Plan of Study – ASL Education

Development of basic ASL communication skills with appropriate vocabulary and grammatical structures. Emphasis on communicative and linguistic functions. Prerequisite or corequisite: SLS 1000.

Development of basic ASL communication skills with appropriate vocabulary and grammatical structures. Emphasis on communicative and linguistic functions. Prerequisite: SLS 1000 and SLS 1015 or placement.

Guided laboratory practicum: Foundational activities building on basic receptive skills with application to real interactions along with reflection and research. Prerequisite: SLS 1020

Review of ASL grammatical features and further development of communication functions at the intermediate level. Prerequisites: SLS 1020 and SLS 1020.LB or placement. Corequisite: SLS 2010.LB

Guided laboratory practicum: Continuation of foundational activity building on basic receptive skills with increased use of visual spatial space. Corequisite: SLS 2010

Second level of immediate instruction and review of ASL grammatical features with further development of communication functions at the intermediate level. Prerequisite: SLS 2010 or placement. Thirty hours of laboratory practicum required for SLS 2020.

Guided laboratory practicum: Students will begin modeling ASL discourse and make applications to mock setting and real-world settings. Corequisite: SLS 2020

A survey of American Sign Language and Deaf culture. Emphasis on Sign language structure, history, and usage. Discussion of a sociocultural perspective of Deaf people including readings from anthropology, sociology, linguistics, and education. Includes an examination of American attitudes toward Sign language and Deaf culture.

Examination of Deaf culture through the lens of intersectionality and exploration of how various social, cultural, and identity factors intersect within the Deaf community. Analysis of how hearing society shapes and influences Deaf culture, both historically and in contemporary contexts. Investigation of the global diversity of Deaf experiences through the use of literature, media, and narratives from Deaf communities around the world, with an emphasis on cross-cultural perspectives. Prerequisite: SLS 1000

Advanced American Sign Language development with a focus on text analysis of English and ASL content to increase student vocabulary and understanding of ASL syntactical patterns. Communicative dialogues will highlight the sociocultural and historical aspects of ASL etymology. Prerequisite: SLS 2020.

Guided laboratory practicum: Students will continue modeling ASL discourse and make applications to mock settings and real-world settings along with analysis of distinctive ASL features seen in ASL storytelling. Prerequisite: SLS 2020

Advanced American Sign Language development utilizing increased grammatical complexity through continued emphasis on ASL syntactical patterns through different scenarios and nuances. Prerequisite: SLS 3010.

Guided laboratory practicum: Increased complexity of ASL discourse in a variety of real-world settings. Prerequisites: SLS 3020, SLS 3010.

Concentrated instruction in practice of fingerspelling, numbering, and loan signs at increasing levels of complexity. Corequisite: SLS 2020.

Examination of American Sign Language (ASL) with focus on how language use varies according to context, setting, and social factors. Identification and utilization of different ASL registers, including formal, informal, and specialized registers, and examine how these registers reflect the values, norms, and expectations of the American Deaf community. Through interactive exercises, students will gain practical skills in adjusting their ASL usage to suit various situations. Prerequisite: SLS 2020.

Analysis of the symbolic and linguistic structure of American Sign Language and English. Includes aspects of phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics. Examination of bilingual practices and related research. Prerequisite: SLS 3020 and SLS 3020.LB

The use of American Sign Language as a form of story-telling, poetry, and drama. ASL literature is analyzed and incorporated as part of receptive/expressive language development and advanced skills enhancement. Includes exploration of the canons of Deaf literature and drama. Prerequisite: SLS 3020 or departmental approval.

Capstone course for senior-level students in the Department of Sign Language Studies. Students construct electronic/video portfolios of their academic and professional work in the respective areas of concentration (either Deaf Studies or Interpreting). After passing a written comprehensive examination, the culminating demonstration of students' program accomplishments is made through a presentation to peers and faculty. To be taken in the student's final academic year of the program.

Theory of instruction, methods, and materials for foreign language in elementary, middle, and high schools; observations of classroom procedures; and participation in simulation and micro-teaching. Emphasis on the application of effective instructional theory and practice, sound decision making, and multicultural education in a field-based context. Prerequisites: EDU 3120 and admission to the Teacher Education Program. Prerequisite or corequisite: EDU 4500 or EDU 4530.05.

A survey course on the fundamentals of second language acquisition. Issues pertaining to syntax, semantics, and phonology; contrasts of first- and second-language acquisition as well as social and infrastructural factors that affect the learning process (monolingual vs. bilingual societies, monoglossia vs. diglossia, cultural capital).