Biography

Alesya Starayeva is an American Sign Language (ASL) instructor in Temple University’s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Prior to joining Temple University, Alesya taught ASL in the Deaf Hearing Communication Center (DHCC), a community-based non-profit organization that serves Deaf people in the Philadelphia and tri-state areas. Alesya also taught ASL to Deaf children at the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf (PSD).

Alesya came to the United States from Uzbekistan in 1997. She left the Deaf School in Uzbekistan and graduated from Lexington School for the Deaf in New York City. Alesya’s family is also Deaf, and her first language was Russian Sign Language. Alesya and her brother are second generation Deaf. While modern science would more likely identify a genetic trait as the underlying cause of their Deafness, both parents will explain how their deafness was a result of childhood illness and early childhood trauma.

Alesya knows firsthand what it is like to experience learning a second language as she started learning American Sign Language at the age of 16. She believes strongly in visual communication, which is not limited to Russian or American Sign Language. With her passion for visual language, she guides students into into the Deaf World by challenging them to think differently and to focus on visual information instead of depending on sound alone.

Alesya finds inspiration in communication more than within the science of language. Communication studies focus on diversity, and how we interact, both personally and with the world. 

Education

• BA, Communication Studies (Minor in Family and Children Studies), Gallaudet University

Curriculum Vitae