Language resources and visual communication in a deaf-centered multimodal e-learning environment: issues to be addressed

Les ressources linguistiques et de communication visuelle dans un environnement de e-learning multimodal et sourd-centré: les questions à traiter

Risorse linguistiche e comunicazione visiva in un ambiente di apprendimento e-learning multimodale destinato ai sordi: problematiche da affrontare

Elena Antinoro Pizzuto (1) , Claudia S. Bianchini (2, 1, 3, 4) , Daniele Capuano (5, 1) , Gabriele Gianfreda (1) , Paolo Rossini (1)

1 ISTC, CNR - Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie della Cognizione, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
2 SFL - Structures Formelles du Langage
3 Poitiers UFR LL - Université de Poitiers - UFR Lettres et langues
4 FoReLLIS [Poitiers] - Formes et représentations en linguistique, littérature et dans les arts de l’image et de la scène [EA 3816]
5 PCL - Pictorial Computing Lab

This paper examines some of the major problems linked to the task of designing appropriate multilingual e-learning environments for deaf learners (DL). Due to their hearing disability most DL experience dramatic difficulties in acquiring appropriate literacy skills. E-learning tools could in principle be very useful for facilitating access to web based knowledge and promoting literacy development in DL. However, designing appropriate e-learning environments for DL is a complex task especially because of the different linguistic background and experience DL may have, and of the multimodal language resources that need to be provided and integrated (e.g. language produced in the visual-gestural or signed modality, in written texts, closed captioning for vocal language information). The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) describe and discuss issues we believe need to be addressed, focusing on the limitations that appear to characterize several e learning platforms that have been proposed for DL; (2) present and discuss ongoing research aimed at overcoming these limitations.

Keywords: Italian Sign Language; e-learning; SignWriting

Domains: Linguistics

Elena Antinoro Pizzuto, Claudia S. Bianchini, Daniele Capuano, Gabriele Gianfreda, Paolo Rossini. Language resources and visual communication in a deaf-centered multimodal e-learning environment: issues to be addressed. VII Intl Conf. LREC Workshop "Supporting e-learning with language resources and semantic data", May 2010, La Valletta, Malta. ⟨halshs-00722589⟩