Manually Coded English, or MCE, refers to a group of visual systems that use signs to represent English words and English grammar. The most widely used is Signed Exact English, or SEE. Unlike ASL, which is a separate language with its own grammar, SEE and related MCE systems are codes for English. They follow English word order and add signed markers for English grammatical elements like verb tenses and plural forms.

MCE systems draw heavily on ASL vocabulary but use it in service of English, not in service of ASL grammar.

In a classroom using SEE or a similar MCE system, the teacher signs while speaking, following English sentence structure throughout. Students see a visual representation of English: not a different language, but English made visible through signs. MCE is used in some school programs as a bridge to English literacy, particularly in TC (Total Communication) settings.

Staff need training in the specific MCE system in use, and they need to use it consistently. Across-the-board consistency (same system, same level of completeness, from teacher to teacher and grade to grade) is difficult to maintain and often breaks down in practice.

Families who want to use MCE at home need to learn the system. It is more involved than learning Cued Speech but shares vocabulary with ASL, which can be a bridge if a family later moves toward an ASL-based approach.

MCE systems are not complete natural languages. This is established in linguistics. ASL and English are separate languages; a signed code for English words is not equivalent to either.

Research on whether SEE specifically supports English literacy has produced mixed results. Some studies find MCE can support English word recognition and reading development. Other research notes that the simultaneous-communication model commonly used to deliver MCE (signing while speaking) results in incomplete signed input, and examines how much of an English sign system children actually pick up (Schick and Moeller, 1992, Applied Psycholinguistics, 13(3), 313–340).

Strength of evidence: limited to mixed for educational language outcomes; not established as providing full linguistic access equivalent to a natural language (ASL or English).

“If my child learns SEE, will they be able to communicate with Deaf adults who use ASL?”

Not automatically, and not fluently. SEE uses many of the same signs as ASL but in different grammatical order, with different structure. A child who grows up with SEE may find ASL partially familiar but genuinely different. Deaf community members primarily use ASL, not SEE. If connection to the broader Deaf community is a goal for your family, this is a meaningful factor.

A school that describes its signing program as “ASL” but is actually using SEE or another MCE system. Ask directly: which signing system do you use? If the answer is ambiguous, that is itself an answer.

No formal assessment of whether students understand signed input well, not just whether they produce it. Receptive language access matters as much as expressive output.

No option or pathway to transition to an ASL bilingual program if MCE outcomes are not developing. Flexibility matters.

Ask schools: Which signing system do you use? How is your staff’s signing proficiency assessed? How do you monitor students’ language comprehension in both signed and spoken modalities?

• Communication approaches: overview
• Total Communication
• ASL / English bimodal bilingual
• Monitoring language and academic progress
• Language testing: what it covers and why it matters

This page provides general information, not legal or medical advice. Verify your state’s specific rules and programs, and consult a qualified professional for guidance specific to your child.