2025/12/03 by Alyson Horan · 1 voice
Computer Science · Psychology · #Language Development and Disorders #Phonetics and Phonology Research #Speech Recognition and Synthesis
paper · doi:10.1080/19463014.2025.2589083
openalex created_date 2025/12/03 · openalex publication_date 2025/12/03 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/14
With the growing body of sign language research across linguistic fields, there remains a sizeable gap in the area of cross-modality sign language instruction, particularly in the field of conversation analysis. To address this gap, this study uses conversation analysis to investigate how teachers draw attention to handshape in second modality-second language (M2L2) American Sign Language (ASL) classroom. As handshape is a particular challenge for non-native signers seeking to acquire a signed language, equipping teachers with tools to address handshape will help novice teachers attend to student needs. The analysis identifies two sets of phonemic isolation practices used to draw student attention to handshape: Simple Isolation Practices (in which the teacher is able to direct student attention without disrupting the course of action in the class) and Extended Isolation Practices (in which the teacher uses an extended sequence to direct student attention). Together, these practices are the start of what I hope will be a larger body of work in classroom discourse studies documenting teacher practices used in sign language instruction.