Sign Language Learning

Cognitive Field Theory is one of the important epochs of the history of psychology, which has largely influenced the education and learning approaches. Kurt Lewin, the father of cognitive field theory, has explained fields on the line of fields like gravitational and magnetic. He finds the psychological environment different from the biological environment and identifies it as individualistic and dynamic in nature. His group dynamics is ever relevant. According to him, learning is due to the formation of cognitive structure. E.CTolman talks of sign learning and latent learning. Brunswik explains perceptual constancy and probability learning in terms of field theory. Other field theorists are R.G. Barker, R.H. Wheeler, and J.R. Kantor. Due to the comprehensive nature of field theory, it is still important in education and socialisation. It has its roots in the Cognitive Approach and has its bearing on the development of the Constructivist Approach.

The goal of a recently concluded project in Switzerland was to pioneer an assessment system for lexical signs of Swiss German Sign Language (Deutschschweizerische Gebärdensprache, DSGS) that relies on automatic sign language recognition. The assessment system gives adult L2 learners of DSGS feedback on the correctness of the manual parameters of signing (handshape, hand position, location, and movement) of isolated signs they produce. In its initial version, the system includes automatic feedback for a subset of a DSGS vocabulary size production test consisting of approximately 100 lexical items at CEFR level A1. The paper at hand reports on the process of selecting the items for the test, compiling training data for the SLR system, and linguistically analyzing errors in the resulting video recordings.

Sign language recognition (SLR) involves identifying the form and meaning of isolated signs or sequences of signs. To our knowledge, the combination of SLR and sign language assessment is novel. The goal of an ongoing three-year project in Switzerland is to pioneer an assessment system for lexical signs of Swiss German Sign Language (Deutschschweizerische Gebärdensprache, DSGS) that relies on SLR. The assessment system aims to give adult L2 learners of DSGS feedback on the correctness of the manual parameters (handshape, hand position, location, and movement) of isolated signs they produce. In its initial version, the system will include automatic feedback for a subset of a DSGS vocabulary production test consisting of 100 lexical items. To provide the SLR component of the assessment system with sufficient training samples, a large-scale dataset containing videotaped repeated productions of the 100 items of the vocabulary test with associated transcriptions and annotations was created, consisting of data from 11 adult L1 signers and 19 adult L2 learners of DSGS. This paper introduces the dataset, which will be made available to the research community.

CEFR is now widely used as the reference in developing English language program curricula in many higher educations worldwide. The framework has not been commonly adopted in the Indonesian context and attracts scholars to investigate. This research revealed how lecturers and students perceive CEFR as the basis for curriculum development for English courses. To gain the data, 8 lecturers and 94 students were purposefully chosen as respondents and were given a questionnaire developed from C1 level CEFR descriptors. Meanwhile, some respondents were interviewed to collect in-depth information about their perceptions. The quantitative data were analyzed by computing the average score and revealed that the students have a positive perception towards CEFR with an average of 3.78. The data from the interview uncovered that both lecturers and students agreed with the CEFR descriptors for four reasons: job requirements, communication tools, community expectations, and the need to support their learning. The findings imply that the stakeholders must specify the curriculum framework in which CEFR adoption can be an option.

Although automated spoken language assessment is rapidly growing, such systems have not been widely developed for signed languages. This study provides validity evidence for an automated web application that was developed to assess and give feedback on handshape and hand movement of L2 learners' Swiss German Sign Language signs. The study shows good machine-internal and human-machine agreement through many-facet Rasch analysis. Learner perceptions examined through questionnaire responses indicate that the automated system occasionally generated ratings which impacted the quality of feedback at the level of individual signs for individual learners. Implications are discussed from a learning-oriented assessment perspective.

Despite this, there is a framework that can be drawn on: the CoE's Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) (Council of Europe, 2001) offers a starting point for considering greater harmonization of teaching and assessment practices in sign language programs (Leeson, 2011). Application of CEFR can also serve as a step toward formalizing the instruction and assessment of sign language proficiency in Europe. The ProSign project (2012-15), funded by the EMCL, marks an historic step towards the identification and ratification of standardized proficiency levels for sign languages across Europe. The CEFR is the standard framework for the teaching, learning and assessment of a spoken language as foreign/second language in Europe (Council of Europe, 2001). By considering the CEFR descriptors vis-à-vis sign languages, the opportunity arises for creating greater awareness around what is taught and why, at what levels and for what purposes, across sign language programs in Europe. CEFR also offers a framework for sign language teachers, something that has not been readily available in the past. Given these issues, the ProSign project has paved the way for development of curriculum and assessment materials.

El trabajo presentado muestra el desarrollo de un prototipo que permite captar e interpretar el lenguaje de señas mexicano (LSM) a través de un dispositivo weareable, en este caso un guante diseñado para personas que se comunican a través de este lenguaje de señas por presentar alguna dificultad del lenguaje y el habla así pueda comunicarse de manera efectiva con personas que no conocen este lenguaje. El guante interpreta sus movimientos por que cuenta con 5 sensores flexibles, que están colocados en cada uno de los dedos: pulgar, índice, medio, anular, meñique. Con los cuales se censa la variación de resistencia (ohmios) y se compara la variación al flexionarse. Los resultados son analizados en una interfaz de arduino, interpretados y posteriormente mostrados a través de una pantalla LCD. El dispositivo tiene de objetivo apoyar a una comunicación asertiva entre personas que usan el lenguaje de señas mexicano y aquellas que lo desconocen. El avance de nuestro proyecto promete dismin...

