IMPORTANCE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF METHODOLOGIES

FOR TEACHING SIGN LANGUAGE FOR STUDENTS OF

EDUCATION CAREERS
Romero de García, Rebeca María

Mancilla Alfaro, Georgina Isela

Introduction

Language is an ability that human beings develop for communication. Since that
human being is in the early childhood stage, it uses diverse ways to communicate, and
sometimes it is overlooked that one of the first ways to communicate is through signs. In
this way, it can say that “La lengua de señas o de signos es la lengua natural de
expresión y configuración gesto-espacial y percepción visual gracias a la cual los
sordos pueden comunicarse con su entorno social” (Vercher, 2018)

Through this article it is intended to make the new generation of education students
aware of the importance of learning sign language and thus be able to provide a
complete and inclusive education, in addition to providing a service to the community,
demonstrating the importance that the community deaf has in our society.

A Brief history of sign language.

The history of sign language is as old as that of humanity, through time deaf people and
their subtle form of communication have transcended and changed radically. Deaf
people are not only considered with special capabilities, as Aristoteles (374 b.C)
expresses that every person who is deaf has a very difficult disability, and therefore they
cannot learn anything and it is impossible to teach them anything, he related their
deafness to mental problems, he thought that they could not have abstract or clear
ideas. In ancient times it was believed that it was impossible to educate a deaf person,
there were many barriers against the deaf community and as soon as communication
was developed through signs with a date that dates back to the 16th century, there were
many who were interested in this event but there were many others who interfered with
this situation, to the point of banning sign language in institutions because it was
believed that this delayed the ability to speak. Certainly, they were false beliefs, over
time, innovative methods were structured (for that time) regarding the teaching and
education of deaf people. In 16th century, Pedro Ponce de Leon a Catholic monk who
created the first school for the deaf in the world in the Oña monastery, also created a
new methodology for the teaching of sign language, he was considered the first
professor for the deaf.

As De Leon (1554) express “La enseñanza de la palabra, es sustituir el oído por la

vista”. With this, de León tried to explain the importance of learning to express what one
thinks, not only with the voice but with the hands and fingers, and everything that it can
perceive with our eyes. In this way, the evolution and expansion of sign language
began, there were many well-known authors and characters who intervened and helped
deaf people in their learning processes, a clear example of this was Abad Charles
Michel de L'epeé a French pedagogue who helped and taught a group of deaf people in
a shelter, and who became later in the first founder of a completely free school for the
deaf.

In this way:

Con el paso del tiempo, otras escuelas e instituciones fueron creadas en el resto de
Europa y del mundo (Francia, Italia, Estados-Unidos). Hoy en día, existen varias
lenguas de señas que difieren entre sí tanto en el léxico (conjunto de señas o signos
gestuales) como en la gramática, y que son originarias de la lengua de señas francesa,
británica y alemana entre otras. Desde los años 1980, varios especialistas y sociólogos
se interesan mucho más a la lengua de señas que es finalmente reconocida como
lengua “de pleno derecho” en varios países del mundo. (Vercher, 2018)

This means that the signal language is not universal, this language has a different
meaning in every country. The main and largest deaf organization in the world is the
World Federation of the Deaf, brings together all deaf organizations in the world,
contributing to the development of deaf communities. Here in El Salvador there is an
association that is the only one associated with the WFD, it is called the Asociacion
Salvadoreña de Sordos, in addition to having its beffiting sign code, which is known as
the Lengua de Señas Salvadoreñas (LESSA).

Salvadoran Deaf Community

The deaf community in El Salvador goes through various problems every day, as it does
not have the same skills as a hearing person, they have to struggle with social
exclusion, job options are few for them, there are very few schools in our country for the
number of deaf people living in El Salvador, approximately 5 schools and until 2015
there are a certain number of people with this disability which is an approximate 88,398.
These statistics are from CONAIPD.

In this way:

En los últimos años la palabra inclusión ha formado parte de los discursos de

organizaciones, funcionarios, activistas y líderes en el país. No obstante, entre los
grupos de personas más excluidas se encuentran los sordos, a quienes su tipo de
discapacidad los vuelve más invisibles (Hernandez, 2021).

It is evident the effort that each one of them makes to improve themselves day by day
and to be able to be part of society like hearing people, without any problem, but not all
of them manage to be independent. There is many who need someone to interpret for
them to be able to understand the classes and to be able to communicate, this
language is very little studied, and it should be as important as learning English or
another language, this should be a very important subject to study in schools and also
in higher education, We would help many more people to be able to communicate
normally without any prejudice, equality would be noticed and we would all have the
same opportunities, but also to learn this language is at a low cost, but if it were
implemented in all schools, there would be no child who would feel excluded from
society.

