American Sign Language

This course introduces the basics of American Sign Language (ASL) by understanding and applying foundations of linguistics and is designed for students who have little or no previous knowledge of ASL. Emphasis is upon acquisition of comprehension, production and interactive skills using basic grammatical features. ASL will be taught within contexts and related to general surroundings and everyday life experiences.

Students practice ASL and work toward fluency through guided and structured experiences including practicing dialogues and conversations under faculty supervision.  Self-reflective reports and weekly participation are a requirement.

This course is designed to continue the development of American Sign Language initiated in ASL 111.  ASL 112 emphasizes the development and refinement of comprehension, production, and interpersonal skills. Additional information about the Deaf community and Deaf culture will be included.

Students practice ASL and work toward fluency through guided and structured experiences including practicing dialogues and conversations under faculty supervision.  Self-reflective reports and weekly participation are a requirement.

An analysis of socio-cultural, linguistic, and educational perspectives of American Sign Language and the Deaf community including its culture, arts, history and people. This course is designed to prepare students take ASL 420 -Deaf Culture. This course is taught in ASL.

This course builds on the foundation of skills and knowledge learned in ASL 111 and 112. This course continues to expand upon vocabulary, the structure of complex grammatical features in narrative and dialogue formats, along with interactional and conversational skills.

This course is a continuation of ASL 211 and further builds the development of comprehension, sign production, and discourse skills with an emphasis on complex narration, dialogue, and stories in ASL. Discussions of Deaf culture will be included.

This course is intended for students who need focused practice to improve both comprehension and production skills in finger spelling and numbers used within ASL conversational contexts at the intermediate and advanced levels. Receptive skills focus on whole word phrase recognition and finger spelling/number comprehension in context. Expressive skills focus on the development of speed, clarity, and fluency. The course includes review of rules governing use of finger spelling within ASL and the use of finger spelling to support and reinforce English vocabulary recognition within educational contexts.

An analysis of discourse in dialogic genres of English and American Sign Language (ASL) so that interpreting students become explicitly aware of the features of language use in everyday life. Students transcribe and analyze interaction and discourse features of conversations, explanations, interviews, discussions, and other types of dialogue genres while reading and discussing theoretical notions underlying language use. At the conclusion of this course, students will take the ASLPI which will determine mastery of ASL fluency by an outside evaluation agency.  This is a mandatory requirement for students in the ASL-English Interpreting Program. A score of 2 or higher is required to proceed in the AEI program. Students in the ASL program are strongly encouraged to take this evaluation for feedback on their language fluency.

An introductory study of a specific topic in American Sign Language. Intended for freshmen and sophomores, or for students with little or no background in the subject. The student may repeat the course, but not the same topic.

This course applies knowledge and skills of American Sign Language in complex narrative structures. Classifiers are emphasized in narrations. Analysis of Deaf cultural values and attitudes of the Deaf community are included.

As the sixth and final course in a sequence of American Sign Language development, this course is an in-depth study of ASL and designed to increase ASL expressive competence. Students will continue to learn ASL skills such as storytelling, health/ailments, conceptual awareness, ASL grammar analysis, use of classifiers and complex uses of space from video and written texts.

Analysis of the symbolic and linguistic structure of American Sign Language and other sign systems. Includes aspects of phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, grammar, and discourse. Examination of bilingual and bicultural practices, sociolinguistics, and related research. Assessment: written examination. Course will be taught in ASL.

This course involves the use of ASL poetry and storytelling. ASL poetry will be analyzed and incorporated as part of receptive/expressive language development and advanced skills enhancement. Includes story-telling techniques through the use of standard American folk lore and other culturally valued forms of literature (ABC stories, one-deaf stories, and sign play). Students will evaluate existing video tapes of deaf poets and sign language stories. Assessment: written examination and demonstration and/or videotaping of storytelling techniques. Course will be taught in ASL.

Off-campus experiential education opportunity that allows the student to improve his/her proficiency in signing ASL, expand ASL vocabulary, acquire knowledge of ASL colloquialisms, learn non-verbal communication skills and advance an understanding of deaf culture. The focus of this field period should be on language acquisition and improvement, not on a career.

An in-depth, self-directed study for Junior- or Senior- level students under the guidance of a sponsoring faculty member on a planned topic that is not covered by an existing Keuka College course.

This course is an intermediate-high level course, which provides a deeper perspective on Deaf people who use ASL and their culture. This course also analyzes the history of the Deaf community and Deaf culture in the historical terms of colonialism, as well as anthropological terms of language, culture, traditions, education, arts, social rules, and values. The course will be taught in ASL.

Off-campus experiential education opportunity that allows the student to enhance proficiency in ASL, expand ASL vocabulary, employ ASL grammar, and deepen his/her understanding of Deaf culture through direct engagement with members of the Deaf community. Students will develop a life learning plan that incorporates continued involvement with the Deaf community beyond graduation. The focus of this field period is to increase knowledge of ASL and Deaf culture through experience with the Deaf on-site.

An advanced study of a specific topic in American Sign Language. Intended for juniors and seniors, or for students with an appropriate background in the subject. The student may repeat the course, but not the same topic.