This webinar will be hosted via Zoom for national and international attendees on Sunday, April 26, 2026 from 9:00 - 11:00 am ET.

Speaker Disclosures:

Financial disclosures: The presenters are receiving payment from Language First for presenting.

Nonfinancial disclosures: The presenters have no relevant nonfinancial disclosures.

Course Description:

This presentation outlines current knowledge and classroom practice around fingerspelling in sign bilingual education and draws on ongoing action research from the Swedish ReadSign project. After a brief introduction and a review of reading research for deaf children, we define fingerspelling and summarize research linking it to reading. We then present a new bilingual teaching material, an adapted Swedish Sign Language/Swedish version of the ASL–English program Fingerspelling Our Way to Reading, developed for first‑level students (age 6) to strengthen phonological awareness, expressive and receptive fingerspelling, and printed‑word recognition. ReadSign (2023–2026) is a practice‑based project funded by the Swedish Institute for Educational Research, involving researchers from Stockholm University and three deaf schools, governed by the National Agency for Special Needs Education. Using a three‑cycle action‑research design and methods including classroom observations, log notes, and teacher interviews, we are examining the use of fingerspelling in the classroom to support deaf students’ early reading development and how teachers and students interact. We present ReadSign’s aims, methods, and key results, share practical examples of conducting action research with teachers, and discuss challenges and best practices. The session closes with summary takeaways and Q&A.

Agenda

9:00-9:15: Background - reading research on deaf children

9:15-9:25: What is fingerspelling?

9:25-9:45: Overview of research on fingerspelling and reading

9:45-10:10: Presentation of a Swedish bilingual teaching material based on fingerspelling

10:10-10:40: Presentation of the ReadSign project (aims, methods, results)

10:40-10:45: Summary and take-home messages

10:45-11:00: Q&A

Learner Outcomes:

Participants will be able to:

1. Describe key research findings on the role of fingerspelling in early reading development for deaf children

2. Define fingerspelling and its functions

3. Identify effective classroom practices and common challenges when using fingerspelling to support early literacy

Registration information:

This is a digital purchase only; no physical ticket is provided. A form will populate for you to complete your registration and then your purchase will be added to your cart in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. You will receive an email with instructions on how to participate as well as a Google Calendar invite with the Zoom link one week prior to the event. Registration ends one day prior to the webinar. All registrants will receive a copy of the presenter’s PowerPoint and the presentation recording. Please email info@language1st.org with any questions.

This webinar will be hosted via Zoom for national and international attendees on Sunday, May 3, 2026 from 5:00 - 7:00 pm ET.

Speaker Disclosures:

Financial disclosures: Kim is the owner of Language First and is receiving payment for presenting.

Nonfinancial disclosures: Kim is a member of ASHA, ABCLLD, and ABDHHS.

Course Description:

Language deprivation is not solved by simply surrounding a child with ASL. It requires intentional, structured, and experiential teaching that bridges conceptual gaps and builds true linguistic competence. This session unpacks what purposeful ASL immersion might look like for students who do not yet have a complete first language (L1). Participants will explore intentional language instruction, including concept anchoring, experiential learning, structured repetition, and explicit language modeling. Through lesson plan examples and practical demonstrations, attendees will gain strategies for designing purposeful immersion environments that actively build language. Practical tools will be shared so participants leave ready to implement immediately.

Agenda

5:00-5:15: Immersion framework and possible year-long structure

5:15-5:45: Foundational concepts behind ASL immersion for students with language deprivation

5:45-6:30: Sample case studies and lesson plans

6:30-6:50: Teamwork: making a lesson plan together!

6:50-7:00: Discussion, Q&A

Learner Outcomes:

Participants will be able to:

1. State the difference between ASL exposure and intentional language instruction

2. Identify instructional shifts necessary for students with language deprivation

3. Design at least one lesson that intentionally builds conceptual understanding and linguistic structure

Registration information:

This is a digital purchase only; no physical ticket is provided. A form will populate for you to complete your registration and then your purchase will be added to your cart in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. You will receive an email with instructions on how to participate as well as a Google Calendar invite with the Zoom link one week prior to the event. Registration ends one day prior to the webinar. All registrants will receive a copy of the presenter’s PowerPoint and the presentation recording. Please email info@language1st.org with any questions.

This webinar will be hosted via Zoom for national and international attendees on Tuesday, May 12, 2026 from 5:00 - 7:00 pm ET.

Speaker Disclosures:

Financial disclosures: Dr. Wanis is receiving payment from Language First for presenting.

Nonfinancial disclosures: Dr. Wanis is the secretary of the RID Board of Directors.

Course Description:

Research conducted in 2019 across a range of educational settings identified three primary positionalities of Deaf interpreters within classroom environments. This presentation will explore these roles in depth, examining how each shapes access, language development, and student engagement. Participants will consider the unique contributions and impact of Deaf interpreters, including their role in supporting language modeling, cultural mediation, and meaning-making for Deaf students. The session will also highlight effective teaming strategies between Deaf and hearing interpreters, with a focus on collaboration. Grounded in a student-centered, whole-child framework, this presentation invites participants to rethink how interpreter roles can be leveraged to support meaningful language and learning outcomes.