LESSA
The sign language spoken in this house, in government messages and in public schools
is Lengua de Señas Salvadoreñas (LESSA). Signs change meaning from country to
country and LESSA is the local language of the Deaf community. It is still in
development. In addition to this language, American Sign Language (ASL) is taught in
some private academies in the country. This is a more internationally standardized one.

In the Deaf community, the preference for one language or the other is a bit of a thorny
issue to deal with. Although the two languages are performed with the hands, the two
are completely different. It is like speaking French and German.

As Guzman (2018) expressed:

Desde una posición oficial, El Salvador está intentando hacer crecer y desarrollar la
LESSA, pues además es un símbolo de identidad salvadoreña. En cambio, en otras
academias se entrena a los estudiantes en ASL. El argumento es sencillo. El ASL, al ser
signado también fuera de El Salvador, puede ayudar para abrir más puertas en el
exterior.

Education for the deaf community in El Salvador

“Así como para los oyentes que viven en El Salvador su primera lengua es el español,
para los sordos su primera lengua es la de señas (Guzman, 2018).” Since hearing
people are born, they develop according to their age and stage of life, they imitate what
their family does and repeat the words that their parents teach them, their linguistic
development is in accordance with their age, they start learning from home, with their
parents or siblings, repeat or imitate sounds and can articulate words just by listening to
them, all this differs with the development process of deaf people, such is the case of
Cartagena (2018) who expresses that expresses that when her daughter was born she
was worried and was very scared when she heard the news through the doctors where
they told her that her daughter was deaf, she was afraid and asked herself how she
would do with her daughter, this happens in most homes that have the opportunity to
have a deaf child and because of the little information that there is for society about the
deaf community, about LESSA and that there are institutions that support and help the
community of people deaf But for all this, someone is needed to provide this
information, so that LESSA can reach homes with children with hearing disabilities,
since in some homes, such as the case of Cartagena, it is their first experience with a
child or deaf family member so she had to seek by her own means to learn LESSA with
her daughter and thus be able to instruct her and provide support in her development,
but all this was thanks to people who become teachers, since they prepare themselves
by learning the language of Salvadoran signs to be able to teach it. For this reason,
emphasis is placed on the need to learn sign language, and through this research it is
sought to make future teachers aware of the importance of the deaf community,
learning to teach is a privilege that only teachers have. they can give, then, if as
teachers we prepare ourselves to give good teaching to hearing students, why not do it
for non-hearing students? Inclusion is something that we can freely talk about in this
21st century, we prepare ourselves and guide ourselves in how to use Tics, in learning
new languages, but many times we put aside true inclusion, learning about the deaf
community and its language should be of equal importance as everything else,
previously the number of schools for the deaf in El Salvador was mentioned, there are
only 5 of them, some students must travel hundreds of kilometers to have access to
education, when some schools are so far only a few meters from their homes, but they
cannot attend them due to the void knowledge of the LESSA and the processes that
these children must go through.

“Hay tres niveles de lenguaje, familiar, académico y metalingüístico. La mayoría de

sordos se quedan en el nivel familiar. Los sordos necesitan lengua de señas desde que
nacen (Zeledón, 2018).” Deaf people have the same rights as any hearing person but
they are limited by the lack of trained personnel in their area. In a certain way, we
discriminate against people with hearing disabilities (not to mention the various
disabilities) because there are institutions in which they are denied access because they
are deaf, in others they are accepted but there is no staff prepared to teach them in the
same way so that hearing students, even in schools called "special" there is a lack of
trained personnel in the various areas that are needed.

It is urgent that awareness be raised and as future teachers they are involved and
guided in order to be complete professionals and willing to be inclusive. It may take a
few years to be able to include LESSA classes in the student load, but you can start
training little by little, spread the importance of this fact and have the desire to help and
not just a listening society that has all the necessary resources to learn, but also to the
hearing disability community that although they do not need someone who is hearing to
be someone in life, they need teachers to teach them what they learned at some point,
as well as any person without disabilities .

Un niño o niña con problemas de audición se siente como cuando una persona va de
turista a Rusia o a China, quienes usan un lenguaje desconocido para ellos, los alumnos
no entienden lo que hablan los demás, pero sí tienen la capacidad de aprender y
comunicarse (Sanchez, 2020).

