The Cochlear Implant School Toolkit

6 - Hearing and Language Challenges

Speech and language challenges: American Sign Language & English as a second language (continued)

ASL is a language that is not voiced and is different from spoken English in:

• Vocabulary
• Syntax
• Grammar, and
• Sentence structure

The language in your classroom may be as unfamiliar to the child with a cochlear implant who uses ASL as to your other English as a second language (ESL) students.

Talk to the parents and see if you can learn some key signs like "Listen. Repeat. Bathroom. Eat. Write. Read. Friend. Great job! Help."