To All Vocabulary SIG Members, We are proud to present you with volume 1 issue 2 of the Vocabulary Education & Research Bulletin. If you recall back to the inaugural issue published earlier this year, we summarized many of the posters that were presented at the first JALT Vocabulary SIG colloquium in Fukuoka, Japan. The colloquium took place in March, 2012 when the SIG was just getting off the ground. We may be a young SIG, but we are clearly a popular one. The JALT Vocabulary SIG will celebrate its first birthday this November, and we have seen steady growth of membership as the months go by. The SIG started with 26 members last November after the JALT National conference, and less than a year later, as of September 1st, 2012, we stand at 101 members! Not bad for being the new kids on the block. In this issue, we have a variety of interesting articles that should keep you satisfied until the next issue. Phil Bennet & Tim Stoeckel start us off by analyzing a multiple-choice test in terms of willingness to skip items. Tadamitsu Kamimoto is next and investigates the effects of using stems (i.e., a short, non-defining sentence) on the Vocabulary Size Test. Following Tadamitsu, Masaya Kaneko explores the Center Test to discover what vocabulary size is needed for a 95% comprehension rate. After that, Kris Ramonda discusses Nation's four strands of vocabulary learning, and how to incorporate research and practice by using teacher belief information. Next, Raymond Stubbe searches for a boundary of acceptability of false alarms in yes/no tests (i.e., endorsing a word, when the word is not a real word). Last but not least, Yuka Yamamoto explores the notion that initial vocabulary level doesn't influence target vocabulary acquisition. After the main course, for your vocabulary dessert, the SIG News section has up-to-date information including news on the SIG Symposium that is scheduled for June 2013 (call for poster presentations will be open until January 31st, so please submit to share your research and make the symposium even more successful!), a report by Mark Howarth on the miniconference which took place in May, and information about the SIG poster session and annual general meeting, both of which are taking place at the JALT annual conference. Finally, we would like to thank all of the contributors for their hard work and cooperation, as well as the anonymous reviewers for their time and effort. It is because of all of you that VERB is possible.

Normal people can communicate easily with other people by using a language. But there are a lot of people around us who are physically disabled to communicate normally. They use sign language to express their emotions, thoughts, and needs. But learning sign language is not easy for everyone. We have made a device to facilitate such a daunting task as learning sign language. Our proposed device can be used as a proper medium to convey their expressions without sign language. Our research is for reducing the communication gap between a normal and a deaf or dumb people. It is completely different from all previous devices and highly economic. It works through some specific buttons, which contain some specific words. We have used an encoder as a button, an SD card as a memory, a speaker to covert the signal in voice and an LCD to show the sentence. And this device is easily portable since there we have used lightweight equipment. In some previous devices, only LCD or mobile or laptop was used to display the output, so if a normal person is not mindful of the screen, then there was a possibility of communication gap. But we have used both LCD and speaker in our proposed device, so, even if a normal person is not mindful on screen, they will hear the sound via the speaker and hence has a very less possibility of communication gap. Using our device, a mute person is able to communicate with not only the normal person but also the blind person. Our proposed device provides more accuracy than all previous devices which is impressive.

Assistive technology enables people with any impairment get involved in day-to-day activities through the use of electronic systems. In the case of people with hearing and language impairments the need to communicate with other individuals is essential in its development within society. For this reason, we have developed an electronic glove with an artificial voice module, wireless connection and a 2.8 inch screen that allows you to translate sign language through two modes of operation. The first one allows the user to issue the translation through a voice synthesizer and an audio output, while the second one offers the possibility of setting up a Bluetooth connection with a mobile phone and so the person with impairment can send and receive messages on the device. As a result people with hearing impairment will have a portable, ergonomic and effective tool that allows them to communicate fluently with other individuals to improve their integration within society.

In the interpreting profession, the term language direction (or directionality) is used to describe interpreting from one’s native, dominant language (L1) into a second, non-dominant language (L2), or vice versa. Language direction has long been of interest to interpreting scholars in regards to the quality of the output. Spoken language interpreter educators have argued that high quality interpretations can only be produced when working from an L2 into an L1 (Nicodemus & Emmorey, 2013; Seleskovitch, 1978). Further, spoken language interpreters have reported a preference for working from their L2 into their L1 (Donovan, 2004). In contrast, signed language interpreters, particularly novices, report the opposite preference for language direction, that is, the majority indicate a preference to work from their L1 into their L2 (Nicodemus & Emmorey, 2013). Researchers have speculated about the factors underlying this direction asymmetry found between signed and spoken language interprete...

