Guidelines for teachers

This product is carried out with the assistance of the commission of the European

Communities within the framework of the SOCRATES programme, Lingua Action D in the

years 1996 to 2000.

Völundur material

Guidelines for teachers









May 2000





2

1. Introduction



Völundur is a joint Icelandic and Danish project creating Sign Language curriculum

in Danish intended for deaf students. The project was given a grant by the Lingua

Action D program within the European Socrates Programme. The curriculum was

written in the multimedia programmes Sign Smith and SignPlayer, both developed

and written under the direction and leadership of Samskiptamiðstöð heyrnarlausra og

heyrnarskertra (The Communication Centre for The Deaf and Hard of Hearing).

Center for tegnsprog og tegnstøttet kommunikation in Copenhagen cooperated with

Samskiptamiðstöð heyrnarlausra og heyrnarskertra on the project Völundur.



Altogether the staff participating in the project numbered twenty-eight persons.

Valgerður Stefánsdóttir was the coordinator; Kristín Irene Valdemarsdóttir was the

project manager in Iceland whereas Svandís Svavarsdóttir and Sigurlín Margrét

Sigurðardóttir were the authors of the aspects that concern the grammar of Sign

Language. Karen Albertson was the linguistic consultant.



The Icelandic Communication Centre for The Deaf and Hard of Hearing contributed

about 70% of the project while the Danish counterpart contributed about 30%. The

meetings on the structure and the progress were held jointly.



1.1 The background of the project

This project is intended to meet a serious curriculum shortage in the field of teaching

languages to deaf students in the primary and secondary schools.



Currently the situation in Iceland is such as in most other countries that the curriculum

for teaching foreign languages to deaf students are at best books showing static

pictures or photos of signs, supplemented by separate videotapes. In most cases deaf

students will have to use ordinary textbooks and audiotapes-made for hearing

students.



Icelandic teachers of the deaf have reported to us that the existing curriculum is quite

inadequate. Deaf students have not reached the goals in foreign language acquisition

set for their age level. The available curriculum was composed for teaching hearing

students and designed to meet their interests and social reality.



The methods of teaching foreign languages to deaf students have been the same as

teaching foreign languages to hearing students. When a deaf student is learning a

“foreign language” he is learning through yet another foreign language with an

unfamiliar structure (although it is most likely the language spoken by the hearing

people of his mother country). This is an unclear, slow and tedious method neither

suited to the needs of deaf students nor to their interests. They cannot learn the

language independently, they rely on the teacher to explain every new word and the

grammar is explained in terms of a foreign grammar.



Deaf people do not learn spoken languages from communicating naturally with

hearing people. They learn the spoken language from a written source and the

instructional language must not be another foreign language, as the national language

will be for the deaf people of that country (thus Icelandic is a foreign language for

deaf Icelanders). The grammatical structure of Sign Languages is quite different to





3

that of written languages, and it can be a challenge to the deaf student to comprehend

a sentence or a phrase in the written form when the appearance is so very different

from what he knows in Sign Language. Therefore it is our opinion that deaf people

need to be taught foreign languages in their own language (mother tongue), which is

Sign Language.



Teachers at The School for The Deaf report that deaf students studying Danish have

difficulties working on assignments at home. There is no Danish Sign Language

dictionary available. Consequently the students cannot look up unfamiliar words for

explanations in a language that they will understand. Therefore they are dependent

upon their teachers for explaining the words. The same is true when the students

advance further according to their age level. Again they are handicapped by not being

able to work independently and having to rely on the teacher to explain every new

word.



Since deaf children cannot hear the spoken languages of their environment they will

not acquire these languages naturally as hearing children will. Throughout the world

teachers of the deaf have long ago seen the need for a bilingual/bicultural approach.



Being keenly aware of the described situation our awareness of the need for

appropriate language teaching materials and a completely new curriculum was equally

keen. Deaf students in the secondary schools aiming to graduate with a good fluency

in foreign languages faced a hopeless situation. A realistic definition of the goals set

in language teaching to deaf students was needed. We intended for our project to

establish a new definition of the goals set in teaching Danish to deaf students and to

create a new curriculum in Danish. Thus we wanted to propose new teaching methods

that suited deaf students and offer a course for teachers of deaf students including how

to make proper use of our materials and computer programmes.



1.2 The goal of the project

The core of our aim by the project was to develop learning materials specifically for

deaf students for them to achieve the goals set for their language courses in Danish.

Our guiding goals for the deaf were that they could upon graduation from the

secondary school command a fair knowledge of the written form of Danish, could

communicate in Danish Sign Language for educational purposes, in job situations and

in private live. In order to reach these goals we aimed towards providing a tool for

studying independently. Some of the issues we recognized as necessary in order to

attain our goals were:

- Promoting respect for signed languages.

- Strengthening the self-image of deaf students by producing teaching

materials relevant to the reality of the ordinary life and social environment

of deaf people, designed for their interest and age level.

- Utilizing the latest technology for creating up to date quality curriculum in

Sign Language.

- Conveying the Danish culture and the Danish deaf culture to deaf Icelanders.

- Examining the most effective methods of teaching foreign languages to deaf

students.









4

1.3 The programmes



SignSmith

In SignSmith we created the teaching material. The material consists of a textfile and

a Sign Language linked together. We may link a sign to a word or meaning to

meaning or even one grammatical issue in Sign Language to a grammatical one in the

written text. When the linking is completed the textfile and the videofile jointly form

a hvl.file that the student may view in the student program, SignPlayer.



SignPlayer

In SignPlayer the student may compare simultaneously on a split screen the two files

or versions of a narrative, one in written language (the target language) and the other

in videotaped Sign Language. The student has several options for interacting and

obtaining information such as by freezing linked meanings in both languages and

comparing them linguistically as well as semantically, thus obtaining information

about the meanings of words and phrases, as well as the grammar of either language.

The same sign and translation may be viewed as frequently and as long as desired. It

is possible to focus on different variables, e.g. eyebrow movements, mouth shapes,

hand configurations and compare them with their equivalence in the written form.

Our programmes are frame programmes and thus it is possible to link any of the

written stories to any Sign Language at will or a story in Sign Language may be

linked to the written language text desired, be it e.g. English, Danish or French.





2. The pedagogical and didactic approaches promoted within the project



During the last decade there has been a growing emphasis on educating Icelandic deaf

children bilingually, the objective being that the deaf child should be fluent in Sign

Language and master the reading and writing of Icelandic as a second language. All

subjects are taught in Sign Language but when the written language is needed it is

Icelandic. The third and fourth languages would according to this definition be written

Danish and Danish Sign Language or English and English Sign Language taught on

the basis of the Icelandic Sign Language.



While creating the curriculum we have focused on the ideology of bilingualism.

Icelandic Sign Language is the source language, the target languages in this project

being written Danish and Danish Sign Language. All translations are offered in Sign

Language and the grammar is “written” in Sign Language as well. The learning

situation has been simplified compared to previous approaches as the Icelandic has

been eliminated from the process. Thus the children may study on their own in Sign

Language and are no longer dependent solely upon the teacher in the classroom.



Another important aspect from the standpoint of pedagogy and didactics is the

continued availability of the learning material and the possibility of repetition. The

student may look at and examine the written text and the Sign Language text

repeatedly, at such speed as he/she wishes or needs and may compare the languages at

hand as often as he/she wishes in the Sign Language environment that will remain

constant.









5

A significant portion of the curriculum has its base in the history and culture of the

deaf communities in Iceland and Denmark. This approach is justified by the rule that

all persons, deaf or hearing will be interested in such subjects as they are somewhat

familiar with. The Icelandic teachers who had been using the conventional material

for teaching Danish to their deaf students told us the subjects presented did not appeal

to the students, the context was aimed at the hearing community which is quite

another target group.



We maintain that the benefit of presenting the curriculum as described above is that

deaf students have a bilingual/bicultural curriculum in Danish and Sign Language

based on the principles of bilingualism and are experiencing their language in a

modern environment of a high quality via modern technology. This has not occurred

before and we firmly believe this approach will enhance the students´ respect for their

language and thus for themselves.