Agenda

6:00-6:10: Introduction to presentation/presenter and what is a Deaf Interpreter

6:10-6:40: Positionalities

6:40-6:50: Breakout room group discussion

6:50-7:05: Benefits and impact

7:05-7:20: Strategies

7:20-7:30: Breakout room group discussion

7:30-7:45: Rowley/Endrew Case Law and advocating for a DI at IEP meetings

7:45-8:00: Q & A 

Learner Outcomes:

Participants will be able to:

1. Describe the three different positionalities of DIs in the classroom

2. Explain at least one way DIs are beneficial in school settings

3. Define two ways that interpreters can work together to prepare their work with each other

Registration information:

This is a digital purchase only; no physical ticket is provided. A form will populate for you to complete your registration and then your purchase will be added to your cart in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. You will receive an email with instructions on how to participate as well as a Google Calendar invite with the Zoom link one week prior to the event. Registration ends one day prior to the webinar. All registrants will receive a copy of the presenter’s PowerPoint and the presentation recording. Please email info@language1st.org with any questions.

Course Description:

This is an intensive course running from June 28 - August 9, 2026. It is intended for speech-language pathologists (SLPs), deaf educators, or American Sign Language (ASL) specialists to learn about intervention for Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children in ASL. Students will earn American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) continuing education units (CEUs) as well as a certificate of completion indicating total course hours. At the conclusion of this course, students will have knowledge of linguistic analysis and intervention techniques in ASL that they can directly implement with their DHH students. This course is designed to be applicable to SLPs working with DHH students of all ages (birth-21). All students receive a copy of the ASL at Home curriculum as well as any intervention activity from the Language First intervention page.

This is a 6-week course that consists of two 3-week subcourses which build on each other. Coursework is primarily asynchronous, via Canvas, with 2-3 weekly synchronous sessions via Zoom.

ASL Linguistics:

This subcourse involves studying the linguistics of ASL. This requires an intermediate to intermediate-high level of ASL proficiency, so it’s important to take our self-assessment to ensure it is right for you. Students will learn about morphology and MLU, phonology, syntax, language analysis, and glossing in ASL. Take a look at a sample syllabus for this subcourse here.

Language Therapy in ASL:

In this subcourse, students will learn how to implement everything they learned in the previous subcourse in their language therapy in ASL. Students will learn about intervention techniques, language choice and code-switching, collaborating with Deaf professionals, modifying language level, and articulation. The final project allows participants to create their own intervention activity that they can use with their DHH students. Take a look at a sample syllabus for this subcourse here.

Language Fluency:

This course is taught in ASL. Only the very first and very last synchronous sessions will have interpreters, although many of the recorded lectures have voiced English interpretation. However, we still recommend that students have at least ASL level 3 abilities in order to enroll. You can check if the ASL level is right for you by watching this lecture and then taking this self-assessment.

Please ensure you review subcourse syllabi linked above as well as FAQs below before enrolling.

Instructor Disclosures:

Financial disclosure: Leah and Kim are both receiving payment for teaching this course.

Nonfinancial disclosure: Leah is a co-author of the ASL at Home curriculum, which is offered as part of this course. Kim is the owner and founder of Language First.

Learner Outcomes:

ASL Linguistics

Participants will be able to:

1. Recognize and describe ASL formational parameters (phonemes): construct examples of minimal pairs

2. Discuss relationship of formational parameters to markedness

3. Implement principles of markedness and phonemic awareness to language intervention

4. Demonstrate (emerging) master of glossing conventions as they pertain to clinical practice

5. Diagram the morphological structure of lexical signs and classifiers

6. Apply morphological analysis to assess students, evaluate progress, and/or write goals for clinical practice

7. Recognize and describe various ASL syntactic structures and features

8. Examine natural data to identify syntactic structures and patterns

9. Apply syntactic analysis to assess students, evaluate progress, and/or write goals for clinical practice

Language Therapy in ASL

Participants will be able to:

1. Utilize skills leans in the previous modules of the course for direct application in therapy

2. Demonstrate ability to create a therapeutic plan that addresses a student’s individual needs in ASL

3. Implement knowledge of ASL and ASL linguistics to plan purposeful, targeted interventions

4. Apply knowledge of ASL linguistics to goal writing and diagnostic intervention

5. Demonstrate (emerging) ability to differentiate between an articulation error and a phonological error

6. Utilize diagnostic intervention data to inform goal writing and therapy plans

7. Explain how to use therapeutic strategies for intervention in ASL with DHH children

8. Determine a DHH child’s language level in ASL

9. Demonstrate ability to modify intervention to meet the child’s linguistic needs

Registration information:

This is a digital purchase only; no physical ticket is provided. A form will populate for you to complete your registration and then your purchase will be added to your cart in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. You will receive an email confirmation of your payment as well as instructions on how to participate a few days prior to the event. Registration ends one week prior to the start of the course. Please email info@language1st.org with any questions.