The study of articulatory complexity has proven to yield useful insights into the phonological mechanisms of spoken languages. In sign languages, this type of knowledge is scarcely documented. The current study compares a data-driven measure and a theory-driven measure of complexity for signs in French Sign Language (LSF). The former measure is based on error rates of handshape, location, orientation, movement and sign fluidity in a repetition task administered to non-signers; the latter measure is derived by applying a feature-geometry model of sign description on the same set of signs. A significant correlation is found between the two measures for the overall complexity. When looking at the impact of individual phonemic classes on complexity, a significant correlation is found for handshape and location but not for movement. We discuss how these results indicate that a fine-grained theoretical model of sign phonology/phonetics reflects the degree of complexity as resulting from t...

El avance tecnológico debe orientarse a generar mejoras en la calidad de vida y bienestar de la sociedad. Una de las poblaciones con mayores necesidades corresponde a personas sordas, por esto resulta necesario examinar la evolución y tendencias investigativas, en relación con tecnologías dirigidas a población con dificultades auditivas, entre 1990 y 2019. La metodología involucró 202 documentos recopilados mediante ecuación de búsqueda, obtenida de Scopus, originando indicadores de cantidad y calidad, además del análisis de temas emergentes y crecientes en este campo. Los hallazgos incluyen prevalencia del interés por la exploración y difusión de las tecnologías diseñadas para población sorda, especialmente en países como Estados Unidos, demostrándose altos índices de productividad y circulación del conocimiento por parte de instituciones y autores. Entre las conclusiones, se evidenció la importancia de investigaciones en temáticas asociadas al lenguaje de señas, accesibilidad, rec...

Deaf people across Europe struggle to have equal access to written information as the main language of instruction in school is the spoken language. The "Deaf Learning" project (2015-1-PL01-KA204-016) aims at improving the above-mentioned situation by developing a face-to-face course supported by a Moodle course according to the needs of young deaf adults. Within the project, the partners developed a framework for lessons ranging from A1 to B2 (on the basis of the Common European Framework for Languages, CEFR) to improve reading and writing skills in the respective national languages. The teaching materials for level A1 consist of 30 lessons in pdf printable version, and 6 Moodle lessons. To make the course suitable for the very heterogeneous group of deaf learners, the structure of the lessons was designed so that teachers can adapt it to the needs of the deaf students. The Moodle lessons are kept simple and visual; they include sign language videos, images, and H5P interactive contents. The teaching materials have been tested in Italy for the main target group (17 participants aged 16-25 years) and in Austria for all other interested parties (3 participants aged over 30 years) through face-to-face lessons. The participants' feedback was incorporated into the materials.

As a consequence of birth anomalies and accidents, the number of hearing impaired and speech challenged sufferers has increased dramatically in recent years. When a deaf-dumb person speaks to a normal person, the normal person struggles to understand and demands that the deaf-dumb person display gestures to meet his or her needs. Dumb individuals speak to us in their own language. The only need is that we need to understand their language. Sign language is a communication capacity used by deaf and dumb people that uses hand signs, orientations, and movement of the hands, arms, or body, as well as facial expressions, to transmit the thoughts of a speaker fluently. However, most people struggle to understand this sign language. People who are unable to speak or have lost their ability to speak as a result of an injury find it difficult to transmit their message in society. We created an electronic speaking glove for this project. Dumb individuals may easily converse with normal people...

In the interpreting profession, the term language direction (or directionality) is used to describe interpreting from one’s native, dominant language (L1) into a second, non-dominant language (L2), or vice versa. Language direction has long been of interest to interpreting scholars in regards to the quality of the output. Spoken language interpreter educators have argued that high quality interpretations can only be produced when working from an L2 into an L1 (Nicodemus & Emmorey, 2013; Seleskovitch, 1978). Further, spoken language interpreters have reported a preference for working from their L2 into their L1 (Donovan, 2004). In contrast, signed language interpreters, particularly novices, report the opposite preference for language direction, that is, the majority indicate a preference to work from their L1 into their L2 (Nicodemus & Emmorey, 2013). Researchers have speculated about the factors underlying this direction asymmetry found between signed and spoken language interprete...

Las instituciones de educación superior están constantemente procurando brindar mejores oportunidades para todos los estudiantes, lo que implica recurrir a metodologías que permitan atender la diversidad en las aulas de clase. Para ello, se puede recurrir a metodologías como el Diseño Universal para el Aprendizaje (DUA) que ofrece principios y pautas para la atención a esa diversidad. Sin embargo, la información usualmente está dispersa existiendo la necesidad de organizarla. Además, aunque el DUA no está ligado a las tecnologías de la información y comunicación (TIC), encuentra en ellas un gran apoyo. Esto a su vez conlleva a la necesidad de poder organizar la diversidad de herramientas que podrían utilizarse. Ante esta situación, se propone DUAcentes, una herramienta basada en dispositivos móviles que busca apoyar el aprendizaje y la utilización del DUA. Partiendo de la definición de requerimientos mediante entrevistas y revisión de aplicaciones similares, y siguiendo una metodolo...

