Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Sign Language Pedagogy and Audio Pedagogy

Research team of Humboldt University

"Be Aware of the Grammar of Sign Languages" (BAG-Sign) is a Strategic Partnership between research and practice partners from five European countries, running from 2022 to 2025.

The project is funded by the European Union (Erasmus+) and Movetia.

BAG-SIGN aims to strengthen metalinguistic awareness of sign languages among deaf, hard of hearing and hearing children. All over Europe, there is a lack of materials for teaching sign languages. Therefore, BAG-SIGN transforms linguistic findings into a pedagogical grammar for sign languages and qualifies teachers for grammar teaching. Thisimproves the quality of sign language teaching, which in turn contributes to the formation of an inclusive society.

Researchers and teachers from Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Switzerland cooperate in order to create a demand-oriented pedagogical grammar for five European sign languages. In addition, BAG-SIGN develops and offers classroom training and multilingual web-based tutorials for the self-study of teachers. The results are science-based and field-tested, then revised and made available publicly on an open-access website.

The pedagogical grammar for sign languages is textbook-independent, multilingual and combines sign language videos with visual and written material in order to meet heterogeneous learning conditions. The tutorials introduce a unified didactic terminology on sign language grammar and the promotion of metalinguistic awareness. Strengthening their metalinguistic awareness supports pupils in acquiring a sign language and helps them to learn other languages.

BAG-Sign has the following goals:

1. Strengthening language knowledge and metalinguistic awareness of deaf and hard of hearing pupils who acquire sign language as a first/second language and hearing pupils, especially in inclusive school settings.
2. Improving the quality of sign language teaching in schools in Europe by providing scientifically based and tested didactic materials for the grammar of five sign languages.
3. Enhancing pedagogical-didactic and linguistic competences of teachers for sign language teaching.

Further information can be found on the BAG-Sign website.

Partners

• Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Deutschland (Prof. Dr. Claudia Becker - coordination Erasmus+)
• Interkantonale Hochschule für Heilpädagogik, Schweiz (Dr. Mireille Audeoud - coordination Movetia)
• Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche , Italien (Dr. Olga Capirci)
• Ludwig-Boltzmann Gesellschaft, Österreich (Dr. Verena Krausneker)
• Université Paris 8 Vincennes Saint-Denis, Frankreich (Prof. Dr. Marie-Anne Sallandre, Brigitte Garcia)
• Ernst-Adolf-Eschke-Schule, Deutschland
• HLMW9, Österreich
• Istituto statale di istruzione specializzata per sordi Antonio Magarotto, Italien
• Association 2LPECO, Frankreich