ASL 300: American Sign Language I

Instructor: Anne Villar

Summer 2015 Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays: 2:00PM - 2:50 PM HM 1122
Course Description

This course will be an introduction to American Sign Language. This course is for college
students who have no knowledge of American Sign Language skills and Deaf Culture. The
course will focus on comprehension, interaction skills and production using grammatical
features. The class includes classroom exercises, vocabulary words, key phrases, finger-spelling
and topic-comment structure.

Outcomes:

At the end of this course, students will be able to:

1. Engage in a basic conversation in American Sign Language (ASL) with deaf people.
Students will apply topic-comment structure and fingerspelling.

2. Recognize and use various ASL and conversational phrases.

3. Demonstrate basic knowledge of cultural attitudes, norms and values in the Deaf community.

UNIT PURPOSE AND GOALS
Instructors Education Philosophy: You will not and cannot become a skilled signer by simply
attending classes. The classroom is merely an arena for exposure to new concepts, modeling
and some limited practice. Your real learning occurs outside of the classroom where you can
apply the learned material. The more frequent your attempts at application, the more skilled you
will become. You are encouraged to take control of your learning, to utilize the resources that
are available to you, and to develop your own supporting system. As an instructor, I will provide
you with resources and activities to help you on your way.

Students have diverse learning styles. Some students learn better through trial and error, while
others students learn better through utilization of theoretical frameworks, and still others learn
better through modeling and copying. Some students enjoy working in small groups, others like
working alone, and some students benefit from straightforward lectures. During this course you
can expect to participate in activities that will benefit students of all varieties of learning styles.
Contact Information
Office Hours: By Appointments
E-mail: [email protected]

REQUIRED TEXTBOOK:
Master ASL by Jason E. Zinza, Sign Media, 2006










LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

To expand ASL skills and topics of conversation
To demonstrate topic-comment structure
To incorporate numbers into conversation
To explain how ASL names are made
To use possessive signs and deixis appropriately
To be able to describe personal favorites through use of ASL

Course absence policy

Attendance is mandatory.
Excused absences will be only granted for exceptional circumstances (ie: serious illnesses or
emergencies). It is your responsibility to inform the instructor via e-mail or in person
prior to that weeks course session. It is understood that in emergency situations, the
instructor can be informed after the emergency situation has abated. Otherwise, any
absences will be considered unexcused.
At your second unexcused absence, your grade will be reduced by a letter.
Please ask your classmates for what you have missed.

Course Etiquette

STUDENTS WHO BRING CELL PHONES OR OTHER INTRUSIVE ELECTRONIC
DEVICES TO CLASS AND ALLOW THEM TO RING DURING CLASS SESSIONS WILL
BE ASKED TO LEAVE AND WILL NOT BE COUNTED AS PRESENT FOR THAT DAY. If
you need to be accessible, put your phone on vibrate and quietly leave the class if summoned.
STUDENTS WHO CHATTER IN CLASS, DISTRACTING OTHERS, WILL BE ASKED TO
LEAVE. Students who plagiarize written work or who cheat on any of the exams will be given
a semester grade of F in this class. No exceptions.

Instructors are not required to drop students who stop attending class. Please know if you choose
to casually drop this or any other class without submitting the required paperwork, you may end
up with an F on your permanent transcript. The deadline for dropping the class this semester is
June 30th.

Projects must be submitted before class date. NO LATE PROJECTS, NO EXCEPTIONS,
DONT ASK. Failure to turn in any projects by due date results in a semester F for the entire
course. Early submission of required work is not only allowed but also highly encouraged.

Evaluation:
You will be evaluated using the following grade percentage breakdown:

Class Participation 20%
Project #1: Video - What is your name and where are you from? 20%
Project #2: Video - Name 5 favorite cities you want to visit and why? 20%
Project #3: Video - ASL pair showing OH-I-SEE 20%
Weekly Journal 10%
Quizzes 10%
___________________________________________________________________
100%









Lecture Assignment Week
Topic: Where Are You From?
Name of Cities and Deaf Culture
Video: Where are you from? Week 6, 19th Day
Topic Comments, Possessive
signs and Colors
Video: Name 5 cities you want
to visit and why?
Week 6, 20th Day
Favorites and E-mails Weekly Journal Week 6, 21st Day
Review: Unit 3 Vocabulary Watch DVD Lesson 3 Vocabulary
and study for Quiz on Friday
Week 7, 22nd Day
Quiz None Week 7, 23rd Day
Class is dismissed! Enjoy your
Summer Break!
Class is dismissed! Enjoy your
Summer Break!
Class is dismissed! Enjoy your
Summer Break!
Disability Resources and Educational Services:

If you have a disability and need accommodations, please register with the Disability Resources
and Educational Services (DRES) office. The DRES office is located in the Bay Hall, room 200
and can be reached at 707-864-7000. If you would like to discuss your need for
accommodations with me, please contact me to set up an appointment.

Please do not hesitate to ask me any questions you have about ASL or the class itself. I look
forward to working with each of you as we go further into ASL!
CATEGORY CATEGORY Procient
20 pts
Developing
15 pts
Attempting
10 pts
PRODUCTION Excellent

Produces
majority of signs
and nger
spelled words
correctly and
signs clearly; no
major
productions
errors
Procient

Produces most of
the signs and
nger spelled
words correctly
and signs clearly
Developing

Signs clearly;
misproduces
some signs and
nger spelled
words
Attempting

Difcult to
understand, is
struggling or
misproduces
most signs (more
than 5 serious
errors)
VOCABULARY Excellent

Appropriately
uses correct
vocabulary
Procient

Appropriately
uses correct
vocabulary most
of the time
Developing

Sometimes
appropriately
uses correct
vocabulary and
grammar
Attempting

Rarely uses or
doesnt
appropriately use
correct
vocabulary and
grammar (more
than 5 serous
errors)
GRAMMAR Excellent

Appropriately
uses correct
grammar (verb &
spatial
agreement, facial
expression, etc
Procient

Appropriately
uses correct
grammar most of
the time
Developing

Sometimes
appropriately
uses correct
grammar
Attempting

Rarely uses or
doesn't
appropriately use
correct grammar
(more than 5
serious errors)
COMPLETE
SENTENCES
Excellent

Always sign in
complete
sentences.
Procient

Mostly signs in
complete
sentences.
Developing

Sometimes signs
in complete
sentences.
Attempting

Rarely signs in
complete
sentences.