History of Signed English
SEE first appeared in 1972. Its popularity grew as both schools and parents found it a useful tool for instructing deaf children in English. An article, “A history of seeing essential English (SEE I)” in the American Annals of the Deaf, gives more background.
Support for Signed English
The only organization promoting SEE is the SEE Center. Highlights of the SEE Center website:
Community resources: Links to Facebook groups, online classes, and other resourcesOnline class registration: Class descriptions, costs, and links to sign up for the classes and order materialsEducational Sign Skills Evaluation testing: Information about the testing of a person’s ability to receive, interpret, or instruct in SEE (and ASL and PSE)Workshops (or skillshops): Workshops to help people learn and practice SEE skillsShopping: Educational products for SEE, including books, workbooks, DVDs, and classroom kits
Research
On the SEE Center website, there is a downloadable bibliography of articles, available in Word and HTML formats. A companion listing lists articles about the use of SEE with hearing children. In addition, the American Annals of the Deaf occasionally publishes articles related to signed English, such as “Deaf Children Creating Written Texts: Contributions of American Sign Language and Signed Forms of English,” from volume 145 No. 5, 394-403.
Literature
One of the biggest advantages to SEE is that children’s books can be produced with SEE. Both Gallaudet University and Modern Signs Press have developed and published classic children’s books with SEE. These books usually have the stories illustrated on one page, with an adjacent page having illustrations of the signs with text labels under each sign.
Children’s Books From Modern Signs Press:
Grandfather Moose: This two-book series has rhymes and games in sign language. Talking Fingers Series: This is a series of colorful, simple themed booksI Was So Mad: Theme is a children’s fight. Little Green Monsters: Theme is directions (here, there). At Grandma’s House: About a child who loves being with her grandmother. Popsicles Are Cold: Introduces the concept of opposites like hot and cold. In Our House: Kids like to help around the house. Music in Motion: Twenty-two children’s songs are presented in sign language.
Children’s Books From Gallaudet University:
Night Before Christmas: the classic story, beautifully illustrated. Little Red Riding Hood: The classic, well-illustrated tale. Nursery Rhymes from Mother GooseGoldilocks and the Three Bears
Gallaudet University Press has also produced a series of easier children’s books (the titles are self-explanatory) at three levels of simplicity, including:
Circus Time (Level I)Count and Color (Level I)Jack and the Beanstalk (Level III)Mouse’s Christmas Eve (Level III)Police Officer Jones (Level I)The Clock Book (Level II)The Holiday Book (Level II)
Children’s Books From Garlic Press:
Garlic Press also publishes children’s books that use conceptually accurate signed English or have a loose English structure, including:
Signing At SchoolSongs in SignMother Goose in SignExpanded Songs in SignSign Language Literature SeriesCoyote & BobcatRaven & Water MonsterAnanse the SpiderFountain of Youth
Signed English Instruction Books
Modern Signs Press has published a comprehensive dictionary, Signing Exact English, complete with all the conventions. It is available in paperback, hardcover, or a pocket edition. Gallaudet University Press has its own books, The Comprehensive Signed English Dictionary, The Signed English Schoolbook, and The Signed English Starter. Garlic Press also publishes two instructional books, A Word in the Hand Book One and A Word in the Hand Book Two.
Signed English Video Material
Visual Tales Series: A series of signed versions of classic children’s storiesShow N Tell Stories: A series of videos showing illustrations from books as the stories are signedRather Ordinary Stories: Beginner and intermediate level videotapes that focus on signed stories and lessons taught at different speeds