This interactive multimedia curriculum will improve the students’ interaction with the

computers, facilitate their participation and provide an opportunity for them to work

independently. In order still to increase the participation of the students and have

more variations it is possible to make the students “co-authors” by having them work

on how to link meanings, make their own translations and/or record in their own Sign

Language in the program SignSmith. Thus the student himself must make decisions

about linking the languages and solve problems that will always present themselves in

translations. The students may work in groups on solutions and there will be

discussions in the group. We maintain that from the didactic point of view this

approach of participation of the process is of the utmost importance.





3. What technology do we use creating the curriculum?



With the technology we create curriculum in Sign Language in accordance with the

ideology of bilingualism, a curriculum that will meet the needs of the students and the

teachers. Within SignSmith and SignPlayer programmes the entire curriculum is

presented in two languages, Sign Language and written language. SignSmith and

SignPlayer are composed of two kinds of files, a video file and text file. In order to

create materials for the programmes the Sign Language material must be videotaped,

compressed and produced in a format readable by the computer. When this is

completed the material must be translated, linked and saved as an hvl-file. Following

is a description of the process of producing the multimedia material.



3.1 The Technology

SignSmith and SignPlayer operate on hvl-files. An hvl-file is composed of a video

file (e.g. AVI or MPEG) and a text file (txt-file).





avi-file



SignSmith SignPlayer

hvl-file

txt-file









6

3.1.1 Text files

A text file (.txt) may be written in the text program the writer wishes to use (e.g.

Word). When the text is completed it is copied and pasted into SignSmith in the usual

manner. The text may also be written directly in SignSmith.



3.1.2 Video files

The main problem with video is that it is enormous. The average PC hard disk can

probably only achieve about 300KB per second which is about 90 times too slow –

and CD-ROM is even slower. So, the only way it is possible to play video on a PC is

by throwing out some of the data, compressing what is left and maybe, shrinking it

even more to match the speed of the PC. That is why it is important to choose suitable

equipment to convert and compress a video, the better equipment the better the

results. The hardware we have been using is MGI VideoWave SE Plus For Buz,

where we capture and produce our material for the final result. We use monochrome

background with no flash, which is gives us better quality. Further, we have been

using VHS-recorder and connected it directly with our hardware with S-Video, which

uses two cables, colour and brightness, to provide maximum possible information.





4. Producing the stories



The curriculum we produced may be divided into three parts. First of all there are

stories and narratives that may be viewed in SignSmith and SignPlayer. Secondly

there is grammar and thirdly there is supplementary material. Understandably the

handling of the subject matter differs since the context differs markedly. The duration

of the narratives and the stories varies from a minute to just over five minutes. The

grammar has more value and the same is true about all the additional material that

was videotaped. The preparation work is in all instances considerable and many

persons contributed.



The production of the material may be divided into three stages, preparation,

processing and post-processing. The process is slow and tedious. Thus, four persons

working for a month will produce a story of five minutes’ reading time.



During the preparation stage the group discusses the text, does preliminary

translations and test takes. The preparation work is in all instances considerable and

many persons contributed. This process uses about 20% of the total time.

During the processing stage there is, exact translations, recording and capturing. This

process is the most consuming section, using about 60% of the total time used for the

process. The post processing involves loading the text into Smith, and linking the

written text to the Sign Language text, doing the final evaluation and making changes

if necessary. This part uses about 20% of the time





5. Problems arising while working on the project



When a project of this size is tackled it is only natural that some problems may arise

that then an effort will be made to solve. The problems referred to here were related to

the technical aspects of the project, the grammar and the translations. It is safe to





7

state that we learned by searching for solutions and each obstacle brought some

understanding and knowledge that we will resort to working at similar tasks in the

future.



5.1 Technique

At the beginning we encountered some technical problems related to capturing and

compressing the videotapes. We trace a good portion of our problems to our own lack

of skill when it comes to the actual technology. Producing the teaching material

required advanced technical knowledge and in many cases it was difficult to find the

needed experts for consulting. Computer software and programmes are being

developed very profusely and it is difficult to keep up with the latest editions on the

market. We have been experimenting with new formats. Previously we have used the

AVI format as it contains twenty-five frames per second and has been the most

accurate format available. However, when the signed stories exceed three or four

minutes, the AVI format is not as manageable as we should have wished. The

problem being that the computers have not the capacity to transform properly to AVI

the analogue information. A format of this nature uses significantly more space than

some other formats in the computer or on a CD. So, we had to change to MPEG

format, but soon we discovered that our programmes didn’t master MPEG so we had

to change again to AVI.



5.2 Background

When performing in Sign Language every detail concerning the display is of

importance. Thus true color, correct illumination, correct focus etc. are quite

important. In the beginning we encountered considerable problems regarding these

factors. At first we were using a green background but realized that the green color is

not serviceable enough as the light reflects on it. It is almost impossible to obtain the

so-called “flat” light on such a background. An incorrect light, we have used to avoid

shadows, may affect the digital version of the tape as it may result in a shimmering or

coarse background. After much deliberation we decided to use a monochrome

background (black) and no flash, since controlling the light on black is relatively easy.

Shadows will not be a problem. Thus, we aim to secure the quality of the digitized

video files.



5.3 Grammar

Since the nature of Sign Language is of oral tradition we feel Sign Language is a very

difficult media to express grammar the traditional way. In expressing complex

systems like grammar the analytic of the written tradition is useful, e.g. it is easy to

use schematic diagrams and wander back and forth in the written text. This is not

possible as concerns Sign Language, as it has no written tradition. In an attempt to

meet the situation we made two kinds of grammatical material one on videotape with

text examples and the other as material in SignSmith and SignPlayer.



We have not yet managed to find the “right method” to make learning materials in

grammar in Sign Language but we hope that response from teachers and students can

in the future guide us towards the best solution.



5.4 Translations

Our greatest difficulties were related to translations between the four languages

involved; hence, the translation process could be very long and intricate. The

translation between Icelandic and Danish was not difficult nor did the translation





8

between Icelandic Sign Language and Danish Sign Language prove difficult. When

translating between these languages we can easily find equivalents both formally and

dynamically. Translations between Sign Language and spoken languages pose on the

other hand great difficulties, because we are working with languages of altogether a

different grammar and structure. Furthermore, Sign language has no written form or

tradition and thus it resembles the character of a spoken language used chiefly in

communicating the “Here and Now”. When the original narrative is in Sign language

and we work towards the spoken language the target language is well established and

accepted, the differences in style and register already outlined.



When we on the other hand, work in the opposite direction, from Danish to Sign

Language, we work from the established, written form towards the undefined and

unofficial form. When working in this direction we constantly need to discuss and

evaluate our solutions in order to realize which translation is equivalent to the original

text. In this latter process it is easy to make mistakes. Regarding every translation we

need to consider equivalence in many areas. We need to consider meaning, grammar,

vocabulary, style and furthemore we need to consider equivalence in pedagogical

terms and have to make sure that the texts are similar on the scale from being easy to

being difficult.



Those who translate to Sign language do not master the linguistics in Sign Language

described above. The definitions or overview on Sign Language is not available.

Hence, in this work we have to rely solely on the feeling that the deaf translators have

for their language. As we have no standardisation their feeling for the language can

vary considerably making it often difficult to reach a general conclusion .



5.5 Editing the translations

An important element of Sign Language grammar is the use of eye contact. The

addressee must look at the signer during interaction and the signer will keep the eye

contact and break it according to certain rules during the discourse. The situation at

hand differs from a live discourse in that the signer is signing towards a video camera

and sometimes reading his/her text from a teleprompter rather than a living person.

Therefore the principles previously stated do not altogether apply.



Gary Morgan mentions in his article (1999) three principles concerning eye gaze

during Sign Language interaction. First of all there is the use of narrator space. The

narrator emphasizes the information with a clear use of eye gaze towards the

addressee. Secondly there is eye gaze towards the hands, which indicates the use of

classifiers. And then there is the closing of the eyes or non-manual markers that

normally mark the shifted referential framework and is mainly used to describe

dialogue, actions and thoughts.