Children with hearing disabilities have an intellectual level at the level of any other hearing child,
but with a higher level of difficulty when it comes to learning, but it is a problem that can be
eradicated and transform the reality of these children. Unfortunately, the barriers that stand
between learning and deaf children are very evident. And these barriers not only exist within
educational centers, but also within families. “Posiblemente los padres desconocen que el sordo
es educable (Zeledón, 2018).” There are several cases of this type, where it is preferable not to
send the deaf child to school because there is the idea that he will not learn anything because
he has a disability, he is marginalized from the rest, it is sad to know the reality of children with
hearing disabilities , some do not have the great privilege of being supported by their families,
since parents do not have adequate guidance on responsible and respectful upbringing towards
these children, therefore, children grow up without education and without proper teaching, they
are restricted and do not fully enjoy their rights since they are often interrupted by their own
families, and this is the main reason why it should be eradicated This root problem, as future
teachers, we must seek guidance and be properly trained so that this situation can be solved.

It must be understood that children with hearing disabilities are educable and have a cognitive
level at the same level as a hearing child, and with this understand the importance of learning
sign language and not only that, but also learn about the deaf community and above all its
qualities and capabilities, it is necessary to provide support to the deaf community, to break
down the barriers of communication and relationship with hearing people.

Ella observa en sus alumnos, que oscilan entre los seis y 16 años, que ingresan a la
escuela con un nivel pobre de su primera lengua, la lengua de señas, porque la mayoría
de miembros de la familia no la domina. Lidia mencionó que percibe que sus
estudiantes viven como extranjeros en sus propias casas (Ocampo, 2021)
This happens because within society the due interest and need to master sign language is not
promoted, it is something that is left in the hands of experts only, there is no interest in helping
those who really need to be included, society is concerned other things of relevance but do not
get involved in the practice of a new language if it is necessary.

In many cases, sadly, families do not bother to help their children either, there are live examples
where it is preferred to marginalize children with disabilities and not help them in their
development, leaving the person with disability in nothing and forgotten, and with this it could be
concluded that not all deaf people in the country master LESSA, there is a good percentage that
has not had the opportunity to learn to communicate, therefore they live their lives without
opportunities. But this reason is one of many for which it should be proposed and ensure that
future generations of teachers are encouraged to learn LESSA.

IMPORTANCE ABOUT LESSA

As (Martinez Meza, 2016) expresses:

It’s important to know that this language has the following recognitions about its great value in
the Salvadorean society: Recognition of the Salvadorean Sign Language (LESSA), as a mother
language of the deaf population of El Salvador, by the Ministry of Deafness of El Salvador.
Recognition of the Salvadorean Sign Language for the transmission of information and
programmatic information and programmatic content in official schools for the deaf. Recognition
of the deaf population as a linguistic minority, which possesses as many capacities, abilities, and
skills as the deaf. As many capacities, abilities, and skills as the rest of the population.
Foundation of the first school for the deaf in San Salvador, which serves up to the ninth grade.
Opening of the high school for the deaf in San Salvador. (p.30)

In this way: ‘‘This language has its own alphabet, is the communication channel of Salvadorean
deaf people through which they can express ideas and feelings to communicate with others,
and thus make themselves understood by the hearing people who use sign language (Martinez
Meza, 2016).”

Learning LESSA is to contribute so that each person of the deaf community can have a
successful development and that each person with this disability can have a full life, the
fundamental reason is to motivate them to give each one of them a good and worthy education,
promoting this language is very important because if it is learned correctly, we can help many
people in our country. If we could speak LESSA and be able to teach it, we would know in depth
every characteristic of it, for example: “Having an abstract phonology, it can be analyzed in
features of position, orientation, configuration in an analogous way. Be acquired through a
process parallel to the acquisition of an oral language (whether hearing or deaf), among others.
(Galdámez, 2012).”

Conclusion

The article presented was written with the aim of raising awareness and motivating the future
generation of teachers to learn and develop the ability of Salvadoran sign language, to learn
about the country's deaf community and its culture, to recognize the sign language and each of
its meanings, its dactylological grammar, but above all, it has promoted the social inclusion of
deaf people. As teachers, one of the main approaches that is displayed is to help and serve the
community, and society is made up of each of the individuals that are included in it, without
discriminating against anyone for their physical appearance, for their beliefs, or because of their
qualities or in this case, because of their disability.

“Un niño que no se siente querido, difícilmente puede ser educado (Pestalozzi, 1746-1827).” In
this way, it is possible to understand the need to provide complete support to all the boys and
girls in the community where they have the opportunity to work as a teacher, it is really urgent to
change the perspective towards national education, eradicate discrimination and promote
inclusion in its entirety, offering children and young people in the community an exclusive
education without any prejudice, where they can learn freely and where teachers are a support
for each of them, where children with hearing disabilities do not have to choose not to continue
with their studies but, on the contrary, they can witness the support of an inclusive society and
that they can enjoy the benefits of a trained teaching staff. Thus, the need for the
implementation of the teaching of sign language in education careers can be concluded.
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