La contaminación en el medio ambiente crece de manera insostenible a medida que pasa los años y el ser humano es el principal actor de los cambios climáticos que se producen en nuestro planeta. Muchos de los inventos tecnológicos que se han producidos son fabricados a partir de etileno y son los más contaminantes desde su forma de elaboración hasta su uso, debido a que tarda muchos años en descomponerse. El avance de la tecnología proporciona bienestar para la humanidad, pero a su vez varios de los inventos tienen un lado negativo debido a su alta capacidad contaminante en el planeta. Uno de ellos son los envases plásticos desechables que no son reciclados. Por ello, este trabajo tiene como objetivo diseñar un prototipo dispensador de agua que permita reducir la contaminación por plásticos de un solo uso, para de esta manera ayudar en la lucha por un medio ambiente menos contaminado.

 Resumen-El lenguaje es una parte fundamental para la comunicación en toda sociedad, en la actualidad son muchas las personas que presentan dificultades para percibir y pronunciar los sonidos característicos del lenguaje común. Para éstas se diseñó el lenguaje de señas, este puede caracterizarse aplicando los avances tecnológicos de la actualidad. Se presentan resultados del diseño de un prototipo que permite procesar los cambios resistivos que presentan un sistema de sensores, implementado en un microcontrolador Arduino Uno. Para desarrollar este proyecto, el primer paso fue estudiar el comportamiento de cada componente, después se realizó el diseño de un guante que soporta los componentes. Con el diseño del guante terminado, se diseñó una interfaz gráfica en Matlab, que puede caracterizar y visualizar los movimientos asociados a los caracteres alfabéticos del lenguaje de señas y finalmente se diseñó un sistema de transmisión WiFi y una aplicación por celular. Palabras claves: int...

En general, a los niños les desagrada cortarse el cabello. Los factores causantes pueden ser: el ruido que provoca la máquina, estar inmóvil mucho tiempo, etc. Los diversos movimientos ocasionados por los niños, dificulta el trabajo del peluquero. Por ello, este proyecto tiene como objetivo realizar una aplicación para la distracción del niño, durante el corte del cabello, logrando su concentración en el juego. La aplicación interactiva está basada en la tecnología del Espejo Mágico (M.M por sus siglas en inglés). Para lograr este objetivo. Se realizaron entrevistas, evaluaciones y pruebas para recolectar datos y verificar la necesidad de su creación. El prototipo realizado fue evaluado con la participación de varios niños. Los resultados de la evaluación fueron positivos, permitiendo concluir que los niños al interactuar con el espejo concentraban su atención en el juego.

Deaf-mute humans need to talk with regular human beings for their everyday ordinary. The deaf-mute people use sign language to talk with other humans. However, it is viable simplest for the ones who have passed through unique training to recognize the language. Sign language uses hand gestures and different means of non-verbal behaviours to deliver their supposed meaning. It includes combining hand shapes, orientation and hand actions, hands or body movement, and facial expressions concurrently, to fluidly explicit speaker's thoughts. The project is based on the need of developing an electronic glove that can translate sign language into speech in order to lower the barrier in communication between the mute communities and the normal people. A Wireless electronic gloves is used, which is everyday material driving gloves fitted with flex sensors along with the every finger. Mute human beings can use the gloves to perform hand gesture which can be converted into speech in order that regular humans can apprehend their expressions. Human beings have interaction with each other to deliver their ideas and reviews to the people around them. But this isn't always the case for deaf-mute people. Sign language paves the manner for deaf-mute people to communicate. Through signal language verbal exchange is feasible for a deaf-mute person without the manner of acoustic sounds. Thus, in order to bridge this gap, this project intends to implement a real-time video processing-based speech assistant system for the speech impaired

Despite this, there is a framework that can be drawn on: the CoE's Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) (Council of Europe, 2001) offers a starting point for considering greater harmonization of teaching and assessment practices in sign language programs (Leeson, 2011). Application of CEFR can also serve as a step toward formalizing the instruction and assessment of sign language proficiency in Europe. The ProSign project (2012-15), funded by the EMCL, marks an historic step towards the identification and ratification of standardized proficiency levels for sign languages across Europe. The CEFR is the standard framework for the teaching, learning and assessment of a spoken language as foreign/second language in Europe (Council of Europe, 2001). By considering the CEFR descriptors vis-à-vis sign languages, the opportunity arises for creating greater awareness around what is taught and why, at what levels and for what purposes, across sign language programs in Europe. CEFR also offers a framework for sign language teachers, something that has not been readily available in the past. Given these issues, the ProSign project has paved the way for development of curriculum and assessment materials.

This study reports on the use of an open-source software for sign language learning and (self-)assessment. A Yes/No vocabulary size test for Swiss German Sign Language (Deutschschweizerische Gebärdensprache, DSGS) was developed, targeting beginning adult learners. The Web-based test, which can be used for self-assessment or placement purposes, was administered to 20 DSGS adult learners of ages 24 to 55 (M = 39.3). The learners filled out a background questionnaire, took the Yes/No test tests, and filled out a feedback questionnaire. The comments provided by the learners about the suitability of the Web-based DSGS vocabulary self-assessment instrument provided concrete feedback towards improvement of the system.

