Deaf ESL Students - Gallaudet University

ABOVE: ESL students, like all students, need to
do research projects—and in today’s world
that sometimes means searching the Web.
Spring 2000
For this student to imagine a place
where he and his family would be part
of the majority culture was a novel and
exciting experience. He and his family
were no longer unique. They were part
of a widespread and profound culture,
albeit one that was geographically out
of reach.
By virtue of the Web, much of the
culture, geography, and religion of the
world became within reach and my
classroom was soon alive with students
sharing their newfound knowledge
with each other. It was especially exciting
because, by learning about their
respective countries, they were also
learning about themselves.
With their research concluded, it
was time to put together a travel
brochure.
“What if you wanted to tell others
about your country?” I asked the
students. “What would you say?”
As they assembled their information,
they had to include the informa-
tion that they had found on the Web,
including the religion and literacy
rates of their country. The final products
were simple but telling. The students
took them home with pride.
“I liked [the program] because [it
was] good to write English every day,”
wrote one student. “I want skill writing
English,” wrote another student.
Reading their comments, I felt assured
that the objectives of the program—to
develop better research, reading, and
writing skills and a lifelong appreciation
for literacy, communication, and
learning—were met. ●
John Gibson, M.Ed., is an English as a second language
(ESL) teacher/researcher at the Model Secondary School
for the Deaf at the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education
Center at Gallaudet University. Gibson has worked as an
ESL instructor and coordinator at Red River Community
College in Manitoba, Canada, and at Grant Mac Ewan
Community College in Alberta, Canada, and is currently
attaining certification in teaching English as a Second
Language at American University.
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