In our material we observe that the signers often keep the “eye-contact” with the

camera or the teleprompter during the whole discourse. The reason for this may be the

unnatural situation, as the discourse is not with a living person but a camera.



We are concerned with to what extent this might affect the grammatical accuracy of

the material. We only realized this very late in the process but this observation will

certainly influence our future work in the area.









9

In the story Cowboybukser a good example of correct eye contact is demonstrated

whereas in the story Dit værelse the contrary is true.





6. The Curriculum



The curriculum produced is composed of the following:



a) Twenty six texts in Danish with the exact equivalence in Icelandic Sign

Language, fourteen texts in Danish with the exact equivalence in Danish Sign

language and word/sign lists Da/DSL for translation exercises for drilling

expressive Danish Sign Language and fifteen translation exercises from

Icelandic Sign Language to written Danish.



b) Material for drilling communicative skills focusing on language and culture;

False friends, which refers to a sign of the same appearance but having

different meaning in Icelandic Sign Language and Danish Sign Language; a

video on namesigns in Icelandic Sign Language and Danish Sign Language

and a board game.



c) Support material to some short stories. An introduction on video to the stories

Huset ved siden af, De blå øjne, Svinedrengen og Fødselsdagen.



d) Grammar, four topics explained in Sign Language from the perspective of

Sign Language. These topics are: 1. Personal pronouns, 2. Indefinite and

definite article, 3. Present and past tense of verbs, 4 Singular and plural.

Exercises in written and signed forms are also provided.



e) Teacher’s guide/ Learning material for a course for teachers.



f) A course for teachers









10

7. Further description of the curriculum



The curriculum:



Primary School DAN 100 DAN 200 DAN 300

Juletræet Blinklys Barhistorie Castberg gloser*

Julelys Ole Castberg Castberg kort**

Julenat Fartbøden Døveforeningen Danske døveskoler

Mitat Flyveturen Energisk kvinde Døveforeningen

gloser*

Et hjem Idræt gloser* Døveforeningen

kort**

Dit værelse Grammar: Artikel Idræt kort** Døveforeningen af

1866

Er du forelsket? Idræt Siggas dag

Alene hjemme Grammar: Person Turistmave H.C. Andersen**

pronominer

Sørens første WGD H.C. Andersen

kærlighed gloser*

Cowboybukser Written exercises Willemoes gloser* Haneblod

Det første kys Fifteen translation Willemoes kort** Medier gloser*

exercises in digital

version

Willemoes Medier kort**

Tekster Story: Huset ved siden af Danske døveskoler 1, Medier

kort**

Danske døveskoler 2, Rasmus Rask

kort**

Tekster Danske døveskoler 1, Rasmus Rask gloser*

gloser**

Danske døveskoler 2, Rasmus Rask kort**

gloser**

Skolen gloser*

Grammar: Ental/Flertal Skolen kort**

Grammar: Nutid/Datid Venskab

Zorro

Story: De blå øjne

Story: Svinedrengen

Tekster Story: Fødselsdagen

Tekster



* Glosseries.

** Translation exercises



7.1 Stories in Sign Language

Twenty of the stories in Sign Language are from the deaf community, eight from the

Icelandic deaf community and twelve from the Danish deaf community. Sign

Language has no written language but within the communities of the deaf there is a

rich tradition of highly developed story telling. These stories reflect the culture and





11

the attitude of the community of the deaf and therefore they demonstrate a fraction of

the literary heritage of the deaf. These stories are not fit for teaching beginners as the

vocabulary and the syntax is much more complicated than is the norm in the

textbooks. The purpose including these stories is most of all for vocabulary building

and for comparing the grammar and syntax aspects of Sign Language and written

language. They reflect very clearly the difference between the written language and

the story telling tradition in the deaf community which will be discussed in more

detail in the following chapter on translations.



Stories from the Icelandic Deaf Community Stories from the Danish Deaf Community

Blinklys Paula Willemoes

Ole Idræt

Fartbøden Medier

Flyveturen Castberg

Energisk kvinde Danske døveskoler

Siggas dag Rasmus Rask

Barhistorie H.C. Andersen

WGD Uddannelse 1. del

Uddannelse 2. del

Døveforeningen af 1866

Skolen



7.2 Support material to textbooks for beginners

The texts in the beginner textbook are written texts and consequently less subjective

and not as close to the vibrant thoughts and expressions as are the Sign Language

stories. The language used is simple, the texts are short and to the point and as a rule

they have a definite instructional goal and the vocabulary building is planned.

Therefore they are quite appropriate as a beginner’s curriculum and for teaching

Danish grammar. Therefore we suggest that they be used for beginners and we have

written support material to accompany them in SignSmith that may be used as a

dictionary and for exercises in SignSmith as well as in SignPlayer. The teacher may

emphasize isolated sections of the grammar such as verbs, personal pronouns, the

definite article or the plural forms and the vocabulary building is planned. Initially we

intended to translate the textbook texts to Sign Language. But these texts differ

considerably from the methods of the live story telling tradition of the Sign Language

community. During the last phase we realized that we would not be able to present

acceptable translations of the material at hand. Some of the Sign Language texts

linked to written texts are not exactly as the textbook texts since we had to adapt the

original texts somewhat to Sign Language in order to achieve equivalence in the

translations. We present these texts as possible exercises accompanying the textbook

texts. There is support material available to accompany the following stories from the

books Vi ses and Skal vi snakke sammen.



Juletræet Mitat

Julelys Dit værelse

Julenat Er du forelsket?

Et hjem Alene hjemme

Det første kys Cowboybusker

Sørens første kærlighed



Authentic texts

7.3

When we were initially selecting authentic texts we focused on finding texts that

would appeal to the students rather than being concerned with style or the storytelling





12

method. Usually we were looking at articles from magazines or newspapers. When

the actual work with the texts began we realized that newspaper articles are usually

written in a certain literary tradition and style that differs markedly from the style and

composition of Sign Language stories. Therefore it proved impossible to use many of

these texts and we either had to change them drastically or find new ones. Before we

could appreciate the structural differences we really needed to do preliminary

translations of the stories in order to examine whether or not they were suitable.



Authentic Texts

Zorro

Haneblod

Venskab

Turistmave



7.4 Short stories

Great many deaf persons are not used to reading books and do not consider literary

texts a part of their daily life. Therefore it may prove difficult for some to tackle the

task of reading a text in a foreign language. In order to facilitate reading the short

stories in the curriculum, short introductions to the stories were made, the main

characters were introduced, their relationship explained and the plot of each story

told. The initial intention was to write a glossary at the end of each story. In reality we

only wrote one glossary as we soon realized that words might differ markedly

depending on the context of the story. The two languages differ so greatly that the

explanations were out of context and incoherent per se.



Short stories

Svinedrengen

De blå øjne

Fødselsdagen

Huset ved siden af



7.5 False Friends

False friends are signs, in this case in Icelandic Sign Language and Danish Sign

Language, looking identical but having different meanings depending on their

nationality. The initial thought behind False Friends was an attempt to make the

curriculum a bit more colourful. We selected some False Friends from the curriculum

and composed a text around them but realized soon that the text was much too formal

and lacking the needed zest. The idea emerged that a dialogue between two women

could be composed and elaborated on, having them use False Friends in their

dialogue. Magga, one of the women is Icelandic but the other, Karin is Danish. This

material is quite interesting and entertaining. The dialogue which is in Icelandic Sign

Language and Danish Sign Language is easily understood and reflects an interaction

between two persons from two countries, how misunderstanding, sometimes quite

funny may happen and how it may be corrected. False Friends is a curriculum in

Danish Sign Language and linguistics. But besides that we see on the video clearly

one of the aspects of characteristics of deaf culture when two women of two different

nationalities interact and put a real effort into adapting their language to that of the

other person since the main goal of the interaction is to understand each other. In the

classroom False Friends lends itself to a great deal of interaction and discussions on

Danish Sign Language, language in general and the ever present problems related to

the spoken language and the written language are not there at all.