In the interpreting profession, the term language direction (or directionality) is used to describe interpreting from one's native, dominant language (L1) into a second, non-dominant language (L2), or vice versa. Language direction has long been of interest to interpreting scholars in regards to the quality of the output. Spoken language interpreter educators have argued that high quality interpretations can only be produced when working from an L2 into an L1 (Nicodemus & Emmorey, 2013; Seleskovitch, 1978). Further, spoken language interpreters have reported a preference for working from their L2 into their L1 (Donovan, 2004). In contrast, signed language interpreters, particularly novices, report the opposite preference for language direction, that is, the majority indicate a preference to work from their L1 into their L2 (Nicodemus & Emmorey, 2013). Researchers have speculated about the factors underlying this direction asymmetry found between signed and spoken language interpreters; however, these speculations were not data based. In this study, we interviewed 20 experienced signed language interpreters in the U.S. and Switzerland to collect perspectives regarding signed language interpreters' preference for L1-to-L2 interpreting. The data point to four factors having an influence on language direction: (a) language modality, (b) self-monitoring, (c) deaf consumers, and (d) psychological states. This study sheds further light on social, linguistic, and psychological factors that impact language direction preferences among signed language interpreters.

Este trabalho concebe a lingua como heterogenea, o que significa dizer que ela varia conforme seus usuarios, por razoes diversas, tais como variedades regionais. Essa variacao foi analisada em uma perspectiva sociolinguistica, considerando as diferentes formas de uso da Lingua Brasileira de Sinais. O objetivo e analisar como os academicos surdos sinalizam os sinais “janela” e “policial”, ao expressarem uma narrativa, com as variacoes de cunho fonetico e lexical. Trata-se de uma pesquisa sociolinguistica realizada na cidade de Belem, com cinco surdos do curso de Letras-Libras da Universidade do Estado do Para. A metodologia obedeceu aos seguintes procedimentos: 1) apresentacao aos discentes da narrativa “o garoto”, de Charles Chaplin; 2) filmagem dos surdos ao contarem a mesma narrativa; 3) transcricao das narrativas da lingua de sinais para a Lingua Portuguesa escrita; 4) analise comparativa entre os sinais “janela” e “policial” com os mesmos sinais registrados no dicionario de Capo...

O Teste de Competência de Leitura de Palavras foi aplicado a 805 estudantes surdos da 1a. série do Ensino Fundamental até a 1a. série do Ensino Médio. Resultados mostraram crescimento significativo da competência de leitura ao longo das séries escolares. O estudo demonstrou que: 1) leitores ouvintes deixam-se enganar mais pela semelhança fonológica, ao passo que leitores surdos deixam-se enganar mais pela semelhança visual; 2) leitores ouvintes deixam-se enganar mais pela homofonia que pela semi-homofonia , ao passo que leitores surdos não; 3) leitores ouvintes deixam-se enganar mais por palavras ortográfica e fonologicamente familiares, ainda que semanticamente inadequadas às figuras, do que por pseudopalavras ortográfica e fonologicamente estranhas, ao passo que leitores surdos privilegiam o processamento semântico-ortográfico do que o ortográfico-fonológico, com melhor detecção de inadequação semântica de palavras conhecidas do que de pseudopalavras. 

A educação brasileira carece de instrumentos para avaliar o desenvolvimento lingüísitco da população escolar surda. O Teste de Vocabulário Receptivo de Sinais da Libras (TVRSL1) avalia a compreensão de sinais da Libras. Foi aplicado com sinalização ao vivo coletivamente na sala de aula em duas sessões de 45 minutos a 505 estudantes de 6 a 41 anos, a maioria sinalizadora com surdez profunda pré-lingual e perilingual, de 1ª série do ensino fundamental até 1ª do médio, de seis escolas do estado de São Paulo, quatro Escolas Municipais de Educação Especial e duas particulares. Foi normatizado de 1ª a 8ª série e validado por comparação com dez testes normatizados de desenvolvimento de compreensão de sinais, leitura e escrita. Resultados revelaram aumento significativo da compreensão de sinais de 1ª a 8aª série, e maiores correlações com nomeação de sinais por escolha de palavras e por escrita livre do que com nomeação de figuras por escolha de palavras e por escrita livre, com competência...

O Teste de Nomeação de Figuras por Escolha (TNF2.1-Escolha) avalia a habilidade de escolher palavras escritas para nomear figuras, e analisa processos quirêmicos, ortográficos e semânticos envolvidos. Foi aplicado a 313 surdos de 6-34 anos, de 1ª. série do Ensino Fundamental a 1ª. do Médio de quatro escolas bilíngües paulistas (dos quais 77% com perda congênita, e 49%, congênita-profunda), junto com TNF1.1-Escolha, e testes de vocabulário receptivo de sinais (TVRSL), competência de leitura de palavras (TCLPP), compreensão de leitura de sentenças (TCLS), nomeação de figuras por escrita (TNF-Escrita), e de sinais por escolha e escrita (TNS-Escolha e TNS-Escrita). Foi gerada tabela normativa de nomeação por série escolar. O TNF2.1-Escolha manteve as seguintes inter-relações positivas significativas: correlação muito alta (r = 0,89) com TNF1.1-Escolha; alta (r = 0,77-0,80) com escrita do nome de figuras (TNF-Escrita) e leitura de sentenças (TCLS), média (r = 0,62-0,68) com nomeação de s...

