By: Dr. Liza Trejo, Senior Professional Learning Specialist
What I thought I Knew
Before interviewing Deaf educator Robyn J. Marcak, I was familiar with American Sign Language (ASL). Growing up, I understood the iconic story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan as a story of good teaching, triumphant learning, and grit. As a language and literacy nerd, I also saw in it a lesson about signs and symbols and how we as language teachers find multiple ways to help our students make meaning out of various types of texts, whatever they might be.
I knew that American Sign language was a complete language, not just gestures and I even learned to sign the alphabet as a kid because my aunt had an interest in sign language because she wanted to communicate with her Deaf friends.
I even researched American Sign Language in much greater depth in order to prepare for the interview with Robyn since she has such an illustrious career and is well respected in the Deaf Education community. As a hearing individual, I imagined there could be some important cultural nuances and I wanted to be sure to show respect and come prepared.
The first piece of information that surprised me in my research is the fact that it had never registered with me that American Sign Language is not a universal language. I guess that’s my Ameri-centricity showing already! So by the time Robyn and I met for our pre-show conversation, I had already been humbled, and I felt better informed and was ready to take on the stance of learner. And wow! I quickly realized that there was so much more to learn than I had even imagined–not just about American Sign Language–but about the entire concept of language and culture.
What does it mean for a language to be three-dimensional?
When Robyn described American Sign Language as visual, gestural, and conceptual, I was tracking, but then she added another descriptor that blew me out of the water: three-dimensional.
That one simply won’t leave me alone.
What does it actually mean for a language to be three-dimensional?
I don’t remember ever asking myself that question before I met Robyn.
But when she described American Sign Language as a three-dimensional language, my language-nerd brain immediately went into overdrive. What exactly did she mean by three-dimensional? Was she talking about the spatial space in which American Sign Language exists? Was this something unique to signed languages? And almost immediately, my mind jumped to Third Space Theory and all of the social, cultural, and metaphorical spaces that language allows us to inhabit.
The more Robyn explained, the more questions I had.
And if I’m being completely transparent, which I usually am, I’m listening to our interview with Robyn as I write this article, which, in retrospect, is a little ironic. Robyn spent a significant part of our conversation helping us understand American Sign Language as a visual, gestural, three-dimensional language.
And I’m listening to her explain it.
That irony didn’t fully register with me until Robyn began explaining classifiers and said something remarkably simple: “It makes sense if you see it visually.”
And there it was. I was trying to understand a visual language while removing the visual information.
What information was I missing simply because of the way I was accessing it?
That question has stayed with me, too.
It also makes this one episode of The Multiliterate Mind that I really don’t think you should just listen to. Watch it. Robyn’s responses are voiced by interpreter Sherri Swan, but watch Robyn as she communicates. Watch the facial expressions, movement, gestures, and use of spatial space that she is describing throughout our conversation.
Because, as Robyn reminded me, some of it simply makes more sense when you see it.
What am I still wondering about ASL, literacy, and language?
Per usual, I walked away from my conversation with Robyn with more questions than answers. Some of them we began to explore during the episode. Others have emerged through conversations I’ve had with Deaf educators since then. And some are beginning to influence our thinking around Proficiency First Multiliteracies (PFM).
Among the questions I’m still sitting with:
- What does “text” mean in ASL?
- What does literacy look like in a language that is visual and gestural?
- How do Deaf learners make meaning across different types of texts?
- How does access to language shape literacy development?
- Can other languages be “three-dimensional,” too?
- What information might we be missing because of the ways we are accustomed to accessing language?
I don’t have the answers to those questions yet, but some of you might.
That’s why I’ve started asking more questions—and asking them alongside people whose lived and professional experiences challenge perspectives that those of us working in U.S. language and literacy education may too easily take for granted.
What’s next for The Multiliterate Mind?
Which leads me to an announcement—and an important next step for The Multiliterate Mind.
Beginning in September 2026, the YouTube version of every new episode of The Multiliterate Mind will include ASL interpretation.
Our conversation with Robyn reinforced something that should be at the heart of a podcast about multiliteracy: access to communication matters. As Robyn told us during the interview, “Communication, access, they can’t even function in society without it.”
It also reinforced something else Robyn came back to repeatedly throughout our conversation: human connection.
What does AI still miss about ASL?
Technology, including AI, will undoubtedly continue to change how we communicate across languages. But Robyn raised some important questions about what happens when technology tries to interpret a language as complex, visual, and three-dimensional as American Sign Language. Current AI tools can struggle with:
- Complex content and conceptual meaning
- Facial expressions that carry meaning
- The visual and gestural dimensions of ASL
- Human and emotional connection
- Moving beyond word-for-word translation
As Robyn put it, American Sign Language simply doesn’t fit neatly into the “box” of word-for-word language.
She also emphasized something that seems essential as these technologies develop: Deaf people need to be part of the development, testing, and conversation—not simply recipients of the end product.
That feels like another conversation worth continuing.
Join the conversation
Robyn has spent much of her career doing something she told us she is particularly proud of: bridging the Deaf and Hearing worlds.
I’m grateful she let us step onto that bridge with her for a while.
Now I hope you will, too.
Watch Episode 10 of The Multiliterate Mind and then tell us what it makes you wonder:
- What challenged or expanded your thinking?
- What questions are you still sitting with?
- How do you define literacy or “text”?
- What should we be asking Deaf educators next?
At one point in the interview, Robyn said, “Hearing people tend to hear, you know, a certain way. We have to repeat it a couple of times culturally to be able to get the concept and understand what’s being said.”
Let me assure you, Robyn: you got our attention!
