Undergraduate students from any major, ranging from psychology to business management to integrative physiology to environmental studies to SLHS to engineering (and more!) take the ASL courses to meet the university’s foreign language requirement. Graduate students can also enroll in ASL courses.
ASL courses are available in fall, spring, and summer at 3 different levels: Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. Each course is 4-credits and meets four days a week for 50 minutes or two days a week and for 2 hours.
Class sizes are capped at 19 students each with the goal of maximizing the student learning experience. The mode of communication for classes is entirely in ASL, with the goal of creating an immersive foreign language learning experience and fostering a strong ASL community. On some occasions, a sign language interpreting service, for example, during orientation on the first day of class, may be used to facilitate communication between a Deaf instructor and students.
Through ASL coursework, students will gain an understanding of the grammatical rules in ASL, build conversational skills, and learn about Deaf culture. Class activities, assignments, and assessments will involve hands-on practice with ASL, immersive experiences with the ASL community in the classroom, viewing videos where the mode of communication is ASL, and creating video recordings practicing and signing in ASL.