13

7.6 Name signs

Name signs is a material on videotape also composed by Magga and Karin. On the

tape they carry on a conversation about traditions related to name signs in Iceland and

Denmark. They converse in the same language and in the section on False Friends

they converse in Icelandic Sign Language and Danish Sign Language. This is a

curriculum in Danish Sign Language but it also illustrates one of the most outstanding

characteristics of the culture of the deaf, namely name signs.



7.7 The Game

By using this game the goal is to enhance the interaction in the class and the

participation of the students. The task is to facilitate and improve interaction in the

written Danish language and the Danish Sign Language. The students will gain

knowledge about the Danish people and the country and improve their fluency

conversing in Danish Sign Language and written Danish and also about Iceland, the

deaf people of Iceland and the Icelandic culture. On the board there is a picture of

Denmark and the students travel from Copenhagen around Denmark, encountering

various obstacles and happenings as they go. The game has three levels according to

the time allotted. Four groups of questions out of nine should be selected for each

game. The questions may be grouped at will and a few games may be construed with

different emphasis. The questions are in written Danish.



7.8 Written exercises

We produced fifteen short exercises in Sign Language for the students, the idea being

that they translate the exercises to written Danish. The exercises are available in an

Icelandic translation, see appendix. A teacher may decide whether he uses the

exercises as they are or whether he writes them in Danish with blanks for the students

to fill in. In SignSmith a word from a certain story has been linked to the video file.

The student views the story in Sign Language and will during the exercise write the

translation in Danish and continue with the linking process.





8. On translations



The translations were the most time consuming part of our project. The reason for this

was what demands translations will make when the goal is not only to have both the

languages worked with convey the same thoughts, as accurately as possible, but also

to convey the same instructional goals, the same dynamics and similar grammatical

features. None of the persons working on the project had the skills for such exact

translations between written texts and Sign Language and the task required a great

deal of discussions on translations. We realized early on before we began working on

the translations it was important to analyse the texts carefully together with a teacher

of Danish. The instructional goals of the text must be identified clearly so they will

definitely be obtained. All the preparation work of the texts and preparing for the

translations is of the utmost importance.



8.1 In general

During our first year on the project 1997-1998 we translated almost all the curriculum

twice. We kept noticing some flaws in the translations and the need for better links.

At this point we didn’t really understand why we were having these problems or how

we could overcome them. Initially we tried to match each word to a sign so the





14

student might use the curriculum as a dictionary. Our partner in Denmark decided on

the other hand to pair whole sentences or paragraphs. It is proper to note here that it is

easier by far to match large sections than smaller units. The reason for this is that

most often a whole sentence carries a meaning that may be conveyed by another

sentence (i.e. by a few words or signs) whereas a word/sign often will contain a

meaning that cannot be expressed by a single word or a sign.



During the year 1998-1999 we turned to the science of translating, hoping to be able

to analyse clearly the reason for our problems. The structure and the grammar of the

written languages (Danish and Icelandic) and the Sign Languages we were working

with differed so markedly that it proved difficult to obtain true equivalence in the

translations and the correct register. We also realized that we were dealing with Sign

Language on one hand, which is a language of interaction- here and now- and on the

other hand we had written language to cope with



8.2 The differences between oral and literate culture

Sign Language has no written form but the literature and the cultural heritage of the

oral culture is carried as stories from person to person. The thought and expression of

oral cultures is conceptualised and verbalized with more or less close reference to the

human life world. The story that is being told is spun here and now, it adapts to the

circumstances, the story teller identifies with the plot, is part of what is happening,

adds incidents and colour to the story. The plot falls into a pattern, a scene after a

scene, sentence by sentence and draws the viewer into it. The eye contact to the

viewer is most important and there are numerous repetitions in order to hold the

thread or for the purpose of strengthening the plot and decorating, shifting from one

scene to the next with additive style rather then subordinative.



Ong (1982) maintains that there is a great difference between oral and literate culture,

and we are certain that the same differences may be found between Sign Languages

cultures and written culture, in other words Sign Languages cultures are oral cultures.

In oral culture words are of a different value when they have no visual presence. They

cannot be traced anywhere or looked for. The moment a word has been uttered, when

it has been sounded it is lost and forgotten, has disappeared. This is different with the

written words. They have a visual presence and are available to more than one person.

There are those who maintain that in oral cultures the subjects experience words as a

mode of action and therefore not solely tools fit to convey thoughts. Often the magic

of words is mentioned as can be seen in our discussion about empathy and

participation rather than distancing.



In this context it is important to realize how we remember, “recall events. People

living in oral societies and those of the written word are bound to recall events in a

different manner. The person who does not record events will have to use other Aides-

memoir, apply other rules etc. One must bear in mind that the ”oral person” must rely

solely on him/herself for exact recalling. So he will have to think memorable

thoughts, in rhythmic, balanced patterns. There must be repetitions, antitheses,

alliterations or assonances. These are the mnemonic patterns and the retention of

sentences. On the other hand the mnemonic patterns revolve not only around rhythm,

patterns and what was said but also how it was said. Here posture, moving of the

hands, mime etc. are being referred to. Therefore we must deduct that the form and

characteristics of the written language and that of the oral language is and will be





15

different. Following is an overview of what Ong (1977) believes characterizes stories

from the oral culture.



Additive rather than subordinate

Using additive sentences is characteristic rather than subordinate sentences. Oral structures often look

to pragmatics (the pitch, words, mime, emphasis, gestures etc.). Of less importance is how the text

looks on paper. What matters are that it shines when delivered. In the story Siggas dag the signer uses

a great deal of the additive approach when telling about the flight schedule of the characters.



Aggregation

Phrases or clauses carry a load of epithetic and other formulary baggage to make it easier to recall what

previously happened. Thus remembering the more important preceding episodes is facilitated. Certain

generalizations shape our attitudes. There is a splendid example of this in the text on the Energisk

kvinde, wherein the main character is plainly named an energetic woman or energisk kvinde.



Frequent repetitions

The storyteller turns repeatedly to the same issue to secure that it will be remembered. A written text is

a tool for putting a non-linear thought on a line. Therefore repetition and copious information is not

necessary. But in the case of oral language it is most important that the thought is being structured from

the beginning, the listener constantly reminded of what is happening so that both he and the storyteller

will not forget the plot of the story. There is a good example of this in the story Flyveturen.



Conservative/traditional

There is much energy invested in telling the younger generations over and over again about the culture.

The oral culture must remember what was learned through the ages. So there is less space for novel

thoughts. Respect is tied to memory.



Closeness to the human life world

Knowledge and wisdom must be rendered in such a way that it connects closely to the present reality of

society. Thus it is easier to remember what is being discussed and not the least to understand the issues.



Storytelling abilities

Mastering verbal performance is a part of a certain life style. Thus the diction, form and the story are

viewed as being important. Frequently certain rivalry occurs within the oral community. Those well

versed in speaking often enjoy a higher status within the society than do others.



Empathy and Participation Rather Than Distancing Yourself

A text will separate the one who knows from the other who doesn’t know. But in oral societies it is of

the utmost importance that the listener participates.



Equilibrium

Words/memories live in the presence. Words/memories may change and then the previous ones are

easily forgotten. Old words/old memories will last but not forever. The memories or the words not

being referred to anymore are forgotten and need not be remembered. Therefore it is best not to adopt

too many new thoughts but rather hold on to the memories. In these surroundings the meaning of words

is often determined by their meaning as it is now. The meaning of a word is also determined by

gestures, vocal inflections, facial expressions and the setting in which it occurs at each given time.



This oral tradition differs basically from the written tradition, which occurred through

the technique of writing language. The text must be readable in different situations

and locations. It allows you to roam back and forth and no repetition is needed to hold

the thread of the story.



8.3 General points

During the years 1999-2000 we took some time for reviewing the work that had been

done the two previous years bearing in mind the recent knowledge we had acquired.

