Distinguished Teaching Award: Non-Senate Faculty, UCLA

Graduate Student Achievement Award

Alice M. Teegarden Memorial Award

Olaf Hanson Award

Internship Hall of Fame Mattivi Award

Loyola Marymount University is a top-ranked national university by U.S. News and World Report, which places LMU among the top six Jesuit universities in the country and in the top six private universities in California. Founded in 1911, LMU is a Catholic, Jesuit, and Marymount university with more than 7,100 undergraduate students and more than 3,000 graduate and law students. LMU offers 56 undergraduate majors and 56 minor programs, along with 46 master’s degree programs, three doctorate programs and 12 credential/authorization programs. LMU’s intercollegiate athletics teams compete in the West Coast Conference with 14 Division I varsity sports.

LMU news and events are found at: www.lmu.edu/news.

Loyola Marymount University

Benjamin Lewis has taught courses in American Sign Language, as well as in Deaf history and culture.

American Sign Language

Deaf Culture‎

Deaf History

Four hands, two hearts, one mission

Opinion: UCLA must prioritize plans for Deaf studies program to better support community

Linguistics presenters shed light on experiences, hopes of deaf communities

Deaf World Lecture Series

Keynote Speaker

Understanding Humankind Through Gesture

ASL Lecturer

Understanding Humankind Through Gesture

Benjamin Lewis, the first Deaf lecturer to work on the ASL program at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), is passionate about flying hands. Fluent in not only ASL, but also Japanese Sign Language (JSL) and New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL), he is fascinated by watching not only Deaf people, but humans in general who also use their hands to communicate with others, incorporating not only signs but gestures and visual movements being but a few examples.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

Understanding Humankind Through Gesture | Benjamin Lewis | TEDxGallaudet

When I see people attempting to use American Sign Language in public places, they are unaware of how much they inspire me. That's why I enjoy teaching ASL. I invest a lot of energy into my teaching beginning on day one.

"The Art of Teaching is the Art of Assisting Discovery." -- Mark Van Doren

I welcome you to my teaching philosophy and classroom vision. My students are exposed to an organic, natural experience in my classroom. I use the Natural Approach for beginner students, which consists of natural daily conversations and hands-on activities focusing on movement that evoke a Total Physical Response. The goal is to help students to immerse in a new language in natural ways. This approach helps students reduce anxiety in the classroom by increasing their confidence. The theorist Stephen Krashen suggests that "input+1" will raise the students' motivation and prepare them for the next challenge. Lastly, I use the Community Language Learning approach to expose students to Deaf culture. This adds a new awareness of ASL and its role in the Deaf community and increases students' language competence in the real world. I teach ASL as whole language and cultural experience.

References:

Brown, H. (2007). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy. White Plains, NY: Pearson Education, Inc.

Richards, J. & Rodgers, T. (2001). Approaches and methods in language teaching. Cambridge , NY: Cambridge University Press.

My Teaching Philosophy

American Sign Language is not just a means of communication; it’s a connecting force that empowers and teaches people to reach new heights and soar, according to UCLA ASL instructors Benjamin Lewis and Jennifer Marfino and interpreter Mariam Janvelyan. 

In and out of the classroom, they help students discover the limitless potential of sign language and the beauty of the Deaf community. Together, they inspire others to find their wings and fly higher and farther than ever before. 

Explore more of “We Are UCLAvian” here: https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/we-are-uclavian-birds-and-bruins

#asl #signlanguage #birds #ucla 

Writer and Producer: Jonathan Riggs
Videographer: Damon Cirulli

Benjamin Lewis

Loyola Marymount University

Media

Biography

Education

Gallaudet University

ASLTA