La contaminación en el medio ambiente crece de manera insostenible a medida que pasa los años y el ser humano es el principal actor de los cambios climáticos que se producen en nuestro planeta. Muchos de los inventos tecnológicos que se han producidos son fabricados a partir de etileno y son los más contaminantes desde su forma de elaboración hasta su uso, debido a que tarda muchos años en descomponerse. El avance de la tecnología proporciona bienestar para la humanidad, pero a su vez varios de los inventos tienen un lado negativo debido a su alta capacidad contaminante en el planeta. Uno de ellos son los envases plásticos desechables que no son reciclados. Por ello, este trabajo tiene como objetivo diseñar un prototipo dispensador de agua que permita reducir la contaminación por plásticos de un solo uso, para de esta manera ayudar en la lucha por un medio ambiente menos contaminado.

Sign language recognition (SLR) involves identifying the form and meaning of isolated signs or sequences of signs. To our knowledge, the combination of SLR and sign language assessment is novel. The goal of an ongoing three-year project in Switzerland is to pioneer an assessment system for lexical signs of Swiss German Sign Language (Deutschschweizerische Gebärdensprache, DSGS) that relies on SLR. The assessment system aims to give adult L2 learners of DSGS feedback on the correctness of the manual parameters (handshape, hand position, location, and movement) of isolated signs they produce. In its initial version, the system will include automatic feedback for a subset of a DSGS vocabulary production test consisting of 100 lexical items. To provide the SLR component of the assessment system with sufficient training samples, a large-scale dataset containing videotaped repeated productions of the 100 items of the vocabulary test with associated transcriptions and annotations was created, consisting of data from 11 adult L1 signers and 19 adult L2 learners of DSGS. This paper introduces the dataset, which will be made available to the research community.

SIGN-HUB is a European project involving collaborators from seven countries funded within the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program. The scope of the project is both socio-cultural and linguistic, as its aim is to document and preserve the culture, the history, and the languages of European Deaf communities. After a brief description of the various components of the project, we focus on the documentation of the life stories of Deaf people and the creation of a digital sign language archive.

Normal people can communicate easily with other people by using a language. But there are a lot of people around us who are physically disabled to communicate normally. They use sign language to express their emotions, thoughts, and needs. But learning sign language is not easy for everyone. We have made a device to facilitate such a daunting task as learning sign language. Our proposed device can be used as a proper medium to convey their expressions without sign language. Our research is for reducing the communication gap between a normal and a deaf or dumb people. It is completely different from all previous devices and highly economic. It works through some specific buttons, which contain some specific words. We have used an encoder as a button, an SD card as a memory, a speaker to covert the signal in voice and an LCD to show the sentence. And this device is easily portable since there we have used lightweight equipment. In some previous devices, only LCD or mobile or laptop was used to display the output, so if a normal person is not mindful of the screen, then there was a possibility of communication gap. But we have used both LCD and speaker in our proposed device, so, even if a normal person is not mindful on screen, they will hear the sound via the speaker and hence has a very less possibility of communication gap. Using our device, a mute person is able to communicate with not only the normal person but also the blind person. Our proposed device provides more accuracy than all previous devices which is impressive.

The European Language Portfolio (ELP) has been widely implemented to support the development of learner autonomy in the teaching and learning of spoken languages, but, until this study, had not been implemented with learners of sign languages. Across 2017–18, we developed and piloted a sample ELP for Irish Sign Language (ISL), which fed into work on the development of an ELP for sign language learners, under the umbrella of the PRO-Sign 2 project (European Centre for Modern Languages). We piloted the ELP with a cohort of ISL learners in the second year of their Bachelor in Deaf Studies, who perform at A2-B1 level on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) (2001; Leeson et al., 2016). All are learning ISL as a second language (L2), and are acquiring this sign language in what is, for them a new modality (M2). We met students on four occasions across 2017–18 to explore how/if use of the ELP in the ISL classroom supports the development of robust self-evaluation...

The goal of a recently concluded project in Switzerland was to pioneer an assessment system for lexical signs of Swiss German Sign Language (Deutschschweizerische Gebärdensprache, DSGS) that relies on automatic sign language recognition. The assessment system gives adult L2 learners of DSGS feedback on the correctness of the manual parameters of signing (handshape, hand position, location, and movement) of isolated signs they produce. In its initial version, the system includes automatic feedback for a subset of a DSGS vocabulary size production test consisting of approximately 100 lexical items at CEFR level A1. The paper at hand reports on the process of selecting the items for the test, compiling training data for the SLR system, and linguistically analyzing errors in the resulting video recordings.