Through the reviewing the influence of the teleprompter, the video camera and the

original text on the Sign Language translation became evident. As a rule the eye





16

contact employed by the signer was incorrect thus eye gaze for localizing was in

many instances missing. Gestures were not as they should be in the course of a

normal story. We are not clear to what extent this will influence the Sign Language

texts. But bearing in mind how important the visual presence of the storyteller is in

the oral culture and emphasise on gestural performance we conclude this to be of

great value. This might indicate a situation similar to a monotone reading of a text or

might it be grammatically incorrect resulting in misconceptions? This must be looked

into far more closely as the curriculum is used for teaching.



The easiest stories to translate are the ones from the deaf community, i.e. stories

created in Sign Language. In these stories eye gaze and gestures are correctly utilized.

Besides, fitting them into the correct register in Danish proved to be an easier task

than the other way.



Having worked on this project for three years we have learned that it is not possible to

take learning material in languages made for hearing students and try to translate it

into Sign Language for deaf students. It is essential to work from the beginning from

the deaf students prerequisites and the nature of the instructional language, the Sign

Language. At any given time considering the goals intended by the curriculum and the

equivalence in focus particularly kept in mind. The equivalence of meaning, the

equivalence of dynamics and the equivalence of grammar should be considered and

equilibrium guarded. If the goal set for the text is e.g. that of teaching the plural or the

tense the equivalence of grammar must be in focus.



The reason for the importance of stressing this is the syntax structure of Danish and

Sign Language that differs so much. Sign Language becomes affected when it is too

bound by the written language it is translated from. Often there is important

grammatical information revealed through the facial expressions and mime in Sign

Language. A single sign may need many words in the translation and vice versa. A

signer must be aware what points in the grammar must be delivered in the text and

what vocabulary must be used.



8.4 On Icelandic Sign Language

The narrative method employed in the text is most important when translating from

Sign Language to written Danish. Working on the project we met many obstacles in

our work on translations.



Direct/indirect

Direct and indirect speech as seen in written texts is simply unnatural in Sign

Language and it is difficult to translate the figure directly from Sign Language to

written language. Thus there is no tradition saying: “… Then he said“ and “„…then I

said“. In Sign Language role shift is resorted to when using direct and indirect speech.

So the signer takes on the role he is rendering in each instance. In such instances one

often has to change the direct or indirect speech into a continuous story that will adapt

naturally to the text. We quote the response by the German in the story of Blinklys to

demonstrate our point.



Men manden udbrød: Det er da uhøfligt sådan bare at åbne døren uden at banke på. - Der er jo ikke

noget blinklys, så vi åbner bare ligesom dem, der bor der, og behøver ikke at banke på. Vi hilser bare

og slår os ned sammen med de andre som om vi bor her, svarede Ole. Tyskeren var målløs. Tænk at I









17

kan gøre sådan noget! Han forklarede, at han i Tyskland havde lys, der blinkede, når man ringede på.

De døve blev forbavsede, for det kendte man ikke til.



In the story the signer shifts roles according to who is speaking. In order to deliver the

story properly the speaker must be named each time he speaks. The same is true in the

story Energisk kvinde. ”De døve protesterede, men hun stod fast.” The signer plays

the role of the one or the ones speaking but in the translation the speakers are

mentioned as they speak.



Repetitions

In Sign Language it is natural that the same sign be repeated in a story. Thus the same

sign may even appear several times in the same sentence. If this, on the other hand is

translated by the same word in a text it strikes the listener/reader as rather unskilled.

In Sign Language this is a case of natural repetition used e.g. for style, emphasis or

reviewing. In this context it is proper to bear in mind that Sign Language is a

language that does not have a tradition of written texts so the structure of the text and

the traditions in story telling are similar to the ones in the oral tradition. A clear

example demonstrating this is seen the story Blinklys.

Men manden udbrød: Det er da uhøfligt sådan bare at åbne døren uden at banke på. - Der er jo ikke

noget blinklys, så vi åbner bare ligesom dem, der bor der, og behøver ikke at banke på. Vi hilser bare

og slår os ned sammen med de andre som om vi bor her, svarede Ole.



In the story the signer will repeat a few times that you need not knock but only to

open the door. This he does for emphasis and it may be argued that this is the turning

point of the story. Therefore he decides it is important to repeat a certain explanation a

few times. In Sign Language repetitions are quite normal but in a written text it is not

the proper style. So the translator must find another solution to the problems related to

his task of translating. Another example of repetition is seen when a signer gathers

information on previous happenings or gathers information from the sentence and

presents it at the end of the sentence. A good example of such a repetition is seen in

the story Siggas dag, “De blev også budt på noget at spise, helt gratis. De havde jo

ikke norske penge på sig, kun islandske.” The signer recounts how the characters of

the story had been offered free food but a little later he repeats that they had been

offered some food and they had not been charged.



Referrals

Pronoun referrals in the Danish written language and Icelandic Sign Language differ

and therefore we run into problems while translating. In Sign Language it is natural to

refer repeatedly to a group of people by a single sign whereas in written language a

pronoun would be used, example of this is the sign ÚHH for hearing people and

DÖFF for deaf people. In translations they or we must often translate these signs.

This can be seen in the story Døveforeningen, “For længe siden, sådan omkring 1970,

købte døveforeningen for første gang et hus.” In this case the signer uses the sign

DÖFF but it is, however, translated by døveforeningen. A little later in the same story

the sign is used again but at that time it is translated by døve. “Døve hjalp til med

arbejdet.”



Name signs

In the deaf community each person who is a part of or belongs to the deaf community

has a name sign and in the Icelandic deaf community two persons will very seldom





18

have the same name sign. (See more about name signs on the videotape Name signs).

Name signs do in fact represent names. Name signs are an integral part of the deaf

culture and it is important to know each persons name sign for daily interactions. In

Sign Language stories name signs cannot be disregarded. They must be translated in

such a manner as the Sign Language requires and is evident in the story Ole. “Jo,

manden hed Ole, han havde dette tegn.”



8.5 On Danish Sign Language

The most difficult material for us originated in the Danish Sign Language community.

This material was translated from Danish Sign Language to Danish, from Danish to

Icelandic and from Icelandic to Icelandic Sign Language. During each phase of the

translations we were looking at the original text but the more often you translate the

same text to different languages the danger of discrepancies in the translations or

some alterations on the translations becomes more real. We set out attempting to

translate directly from Danish Sign Language to Icelandic Sign Language. The staff

working on the project is not skilled at such a translation and none of them knew

Icelandic or Danish Sign Language for the purpose of translating from one language

to the other. It is on the other hand customary within the deaf culture and the Sign

Language community to adapt the Sign Language in each instance to the person you

are conversing with. This process of translating was long and tedious, requiring

constant noting and reviewing. But we decided to stick to our plan using this

material, as it was important from the cultural point of view and most interesting.



8.6 On authentic texts from newspapers and magazines

At first we were translating authentic texts directly from newspapers and magazines to

Sign Language. But soon we ran into problems. Basically authentic texts are not all

equally well written and the group of readers the articles were intended for was large

and differed markedly. Frequently a certain basic knowledge, not at hand in the Sign

Language community, was assumed. And besides, the syntax was often too rigid and

not fit for Sign Language. Everything that will characterize a normal Sign Language

story such as repetition and anaphora was missing from the text. Following is an

example from the authentic text Venskab.



Venskab er noget man dårligt kan undvære. Man kan forelske sig og glemme alt andet. Men når

forelskelsen er slut, er det vigtigste igen ens venner. Derfor skal man dyrke de venner, som man har og

behandle dem godt. Venskab er noget meget forskelligt noget. Drenge og piger har venner, men det er

højst forskelligt, hvordan de dyrker deres venner. Forskellen kan fx være, at drenge har det bedst i

grupper, mens piger ofte trives bedst to og to. Somme tider kan det være svært at være tre sammen.



For the purpose of meeting these different styles we decided to tell the meaning and

the core of authentic texts in normal Sign Language and then to translate it to Danish.

