Our department offers four levels of American Sign Language (ASL). You can take the ASL course sequence to fulfill your College of Arts and Sciences foreign language requirement and the General Education World Language requirement.
American Sign Language is a language that is used among the Deaf community throughout the United States and Canada. It is a unique language containing all the grammatical rules that are found in any language; however in ASL, the grammar of the language is shown through facial grammar (expression).
Introductory sign language course for students with no previous experience with sign language. Builds a good basic vocabulary of signs, teaches fingerspelling, introduces basic aspects of the grammar and the proper use of facial expression in sign language conversation. Students are also exposed to Deaf culture.
Prerequisite A100. Continues building receptive and expressive abilities. Puts emphasis on the use of signing space, facial grammar, body postures, fluent finger spelling, and continued vocabulary development. More complex grammatical structures are introduced.
Prerequisite A150. Emphasizes the development of conversational ability. Examines complex grammatical structures, with emphasis on ability to use these structures in conversation. Readings, videos, and discussion cover characteristics of the Deaf population and their cultural values.
Prerequisite A200. Students will expand upon acquired skills learned in previous levels of ASL and demonstrate skills in both a) receptive and b) expressive aspects relating to the lexical body and the grammatical features of American Sign Language appropriate to ASL Level Four.
The College of Arts