I am a multigenerational Deaf person, with American Sign Language as my first

language. Because of this, teaching ASL is what I enjoy the most. Not many people realize that
ASL, itself, is a natural language. American Sign Language is most often noticed for its
expressive beauty. . I agree, and as George W. Veditz said, Sign Language...the noblest gift
God has given to deaf people. It does have its natural beauty, however, I want to make clear
that ASL has its own linguistic features, including grammatical rules, structure, non-manual
signals, lexical and syntactic rules that must be followed. It is the commonality within our
culture and Deaf community.

My ASL teaching philosophy is the Natural Approach and the Direct Method. My
following teaching philosophies are shown below.

I strongly believe that ASL students will acquire language best through the Natural
Approach. As was my experience, we acquire language through our natural interaction with
parents, siblings, and friends. I prefer the Natural approach because it provides a pressure-free
environment for the students. As in Krashens Theory of i +1 it aims to increase the student's
level of competence. For example, if a teacher notices that there is a sufficient quantity of
comprehensible input, i + 1 will usually be provided automatically (Richards and Rodgers, 2016,
pgs. 265-266).

I chose the Direct Method because I feel it is one of the best methods for teaching ASL.
I also believe that by using this method, and using only one language (L2) in the classroom, it
will benefit the students fluency while conversing in ASL. . It can also be used to avoid
overlapping two different languages (L1 and L2) at the same time. Students learn concrete
vocabulary through demonstration, the use of objects, and pictures. Students communication
skills (expressive and receptive skills) are built up around question-and-answer exchanges
between teachers and students (Richards and Rodgers, 2016, pg.12). I also like using the
Direct Method teaching approach because it provides a multitude of expressive and receptive
skills interaction, spontaneous use of the language, no translation between first and second
languages, and little or no analysis of grammatical rules (Brown and Lee, 2015,pg. 20)

The Natural Approach and Direct Method are best suited for my ASL teaching
philosophy, as well as, to enhance the student's second language acquisition and to create
effective communication skills. By using these two approaches and methods, it will help to
support students with their various learning styles, and create a relaxed and open atmosphere
in this natural way y of learning the beauty and rules of ASL and Deaf Culture.