American Sign Language: American Sign Language I

Introduction of American Sign Language with emphasis on visual receptive and expressive use including facial expressions and gestures. Elements of the Deaf Culture are explored.

Restricted to First Year Students only.

This course introduces students to the fundamentals of American Sign Language, focuses on building receptive and expressive skills through a visual-gestural modality, and provides an overview of Deaf culture.

Required Readings and Materials: 1. Bryant, R., Gelineau, L., Shannon, T., Harris, R., & Marbury, N. (2017). TRUE+WAY ASL: Level 1 student e-workbook. Austin, TX: Purple Moontower. (Professor will provide link and steps to sign up 3rd TWA edition thru Canvas) 2. Use Flipgrid ASL Video Assignments 3. Must have Web-Camera, video-camera for recording: (Desktop/Laptop/Smartphone/Tablet) 4. Assigned articles (Canvas) Class Schedule In-person ASL Class: M/W at 5:05p to 6:20p (Clear masks required) ASL Lab: In-person or Remote online for 50 minutes per week on Thursdays at 4:25p to 5:15p, attendances are required.

Your comprehension and production skills will be evaluated regularly. You will also be evaluated on your preparation for online/in-class activities and your assignments online. Assignments: 35% A. Participations (10%) - Students are expected to attend and engage in-person class and online assignments on a consistent basis to receive full credit. Your engagement includes cultural behaviors on a consistent basis in order to show respect. Cultural behaviors include: maintain your eye contact, use no voice, make yourself clearly visible to other students and your professor, use appropriate ways to get one’s attention, and use strategies to communicate if you do not understand. B. ASL Events and Deaf Cultural Discussion (5%) - You write a 250-word critical reflection on your participation including making references to the assigned articles you read. C. Flipgrid Assignments (20%) - You will use Flipgrid to produce a video demonstrating your ability to use certain grammatical features in ASL sentences. Story Comprehension: 5% Unit Comprehension will cover all material presented to that point of the class. They will include information from TRUE+WAY ASL, video/PowerPoint lectures, vocabulary videos, and assigned articles. Quizzes: 5% Quizzes will cover all material presented to that point of the class. They will include information from TRUE+WAY ASL, video/PowerPoint lectures, vocabulary videos, and assigned articles. Comprehension Test: 10% This receptive will include comprehension and production, information from the workbook, Flipgrid videos, vocabulary videos, and assignments. Production Test: 15% This expressive will include comprehension and production, information from the workbook, Flipgrid videos, vocabulary videos, and assignments. Final Exam 25% The Final exam assesses students’ receptive and expressive skills. Students are expected to demonstrate their newly-acquired knowledge of vocabulary, grammatical rules, and cultural behaviors in their expressive videos.