Thus we managed to obtain a more disciplined Sign Language texts that were Sign

Language texts yet showing many of the traits of a written text. Here an example from

the Sign Language text Venskab follows, where the original text has been retold in

Sign Language and then translated from Sign Language to Danish.



Er det muligt at leve uden venskab? Nej, det er det ikke. Alle mennesker har venner. Man ser dem

sammen to og to, tre og tre og i grupper. Hvordan er venskabet mellem folk, og hvordan kan man

bevare forholdet? Det er vigtigt at være bevidst om, at det handler om at give og modtage. Men

hvordan er det muligt?









19

8.7 Textbook texts

Even if the textbook texts are uncomplicated and basically to the point they are far

from the format most natural to Sign Language. They are written language too

structured and rigid, differing too much from the narrative structure of Sign

Language. Through the work on these texts we have realised that it is not possible to

take constructed learning material in one target language e.g. Danish, intended for

students speaking Icelandic, and translate the instruction directly to Sign Language.

We realised it is essential to work from the beginning from the deaf student’s

prerequisites. It is most important that the nature of the instructional language, the

Sign Language, considering the goals intended by the curriculum and the equivalence

of the languages in focus be particularly kept in mind. If the goal set for the text is e.g.

that of teaching the plural or the tense these grammar features must be evident from

the Sign Language translation of the text. The clarity and nature of the Sign Language

must never become affected, influenced by or adapted to the structure of the original

text. As we do not possess similar knowledge on Sign Languages as we do on written

languages we often have to rely on the feeling for Sign Language. Therefore the

method we used with the authentic texts, to retell the texts in normal Sign Language

with the instructional goals in mind, rather than translate them accurately gives better

results. This we could not do with the textbook texts but we made translations that in

the end were not quite to the letter of the textbooks. We decided to include them here

as material for various exercises and to be used as a dictionary along with the

textbooks.





9. On linking



When stories in a curriculum like this one are being linked one must decide what

principle will be followed at the process of linking. Is the teacher of Danish fluent in

Sign Language? If so, entire clauses may be connected and he will be able to match

word-to-word, meaning-to-meaning and while doing so he is resorting to his

knowledge of Sign Language and the foreign language. Thus he is able to teach his

students about syntax, word order, declension, comparison etc. besides using

considerable time for discussing how meanings may be translated. It is important for

the student to be sensitised to the different aspects of meaning and different structure

of the languages when the two are being compared. If the teacher is not fluent in Sign

Language it would be advisable to present more linking so the student may recall the

various and different meanings. Such linking takes more skill to make, as a single sign

cannot translate one word accurately. Most often two or more signs or even a whole

sentence will be needed to translate one word since the languages differ as greatly as

is the case. In some instances the syntax is so very different that whole clauses must

be linked to obtain the meaning.



In this curriculum we have emphasized linking as small units as possible in order to

making it easier for the student to study on his/her own or for classroom work. It was

easier to link texts from the textbooks by small units than the Sign Language stories.

In the latter the units were as a rule larger and are characterized in syntax and

grammar by oral tradition. Rhythm, eye gaze, gestures and classifiers will often be

significant, and this may be difficult to convey through words in exact translations.









20

10. The Instructions



When presenting the curriculum it is most important to have a clear view of the

educational goals that have been set and what methods will be applied.



10.1 The Background

In Iceland deaf students learning a foreign language have as a rule encountered severe

problems. Our aim developing this product was to develop learning materials

designed for deaf students so they will be able to achieve the goals set for the

language courses. In this material learning has been made more easily accessible to

the deaf students as the Icelandic has been eliminated. Icelandic Sign Language is the

source language. The project focuses solely on teaching Danish Sign Language and

written Danish. After graduating from the secondary school the student should be

able to use the written form of Danish and be able to communicate in the Danish Sign

Language for educational purposes, in work and private live.



While writing the lessons in grammar we had to consider the fact that deaf students do

not have a comparable knowledge of grammar to that of hearing students. They do not

possess basic knowledge of the Icelandic grammar and have never had the chance to

learn the grammar of Sign Language as hearing students have studied the Icelandic

grammar. Four subjects within the grammar were chosen, the definite/indefinite

article, personal pronouns, past and present tense and the singular/plural of words.

These subjects were chosen since they are applied quite differently in Sign Languages

and the spoken languages. The four subjects are explained in Sign Language,

followed by a few grammar assignments.



The actual teaching of languages to deaf students differs on various points from

teaching hearing students. But basically the same didactic rules will hold as when

teaching anyone foreign languages.



10.2 The Goals



1. The emphasis was on proficiency in three areas: reading, writing and signing

Danish SL.



2. The students are supposed to be able to read and understand texts containing

general vocabulary. The vocabulary is built around such situations, as they are

likely to encounter in the homes, in school, in interactions with their friends,

during their leisure time etc. While choosing the authentic texts we chose texts

on material familiarizing the students with the culture and current opinions.

The texts should refer and appeal to their own experiences.



3. The Students are supposed to be able to write in Danish. Writing skills are

practiced in written exercises from Sign Language to written Danish and in the

board game. Furthermore the students should be able to write freestyle about

the subjects referred to in item 10.2.2.



4. The students are supposed to be able to communicate in daily basis in Danish

Sign Language. Most of the Danish texts in Danish 300 are connected to





21

Danish Sign Language. The board game is intended for practising expressive

Danish Sign Language together with the material on False friends and Name

signs in ISL and DSL.



The grammar may be taught simultaneously with the general instruction. In this

curriculum it is intended on the second year of Danish 100 and Danish 200.



10.3 How to use the material

It is important to begin with acquainting the students with the programmes SignSmith

and SignPlayer and help them understand the technique at hand. A major part of the

curriculum is displayed in the programmes and some of it is intended for the students

to have a chance to write their own material in the programmes. Exercises in

translations that the student may work with are presented in SignSmith. Our

experience of using the programmes and the material in Völundur has demonstrated to

us that the most effective learning happens when the student himself participates in

producing his/her own material or is working on translations and linking of the

material. It is possible to use all the text files and video files we have produced

without the linking we have made in order to serve this purpose.



We propose when material is introduced that the students should move the Sign

Language frame over the text frame and begin by viewing the Sign Language to get

an idea what the text is about. Then they may open the text frame and examine the

meaning of the words. The teacher may guide the students at comparing the

languages, finding the nouns, the past or present tense of the verbs, the definite or

indefinite article etc.



During this phase of the instruction we believe it is important to inform the students

of the different nature of languages or the nature of forms of the languages in

question. In short in revolves around the fact that one is a written language whereas

the other is an “oral” language. Furthermore it matters that the message conveyed is

clear: A given language is never superior to another language.



Additional material may be used during any of the learning process. The performance

level of the game may be altered by the questions chosen. Thus it may be for

beginners or for the ones more advanced. False friends are better fit for the later

learning phases (Danish 200 and/or Danish 300) as the students must be well

informed in order to understand the term and work with it. When introducing the

material it might be an idea to have the students themselves find false friends, which

will often lead to lively discussions about the idea. The video tape on name signs is

on the other hand quite appropriate for beginners when all the students will realize

what name signs are and Karin and Magga are using non complicated language. The

teacher may have the students find name signs for well-known Danish citizens and it

is possible to examine the similarities and differences in the name sign tradition in

Denmark and Iceland.



10.4 Arranging the classroom

While using the material in the classroom it is imperative that the students and the

computers be placed correctly as everyone must have equal access to what is

happening in the classroom. The U-shaped arrangement has proved to be the most

effective. The teacher is placed at the end of the opening having a computer that is





22

connected to an overhead projector that will throw the explanations on the wall. The

students sit in the U-shaped arrangement one or two per computer. In this situation the

teacher may show examples of linking on the wall for all the students to view and

they may work on their own material. It has proven to be beneficial for the students to

cooperate in pairs on a computer, as lively discussions will be carried on about

linking, translations or particular issues in grammar.



