AL 101. American Sign Language 1
This course introduces American Sign Language (ASL), a natural and visual-gestural language used by deaf people in the United States and Canada. It covers finger spelling, signs, grammar, syntax, sentence structure, non-manual behaviors, basic communication techniques, and conversational skills as well as receptive and expressive language skill development. It reviews facets of Deaf culture. A minimum of five hours of participation in the Deaf community is required.
Credits: 3
AL 102. American Sign Language 2
This course further develops receptive and expressive finger spelling and signing skills. Functional language strategies are presented to expand conversational skills beyond talking about oneself to talking about other people and activities, giving directions, and making requests. Skills are developed to identify others, exhibit appropriate conversational strategies, and learn to handle interruptions. Study focuses on ASL sentence structures, time, numbers, spatial referencing, temporal aspects, distributional aspects, pluralization, and sign vocabulary. Information about the Deaf community and Deaf culture is covered. A minimum of 15 hours of participation in the Deaf culture is required. Prerequisite: Grade of C or better in AL101 American Sign Language 1.
Credits: 3
AL 201. American Sign Language 3
This course covers an increased number of specialized vocabulary terms and an expansion of grammatical features. The skills of accurately producing finger spelling, numbers, classifiers, and non-manual markers are included during practice and spontaneous conversations. Conversation structure in ASL is taught as a part of ASL discourse. A minimum of twenty-five hours of participation in the Deaf community is required. Prerequisite: Grade of B or better in AL102 American Sign Language 2, and a specific score on the ASL Proficiency Test, Level 2.
Credits: 3
AL 202. American Sign Language 4
This last course in the ASL series for interpreting students builds upon the foundation of the previous courses. Specialized vocabulary and the basic ASL discourse structure for a presentation are covered. Vocabulary, structural principles, and linguistic principles related to narratives of ASL are expanded and applied. Multiple meaning English words and English idioms for expressing concepts in ASL are analyzed. Linguistic principles and discourse features to develop and create ASL narratives are incorporated. Issues related to the Deaf culture are introduced based on topics in each unit. A minimum of forty hours of participation in the Deaf community is required. Prerequisite: Grade of B or better in AL201 American Sign Language 3, and a specific score on the ASL Proficiency Test, Level 3.
Credits: 3