Despite this, there is a framework that can be drawn on: the CoE's Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) (Council of Europe, 2001) offers a starting point for considering greater harmonization of teaching and assessment practices in sign language programs (Leeson, 2011). Application of CEFR can also serve as a step toward formalizing the instruction and assessment of sign language proficiency in Europe. The ProSign project (2012-15), funded by the EMCL, marks an historic step towards the identification and ratification of standardized proficiency levels for sign languages across Europe. The CEFR is the standard framework for the teaching, learning and assessment of a spoken language as foreign/second language in Europe (Council of Europe, 2001). By considering the CEFR descriptors vis-à-vis sign languages, the opportunity arises for creating greater awareness around what is taught and why, at what levels and for what purposes, across sign language programs in Europe. CEFR also offers a framework for sign language teachers, something that has not been readily available in the past. Given these issues, the ProSign project has paved the way for development of curriculum and assessment materials.

SIGN-HUB is a European project involving collaborators from seven countries funded within the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program. The scope of the project is both socio-cultural and linguistic, as its aim is to document and preserve the culture, the history, and the languages of European Deaf communities. After a brief description of the various components of the project, we focus on the documentation of the life stories of Deaf people and the creation of a digital sign language archive.

The present work aims to present a dictionary of sexuality in the Brazilian Language of Signals (Libras-Língua Brasileira de Sinais), in the form of application for mobile devices. Firstly, the situation experienced by the deaf is contextualized in terms of their difficulty in accessing information related to sexuality, and how this affects their understanding of the subject. After this contextualization, the process of creating the application is presented, from the choice and categorization of the entries, to the recording of the videos and validation of the work done. Subsequently, some screens of the application are shown, evidencing how it is intended to make available the information of the dictionary. Finally, some considerations about the research are presented. Keywords-mobile app; sign language; deaf people; hearing impairment I. INTRODUÇÃO De acordo com [8], a sexualidade compõe uma das dimensões do ser humano, a qual engloba gênero, identidade sexual, orientação sexual, erotismo, envolvimento emocional, amor e reprodução. Além disso, pode ser vivenciada ou manifestada em forma de pensamentos, fantasias, desejos, crenças, atitudes, valores, atividades, práticas, papeis e relacionamentos [17].

Dado que hoy en día la ortografía es un problema que no se resuelve con el paso del tiempo y el avance de la tecnología en lacreación de dispositivos, este problema aumenta cada día más, y esto ocurre principalmente en el uso de dispositivos comoteléfonos, computadoras portátiles por parte de los jóvenes para navegar y chatear en las redes sociales, siendo un obstáculo,o en el chat o los comentarios de estos para ganar para responder rápidamente a un mensaje que hacen sin verificar si laspalabras están bien escritas o no. Por esto, se realizó una aplicación de interacción basada en gestos para complementar elaprendizaje de la ortografía, donde se evaluó a estudiantes entre 20 y 23 años, obteniendo como resultado que esta técnica eramuy buena para el aprendizaje de la ortografía de acuerdo a la opinión de los participantes. Así, la propuesta fue una manerafácil, interactiva y divertida de aprender sobre el tema.

Yes/No tests offer an expedient method of testing learners' vocabulary knowledge, although a drawback of this method is that since the method is self-report, actual knowledge cannot be con-firmed. "Pseudowords" have been used within such lists to test if learners are reporting knowledge of words they cannot possibly know, but it is unclear how to use this information to adjust scores. Although a variety of scoring formulas have been proposed in the literature, empiri-cal research (e.g., Mochida & Harrington, 2006) has found little evidence of their efficacy. The authors propose that a standard least squares model (multiple regression), in which the counts of words reported known and counts of pseudowords reported known are added as separate predictor variables, can be used to generate scoring formulas that have substantially higher predictive power. This is demonstrated on pilot data, and limitations of the method and goals of future research are discussed.

Quadros e Karnopp (2004) e Ferreira-Brito (2010). Os resultados demonstram que é possível a criação desse tipo de obra em Libras, pois contribuirá para o desenvolvimento educacional das crianças surdas e, como recurso didático, apoiará o trabalho de professores em sala de aula.

Sign languages present particular challenges to language assessors in relation to variation in signs, weakly defined citation forms, and a general lack of standard-setting work even in long-established measures of productive sign proficiency. The present article addresses and explores these issues via a mixed-methods study of a human-rated form-recall sign vocabulary test of 98 signs for beginning adult learners of Swiss German Sign Language (DSGS), using post-test qualitative rater interviews to inform interpretation of the results of quantitative analysis of the test ratings using many-facets Rasch measurement. Significant differences between two expert raters were observed on three signs. The follow-up interview revealed disagreement on the criterion of correctness, despite the raters? involvement in the development of the base lexicon of signs. The findings highlight the challenges of using human ratings to assess the production not only of sign language vocabulary, but of minority languages generally, and underscore the need for greater effort expended on the standardization of sign language assessment.