10.5 The Grades



10.5.1 The Primary

Stories that originate in the Sign Language community are liked better and are more

appealing to the students than are textbook texts. But they do not fit as beginners’

curriculum in Danish as the language used is as a rule more advanced than the

students master at that stage. Therefore we have assumed that the teachers will use

textbook texts in the primary school. We have included as a SignPlayer material a

few stories from the books Vi ses and Skal vi snakke sammen to use as support. As is

explained in the chapter on translations it proved rather difficult to obtain total

equivalence translating from textbook texts to Sign Language texts. The texts we have

included are not all quite to the letter of the textbook. But we decided to include them

as well, as they may easily be used for various exercises and for the vocabulary. The

students will read simple texts where vocabulary for beginners is emphasized. At this

stage there is no grammar as such. Bearing in mind that the students have not been

taught much proper grammar we like to point to the SignPlayer material where

various basic aspects of grammar, such as groups of words in Danish may be studied.



Support material was produced in SignPlayer to accompany the following stories

from the textbook texts:



Vi ses! Skal vi snakke sammen. Tekstbog II,

Et hjem Juletræet

Dit værelse Julelys

Er du forelsket? Julenat

Alene hjemme Mitat

Sørens første kærlighed

Cowboybukser

Det første kys



A few words about each text:



Juletræet

Note the succession of happenings in the first sentence. In Sign Language it is

common to state the condition first and the conclusion secondly. In this translation

this is the case. Furthermore it is proper to mention a flaw in the translation. “Et par

hundrede år tidligere...” is translated in Sign Language as “A hundred years ago...”



Mitat

In this text the definite/indefinite on the one hand and the past/present tense of verbs

may be examined. The text is in the present tense and uses both the definite and

indefinite article. The students may read the text word by word and work on projects

on vocabulary. The teacher may use the material to teach grammar such as

past/present or the definite/indefinite in SignPlayer.





23

Er du forelsket?

In the text considerable difference is between conditional sentences in Sign Language

on one hand and Danish on the other. The material may also be used to look at

adjectives in the text and the difference of comparison in Danish and Sign Language.



Cowboybukser

Role shift is quite common in Sign Language. This may be viewed here and compared

to direct and indirect speech in Danish. In the story eye gaze is applied correctly in

Sign Language and the importance and the implications of this may be discussed with

students. Note the meaning of eye gaze in this story. There are more interesting

aspects to look at such as location in space and timelines. Finally the past tense of

verbs in Danish may be examined and some exercises in SignPlayer on the present

and past tense of verbs viewed.



Julelys

The sentence “To store lige lys” is an example of the dual. Here it is possible to

demonstrate how the dual is formed in Sign Language when Danish uses the plural.

The sentence “Lysene skulle bringe fred og lykke til huset” shows definite/indefinite

where the classifiers for the candlelights have the same location as the sign previously

shown. A reference to something previously introduced indicates that the candles are

being referred to. The house is by now also a certain house by narrowing the

discussion through the man and the woman who live in this certain house.



Et hjem

There are many occurrences of locations in the Sign Language story. The languages

may be compared for differences on this issue and what Danish words refer to

locations. They might be adjectives, adverbs or prepositions. It is proper to note that

the Sign Language story does not correspond to the picture of the house shown in the

book. Therefore the SignPlayer material must be used independently for assignments.



Alene hjemme

The text uses casual language. In the text there is also everyday vocabulary of the

students. The story is told in the present tense and in the first person. The verbs and

classifiers may be viewed, adjectives and adverbs viewed against facial expressions,

locations and signs for adjectives.



Det første kys

The singular and plural may be viewed in this text.



Julenat

This is quite a difficult text. In Sign Language timelines are used considerably. Here

you may view how Sign Language shows the tense in a different manner than is

employed in Danish. You my also examine how the verb at blive is translated.

Besides this there is in this text an example of the past tense in Danish.



Dit værelse

In this text you may look at personal pronouns and prepositions in Danish and

pointing or localizing in Sign Language. The vocabulary is on the home and the daily

surroundings of the students.









24

Sørens første kærlighed

Pronouns and verbs may be viewed in connection with this text.



10.5.2 Danish 100

In this part there are four stories that should be used to further build the students’

vocabulary. The texts all originated in the Icelandic deaf community. Two,

Fartbøden and Flyveturen are from the everyday life but it may be argued about the

other two Ole and Blinklys that they are literary texts from the ”oral” deaf cultural

heritage. In this stage proper grammar is first presented in Sign Language through the

material on article and personal pronouns. It is wise for the students to continue

working on their vocabulary and grammar exercises in SignSmith and SignPlayer and

they will have a chance to link and write material themselves in the programmes.

Here there are fifteen short Sign Language texts introduced all composed from the

vocabulary of the primary school curriculum. It is assumed that the students will view

them in SignSmith and work on translations and linking in Danish. The students will

read a short story where the characters and their relationship are introduced in Sign

Language.



Icelandic Sign Language Stories Grammar Other materials

Blinklys Article Huset ved siden af

Ole Personal pronouns Fifteen computerized exercises for written

Danish

Fartbøden Written exercises

Flyveturen Tekster







10.5.3 Danish 200

The students are given work to improve their ability to handle more complicated

vocabulary through reading and writing. The texts are more elaborate than in Danish

100 and deal with young people or originate in deaf history or culture. A few of the

texts are listed here on two levels that may be applied according to the proficiency of

the students. It is also possible to use the easier version for projects. The Sign

Language texts and the glossary may be used to practice translating to Danish in

SignSmith. The students read a short story and are also handed introductory videotape

in Sign Language. At this stage the students will begin to read authentic texts. One

such text is translated in Sign Language within SignSmith. Danish Sign Language

grammar is about the singular and plural and the past and present tense.



Icelandic Sign Language Stories Danish Sign Language Stories

Barhistorie Idræt kort

Castberg Idræt lang

Døveforeningen Willemoes kort

Turistmave Willemoes lang

WGD Danske døveskoler 1, kort

Energisk kvinde Danske døveskoler 2, kort





Glossaries Grammar Other materials

Idræt gloser Singular/plural De blå øjne

Willemoes gloser Past/present tense Tekster

Danske døveskoler 2, gloser

Danske døveskoler 1, gloser









25

10.5.4 Danish 300

By now the texts are considerably more difficult and there are more literary- and

authentic texts. The Danish culture is looked at and compared to the Icelandic culture.

This is where the material False Friends fits very well and we like again to mention

the videotape on name signs. There is an increased emphasis on Danish Sign

Language and written Danish. The students are encouraged and given practice in

telling about their daily life, their work and school. There are some questions in the

Game geared towards making the vocabulary in this area smoother both in written

Danish and Danish Sign Language. There are four texts only available in written

Danish and an abridged version is in the SignPlayer material. It is assumed that the

students will manage to read the texts aided by the SignPlayer material. Furthermore

it is assumed that the students will be given written exercises of grammar in

SignSmith and SignPlayer from the abridged versions and the glossary. It is assumed

that the students will before the end of the term be able to manage on the level tourists

in Denmark do.



