Course descriptions and requirements
LEVEL 1
Course requirements: Students must have completed the two hour Introduction to ASL course, then can register for Level 1
ASL Institute is an adult education school. It is non-credit. We do award certificates for the completion of the course, based on attendance. Prior to registering for Level 1, whether in person or on ZOOM, students are required to complete the 2 hour course “Introduction to ASL.”
For nine week/session semesters, students must attend at least 8 classes to earn a certificate. If they attend 7 classes, they can make an appointment to make up one class. This session is one hour and costs $15.00. If students attend 6 classes or less, they can re-take the course at a minimal cost. Contact us for the current price.
For a twelve week or longer semester, students may miss 2 classes and still receive a certificate.
Course description:
This course is designed for beginners. Level 1 is an 18 hour course that will teach students the foundation skills for ASL. This will include learning the four parameters of a sign – handshape, palm position, location, and movement. Students will learn a signing vocabulary to include: fingerspelling; colors; numbers 1 – 99; animals; some basic verbs and nouns, emotions, family, professions, and foods. They will use vocabulary in meaningful contexts to develop comprehension. Three basic sentence structures will be taught, with plenty of review and practice to allow students to develop confidence.
The focus of level 1 is vocabulary and smooth sign production.
Outcomes:
At the end of the semester, students will be able to produce a short story, and can engage in a conversation of at least twenty minutes.
To register, go to the page “Register and pay on line”
LEVEL 2
Requirements:
- Students must have a certificate from level 1 or an evaluation prior to the start of the course.
Course description:
Level 2 starts with a review of the vocabulary learned in level 1. Students will get extensive practice by using it in sentences and gaining an understanding of 3 sentence structures of ASL. They will learn additional vocabulary to include: greetings; more verbs; time; tense markers; signs for countries and cities; practice and refinement of their fingerspelling skills, wh questions, and other vocabulary used in everyday conversation. Students will start to learn the role of facial expression in ASL and utilize spatial referencing and contrastive structure. This class will be taught without voice.
The focus of level 2 is expanded vocabulary, smooth sign production, and practice with 3 sentence types.
Outcomes:
At the completion of the course, students will be able to sign hundreds of sentences clearly and talk about a variety of subjects. They will be able to engage in a conversation of thirty minutes or more.
LEVEL 3
Requirements:
- Students must have a certificate from level 2 or an evaluation prior to the start of the course.
Course Description: More nouns and verbs are added to the student’s vocabulary. Students learn how to use contrastive structure and spatial referencing as part of the pronoun system. Students now use 5 sentence structures, including Topic/Comment, with the appropriate facial expressions. They gain practice by interaction with the teacher and classmates and receive feedback on their presentations. They are guided through numerous practice sentences to help them gain confidence in a comfortable learning atmosphere. This class will be taught without voice.
The focus of level 3 is conversation – learning to ask wh questions
and yes/no questions.
LEVEL 4
Requirements:
Students must have a certificate from level 3 or an evaluation prior to the start of the course.
Course Description:
Level 4 students continue to work with the five sentence structures they have learned. They add new vocabulary. Attention is focused on the ASL verb system and the use of directional verbs in their conversations. Students get to see the various uses and limitations of these verbs as they practice.
The focus of level 4 expanding vocabulary, exposure to directional verbs as part of the ASL verb system, and more time elements.
Level 5
Requirements:
Students must have a certificate from level 4 or an evaluation prior to the start of the course.
Course description:
Students in level 5 focus on how to use classifiers, prepositions and monetary numbers. As they gain experience, they see how to use classifiers to show the relative position of two objects. They will expand on the type of presentations done in levels 3 and 4. They will widen their understanding of language – focusing on the meaning they are trying to express.
Level 6
Requirements:
Students must have a certificate from level 5 or an evaluation prior to the start of the course.
Course description:
More on prepositions and classifiers. Students have learned spatial referencing in every level until now – first with a single pronoun, then plural pronouns. They have learned Contrastive Structure as a set up for spatial referencing. They have learned to use classifiers in space as pronouns.
A sixth sentence type is introduced – Rhetorical Questions. Students get extensive practice utilizing this sentence construction.
The focus of Level 6 is establishing multiple objects in space and using spatial referencing in this expanded signing space.