American Sign Language-ASL (ASL)

Presents a brief introduction to the U.S. Deaf community, focusing on the differences in language and literature. Introduces many common pitfalls experienced by adults when acquiring ASL as a second language. Provides students with an experience bridging spoken English and ASL via use of visual- gestural, non-verbal communication. Lecture 2 hours per week.

Introduces cultural awareness, comprehension and production skills, and emphasizes basic sentence structure in American Sign Language with a focus on interactive communicative competence. Part I of II. Lecture 4 hours per week.

Introduces cultural awareness, comprehension and production skills, and emphasizes basic sentence structure in American Sign Language with a focus on interactive communicative competence. Part II of II. Lecture 4 hours. Total 4 hours per week.

Provides intensive practice in comprehension and production of fingerspelled words and numbers with emphasis on clarity and accuracy. Focuses on lexicalized fingerspelling and numeral incorporation as used by native users of American Sign Language. Lecture 2 hours per week.

Examines the history of the Deaf Community. Presents an overview of various aspects of Deaf culture, including educational and legal issues in American history. Lecture 3 hours per week.

Explores career options for serving Deaf/hard-of-hearing people and/or for using American Sign Language skills in a career. Examines interests, skills, and educational assessments. Investigates job market viability via the Internet and professional periodicals. Develops opportunities for students to network with professionals in the field of deafness. Lecture 2 hours per week.

Continues to develop cultural awareness, comprehension and production skills, and emphasizes a variety of sentence structures in American Sign Language with a continued focus on interactive communicative competence. Part I of II. Lecture 3 hours per week.

Continues to develop cultural awareness, comprehension and production skills, and emphasizes a variety of sentence structures in American Sign Language with a continued focus on interactive communicative competence. Part II of II. Lecture 3 hours per week.

Focuses on the elements of storytelling in ASL and the techniques that Deaf Americans utilize to pass on the histories and traditions of the Deaf community. Emphasizes comprehension and production of short stories in American Sign Language with emphasis on sign production clarity and conceptual accuracy. Lecture 3 hours per week

Describes spoken English and ASL (American Sign Language) on five levels: phonological, morphological, lexical, syntactic, and discourse. Compares and contrasts the two languages on all five levels using real-world examples. Documents similarities between signed languages and spoken languages in general. Describes the major linguistic components and processes of English and ASL. Introduces basic theories regarding ASL structure. Emphasizes ASL’s status as a natural language by comparing and contrasting similarities and unique differences between the two languages. Lecture 3 hours per week.

Develops cultural awareness, comprehension and production skills, and emphasizes a variety of sentence structures in American Sign Language with a continued focus on advanced communicative competence. Prerequisite: ASL 202 or by placement test. Lecture 4 hours. Total 4 hours per week

Develops cultural awareness, comprehension and production skills, and emphasizes a variety of sentence structures in American Sign Language with a continued focus on advanced communicative competence. ASL 202 or by placement test. Lecture 4 hours. Total 4 hours per week.