Sign language recognition (SLR) involves identifying the form and meaning of isolated signs or sequences of signs. To our knowledge, the combination of SLR and sign language assessment is novel. The goal of an ongoing three-year project in Switzerland is to pioneer an assessment system for lexical signs of Swiss German Sign Language (Deutschschweizerische Gebärdensprache, DSGS) that relies on SLR. The assessment system aims to give adult L2 learners of DSGS feedback on the correctness of the manual parameters (handshape, hand position, location, and movement) of isolated signs they produce. In its initial version, the system will include automatic feedback for a subset of a DSGS vocabulary production test consisting of 100 lexical items. To provide the SLR component of the assessment system with sufficient training samples, a large-scale dataset containing videotaped repeated productions of the 100 items of the vocabulary test with associated transcriptions and annotations was created, consisting of data from 11 adult L1 signers and 19 adult L2 learners of DSGS. This paper introduces the dataset, which will be made available to the research community.

Abstract. Teaching, training, and assessment for sign language interpreters in Swiss German sign language (DSGS) developments since 1985 have resulted in the current Bachelor level at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Special Needs Education (HfH). More recently, co-teaching with Zurich University of Applied Sciences, School of Applied Linguistics (ZHAW) non-deaf linguists in linguistics and intercultural competence training has led to Deaf and non-deaf research collaboration. At present, there are considerable skills gaps in student proficiency in DSGS-interpreting. Standards that evaluate student second language competencies in DSGS do not yet exist for those who graduate from training programs. Despite DSGS being taught by Deaf sign language instructors, socio-linguistic and pragmatic standards reflecting the practices of the Deaf community are lacking in hearing second language learners. This situation calls for community based research on the linguistic practices embed...

The goal of a recently concluded project in Switzerland was to pioneer an assessment system for lexical signs of Swiss German Sign Language (Deutschschweizerische Gebärdensprache, DSGS) that relies on automatic sign language recognition. The assessment system gives adult L2 learners of DSGS feedback on the correctness of the manual parameters of signing (handshape, hand position, location, and movement) of isolated signs they produce. In its initial version, the system includes automatic feedback for a subset of a DSGS vocabulary size production test consisting of approximately 100 lexical items at CEFR level A1. The paper at hand reports on the process of selecting the items for the test, compiling training data for the SLR system, and linguistically analyzing errors in the resulting video recordings.

Sign language recognition (SLR) involves identifying the form and meaning of isolated signs or sequences of signs. To our knowledge, the combination of SLR and sign language assessment is novel. The goal of an ongoing three-year project in Switzerland is to pioneer an assessment system for lexical signs of Swiss German Sign Language (Deutschschweizerische Gebärdensprache, DSGS) that relies on SLR. The assessment system aims to give adult L2 learners of DSGS feedback on the correctness of the manual parameters (handshape, hand position, location, and movement) of isolated signs they produce. In its initial version, the system will include automatic feedback for a subset of a DSGS vocabulary production test consisting of 100 lexical items. To provide the SLR component of the assessment system with sufficient training samples, a large-scale dataset containing videotaped repeated productions of the 100 items of the vocabulary test with associated transcriptions and annotations was created, consisting of data from 11 adult L1 signers and 19 adult L2 learners of DSGS. This paper introduces the dataset, which will be made available to the research community.

This paper reports on work in animating Swiss German Sign Language (DSGS) fingerspelling sequences and signs as well as on the results of a study evaluating the acceptance of the animations. The animated fingerspelling sequences form part of a fingerspelling learning tool for DSGS, while the animated signs are to be used in a study exploring the potential of sign language avatars in sign language assessment. To evaluate the DSGS fingerspelling sequences and signs, we conducted a focus group study with seven early learners of DSGS. We identified the following aspects of the animations as requiring improvement: non-manual features (in particular, facial expressions and head and shoulder movements), (fluidity of) manual movements, and hand positions of fingerspelling signs.

In German Switzerland the learning and assessment of Swiss German Sign Language (Deutschschweizerische Gebärdensprache, DSGS) takes place in different contexts, for example, in tertiary education or in continuous education courses. By way of the still ongoing implementation of the Common European Framework of Reference for DSGS, different tests and assessment procedures are currently been developed and their potential are explored to support the learning and assessment of DSGS. Examples of this are two vocabulary size tests. The first is a web-delivered Yes/No Test, the second a Translation Test from written German to DSGS. For both tests, the same set of items was used. The items were sampled from DSGS teaching materials. For the development of the two vocabulary size tests, 20 DSGS adult learners of ages 24 to 55 (M = 39.3) were recruited as test takers. An item analysis of the test results yielded candidates for removal from the item set. Cronbach’s Alpha showed good results f...

A website for a lexicon of Swiss German Sign Language equivalents of technical terms was developed several years ago using Flash technology. In the intervening years, the backend research database was migrated from FileMaker to iLex. Here, we report on the development of a web platform that provides access to the same technical signs by extracting the relevant information directly from iLex. This new platform has many advantages: New sets of signs for technical terms can be added or existing ones modified in iLex at any time, and changes are reflected in the web platform upon refreshing the browser. Just as importantly, the new platform can now also be accessed through all major mobile operating systems, as it does not rely on Flash. We describe how information on the glosses, keywords, videos of citation forms, status, and uses of the technical signs is represented in iLex and how the corresponding web platform was built.