Icelandic Sign Language Stories Danish Sign Language Stories

Døveforeningen af 1866 Castberg kort

Siggas dag Danske døveskoler

Haneblod Døveforeningen af 1866 kort

Venskab H.C. Andersen kort

Zorro Medier kort

Medier

Rasmus Rask

Rasmus Rask kort

Skolen kort





Glossaries Other materials

Castberg gloser Svinedrengen

Døveforeningen gloser Fødselsdagen

H.C. Andersen gloser H.C. Andersens liv (text)

Medier gloser Uddannelse 1 (text)

Rasmus Rask gloser Uddannelse 2 (text)

Skolen gloser Danmarks første døveskole (text)

Tekster



11. The authors of the curriculum



Support material was produced in SignPlayer to accompany stories in the following

textbooks:



Vi ses!, Brynhildur Ragnarsdóttir and Þórhildur Oddsdóttir, Námsgagnastofnun, 1995

Skal vi snakke sammen. Tekstbog II, Hlín Helga Pálsdóttir and Stella Guðmundsdóttir,

Námsgagnastofnun, 1992



Support material on videotape was produced to accompany the following short

stories:



Svinedrengen H.C. Andersen

Huset ved siden af Majbritt Nordstrøm

De blå øjne Karen Blixen

Fødselsdagen Finn Søborg







26

Texts that originate in the deaf community:



Icelandic Sign Language Narrators

Blinklys Júlía G. Hreinsdóttir

Ole Haukur Vilhjálmsson

Energisk kvinde Haukur Vilhjálmsson

Siggas dag Júlía G. Hreinsdóttir

Fartbøden Sigurlín Margrét Sigurðardóttir

Flyveturen Trausti Jóhannesson

Barhistorie Júlía G. Hreinsdóttir

Døveforeningen Sigurlín Margrét Sigurðardóttir

WGD Arnar Ægisson



Danish Sign Language

Willemoes, lang Asger Bergman

Willemoes, kort Asger Bergman

Willemoes, gloser Asger Bergman

Idræt, lang Anne Skov Hårdell

Idræt, kort Anne Skov Hårdell

Idræt, gloser Anne Skov Hårdell

Medier, lang Karin Mikkelsen

Medier, kort Karin Mikkelsen

Medier, gloser Karin Mikkelsen

Castberg (in Icelandic Sign Language) Anna Guðlaug Gunnarsdóttir

Castberg, kort Eva Abildgaard

Castberg, gloser Eva Abildgaard

Skolen, kort Eva Abildgaard

Skolen, gloser Eva Abildgaard

Rasmus Rask, lang Anne Skov Hårdell

Rasmus Rask, kort Anne Skov Hårdell

Rasmus Rask, gloser Anne Skov Hårdell

H.C. Andersen, kort Annegrethe Pedersen

H.C. Andersen, gloser Annegrethe Pedersen

Døveforeningen af 1866 Anna Guðlaug Gunnarsdóttir

Døveforeningen af 1866, kort Eva Abildgaard

Døveforeningen af 1866, gloser Eva Abildgaard

Danske døveskoler, lang Karin Mikkelsen

Danske døveskoler1, kort Karin Mikkelsen

Danske døveskoler1, gloser Karin Mikkelsen

Danske døveskoler2, kort Karin Mikkelsen

Danske døveskoler2, gloser Karin Mikkelsen



Authentic texts:



Råd for turistmave, Damernes verden, July 7. 1998, p. 40  Turistmave, Sigurlín Margrét

Sigurðardóttir



Har Zorro levet i virkiligheden?, Illustreret videnskab, nr. 9, July 29. – August 28. 1998, p. 5

 Zorro, Sigurlín Margrét Sigurðardóttir



Venskab Superdansk, Arnbjörg Eiðsdóttir and Bergþóra S. Kristjánsdóttir, Kristín

Jóhannesdóttir, Námsgagnastofnun, 1997, p. 56 - 57









27

Haneblod mod biltyveri, Illustreret videnskab, nr. 9, July 29. – August 28. 1998, p. 62 

Haneblod, Sigurlín Margrét Sigurðardóttir





12. Courses for teachers



In many schools there have been some problems working with curriculum where

computers are required. Some teachers seem to be awed by having to use computers

in the classroom where they must be applied as a natural part of the studies. Teachers

have maintained that the technical part is most time-consuming and they loose control

of the class while they are focusing the gear, pushing buttons, plugging cords etc.

Icelandic teachers are certainly not the only teachers of this opinion. It is known in

other countries and parts of the world. Patrick Pillai (1999) writes on a study among

teachers in Alaska, where they have run into problems applying multimedia and

technology in the classroom. The teachers argued that they needed software or that the

software available was somehow faulty, imperfect or lacking in some aspect. The

study was done in an attempt to understand why teachers refrain from using

multimedia and technology in the classroom and what might be done about it. It

became clear that in many cases there was none in the group possessing sound

technical knowledge. Besides, the cooperation between the teachers and the

technician was often lacking and last but not least the teachers felt they needed

instruction and direction on how to apply technology to their teaching. Nine points

for improvement were suggested.



1) Training at using the entire curriculum including the technical aspect.

Teachers are more willing to adopt technology if it supports the goals set for

their classroom.

2) Teachers already using technology in their classroom should have a chance for

more practice and improvement, based on the knowledge they already possess.

This training should be on a one to one basis.

3) Teachers should have access to the Net and be trained to use it.

4) Older and more experienced teachers should be encouraged to share their

knowledge and experience. What these teachers will contribute should be

adopted by technology and in the didactic application.

5) Teacher trainees should be introduced to the possibilities of technology in

teaching. The study plan of teacher trainees should include introduction to

computerized teaching material.

6) Teachers should be given a course on using technology teaching their present

students.

7) Teachers and students should have a say in choosing the software for the

school.

8) Teachers should have the proper environment and time to embrace

technology. It is essential that they observe the technology, discuss it and

exchange ideas on it.

9) When hiring staff, the technical proficiency of the applicant should be

considered.



Our decision to invite teachers to attend a course on using the Völundur curriculum

rather than to write extensive instructions on how to use the material was based on our

experience and to a certain degree on the conclusions of the study referred to. The





28

teacher must have a chance to be at ease with the technology and realize how it may

serve instructional goals teaching deaf students.



We are hopeful that we may in this manner establish close cooperation with teachers

through which we may continue to support them and get a feedback for the purpose of

improving our material. What we have written about the technology, the ideology and

the problems we have encountered may be considered our contribution to the courses

for the teachers. Our purpose is for them to bring our experience into the classroom

where they will continue to develop the curriculum and the methods according to their

ideas and such needs as each situation may call for.



12.1 Courses

We planned and gave a course for teachers in May 2000 where we presented the

entire curriculum, the technical advantages, teaching methods, possible problems etc.

The course was planned in cooperation with the teachers. A great deal of time was

used for the technology, actually using the equipment and coordinating these factors

and the instructional goals. The length of the course was twenty classroom hours for

the duration of four days. Six teachers participated. Their teaching experience varied

bur they had all taught deaf students, age 6 – 20.



We divided the curriculum into three parts according to what was being taught at each

session. These parts were technical, instructional and practice. During the technical

section we introduced the technical aspects of SignSmith and SignPlayer and

explained in detail how the material is processed into the programmes. This was done

in lectures and then the participants had a chance of entirely processing material in the

programmes. During the instructional section we reviewed the curriculum that is

being offered, looked at the instructional goals, methods, instructional approaches and

the ideology behind the curriculum. Finally, during the practice section the

participants experimented with producing their own material. Through producing on

their own they gained confidence, some expertise and knowledge how to cope with

cords, buttons and cables. And besides this they began to realize how curriculum

might be prepared for the students, what benefits this approach or the other offered

etc.



Last it should be noted that the participants were as a rule quite satisfied with the

course and said they would in the near future apply in their teaching what they had

learned. Many interesting ideas were discussed during the course regarding how to

present the material to the students and what aspects should be emphasized in the

future development of the curriculum, what directions taken etc. If teachers are

interested using this material in their classrooms we offer to give courses adapted to

their needs. Following is the programme and timetable for the course mentioned.









29

12.2 The programme and timetable for the course





Wednesday, May 17

The Technical Part

08:30 – 09:00 Introduction

09:00 – 09:30 Technical equipment introduced, lecture and demonstration

Break

09:45 – 10:15 Technical information, lecture and demonstration

10:15 – 11:15 Recording and processing, - demonstration

Break

11:30 – 12:30 Recording and processing, - demonstration





Thursday, May 18

The Instructional Part

08:30 – 09:30 The ideology behind Sign Smith and Sign Player, - lecture

Break

09:45 – 11:15 Methodology, bilingualism and instructional goals, - lecture

Break

11:30 – 12:30 Methodology and instructional approaches





Friday, May 19

The Technical and Practical Part

08:30 – 09:30 Instruction/linking

Break

09:45 – 11:15 Linking/practice

Break

11:30 – 12:30 Practice/recording/processing





Wednesday, May 24

The Practical Part

08:30 – 09:30 Linking /recording

Break

09:45 – 11:15 Linking /recording

Break

11:30 – 12:30 Discussions









30

31