VALIDATION ACTIVITIES FOR FSL STUDENT HANDBOOK COVER 10 PROVINCES
May 07, 2024
Deaf FSL researchers from the Center for Education Advancement of the Deaf (CEAD) traveled to 10 provinces in South Luzon and Visayas regions to conduct validation activities for the recently completed FSL Student Handbook Level 1 consisting of FSL Grammar and Dictionary for Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS).
The said handbook is the first of three books being developed by Deaf FSL researchers under the guidance of Dr. James Woodward. He is renowned for his work on previously understudied sign languages of Asia and the Pacific, former Co-Director of the Center for Sign Linguistics and Deaf Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and currently Adjunct Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Hawaii Manoa. It was also Dr. Woody, as he is fondly called, who trained the Deaf FSL researchers from 2018 to 2022 through the Benilde diploma course on Sign Language Documentation.
To further validate and expand FSL variations included in this groundbreaking work, the team documented the various nuances of vocabulary and phrases in FSL and conducted elicitation sessions through interviews with Deaf respondents from various Deaf organizations in Mindoro, Bicol, East Samar, Leyte, Cebu City, Bohol, Dumaguete City, Bacolod City, Iloilo City, and Palawan. This engagement was made possible through the approval and assistance of the Philippine Federation of the Deaf (PFD)
The FSL book series was developed to provide Benilde Deaf School (BDS) with an evidence-based reference of FSL that will enhance the Basic Interpersonal communication skills (BICS) of Deaf learners, hearing parents, teachers, and allies involved in CEAD Deaf Centered Bilingual Education (BCBE).
FSL learning materials, such as the FSL Student Handbook, are innovations of CEAD-Model Learning Institute on Deaf Centered Education (MLITEDCE) to advance Deaf-Centered Bilingual Education in the country. Making FSL learning materials innovations accessible to Deaf students provides them with the opportunity to study their own language, develop expertise in both conversational and academic form, and imbibe the Deaf culture as preserved in FSL.
The validation activities of the CEAD research team, composed of Nathaniel M. Macariola, Renz Kenneth L. Rivera, Jasmin C. Rivera, Lorhen Joy B. Sumili, and Vincent James R. Collado, were supervised by Dx. Rafa Domingo, Unit Head of CEAD Deaf Heritage and Filipino Sign Language Studies.
The CEAD-MLITEDCE project is made possible by The Nippon Foundation.
CEAD advances the academic success of Filipino Deaf Learners through Deaf-Centered Education, Research, Linguistics, and Innovation
