of language. This helps tremendously with the confidence of the students.

I've been commuting between the teacher's college (teaching English) and the deaf school (checking on the accuracy of signs). For now, I am the bridge. In the future, I hope to see an exponential growth of people who can communicate well with English and/or sign language.