American Sign Language Syllabus

SANTA ANA COLLEGE

American Sign Language 1 – ASL 110

Fall 2017 Course Syllabus

Tuesday, Thursday - Section 38314 – 9:45 am to 11:50

 

Instructor       :  Rickey Abraham

Email              :  Abraham_Rickey@sac.edu

Office Hours  :  Wednesday and Thursday, 8:00 am to 9:30 am, Room D-422

Course Description:

This entry level course is designed to introduce students to American Sign Language (ASL) and finger spelling as it is used within American Deaf culture.  Instruction includes preparation for visual/gestural communication followed by intensive work on comprehension through receptive language skills, development of basic conversational skills, modeling of grammatical structures, and general information about American Deaf culture.  Sign Language 110 is equivalent to two years of high school ASL.  Students are required to attend at least one off campus event.

Course Overview:

This ASL 1 course concentrates on developing basic principles and skills of American Sign Language (ASL) through cultural appreciation and non-verbal instruction.  Emphasis is placed on Deaf culture and Deaf people in history, visual training, sign vocabulary acquisition, comprehension and communicative skills.  Development as well as basic structural and grammatical patterns of ASL discourse is also emphasized at this beginning level.

Student Learning Outcomes:  You will be able to perform the following upon completion of this course.

1. Demonstrate comprehension of basic ASL vocabulary, grammar, syntax, morphological phrases and short narratives related to oneself, family, and immediate real world surroundings and activities.
2. Recognize basic non-manual grammatical features through receptive and expressive interactions.
3. Demonstrate communicative competence in ASL with familiar topics and activities requiring a simple and direct exchange of information.
4. Develop a beginning awareness of the unique cultural aspects of the American Deaf Community.
5. Define historical characters within the formation of Deaf culture.
6. Describe and model Deaf culture norms in terms of social interactions with introductions and basic conversations.

Required Texts:

Smith, Lentz, Mikos. (2008). Signing Naturally, Level 1. San Diego, CA: DawnSignPress. Student workbook and video/DVD

Valli, C. (2005).  The Gallaudet Dictionary of American Sign Language. Gallaudet University Press, ISBN: 1-56368-282-6

A Sign of Respect: Part One. T. Holcomb. “HYPERLINK http://www.treehousevideo.com” 2017 (see instructor for access code)

Academic Planner/Calendar

Course Policies:

Attendance for this class is very important.  ASL 1 will cover an incredible amount of content and therefore absence from class will jeopardize your grade as work completed during class time is very difficult to make up.  Students are to demonstrate a commitment to learning ASL through class attendance, class participation, DVD/homework, quizzes and exams, one signed presentation and one deaf culture project.  It is important to timely complete assignments given because this class is very active, interactive and most often silent.

Grading:

Grading is based on percentages listed below.  There will be 1,000 points (100%) possible during the semester.

            A Sign of Respect (ASOR), Deaf Culture Assignments          200/20%

            Quizzes                                                                                   200/20%

            Deaf Paper                                                                              100/10%

            Deaf Event                                                                              100/10%

            Individual Presentation (self expression)                                100/10%

            Group Presentation                                                                 100/10%

            Final                                                                                         200/20%

Total points/percent                                                                          1000/100%

Number/Letter Grading Relationship:

            4          A         90% - 100%

            3          B         80% - 89%

            2          C         70% - 79%

            1          D         60% - 69%

            0          F             0   - 59%

 

Course Instruction Schedule:

Week:                         Assignment:                           Assignment Due Dates:

1                                              Introduction,  Review of

29/31                           Syllabus, Unit 1

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2                                              Unit 1, ASOR, Planner           

05/07                           Alphabet, number review       HW-1:1-1:6, 9/7/17

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3                                              Unit 1, Planner

12/14                           Deaf Culture Discussion         HW-1:7-1:12, 9/11, ASOR, 9/14/17

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4                                              Unit 2, ASOR, Discussion of

19/21                           Cultural Report, Quiz 1          HW-2:1-2:6, 9/19, Quiz 1, 9/21/17

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5                                              Unit 2, Discuss CR Topic

26/28                           Unit review, Planner               HW-2:7-2:12, 9/26, ASOR, 9/28/17

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6                                              Unit 3, Planner, ASOR

03/05                           Deaf Culture Discussion         HW-3:1-3:6, Quiz 2 10/05/17

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7                                              Unit 3,

10/12                           Discussion of Group Project   HW-3:7-3-12, ASOR, 10/12/17

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8                                               Cultural Report Disc., Unit 4

17/19                           ASOR                                       Quiz 3, 10/19/17

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9                                              Unit 4, Individual Present.     TEST 10/26/17 (units 1-3, tentative)

24/26                           Discussion                               HW-4:1-4:6, 10/24, ASOR, 10/26/17

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10                                           Unit 5, ASOR                         Group Presentations, 11/01

31/02                                                                           HW-4:7-4:12, 10/31, Quiz 4, 11/02/17

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11                                           Unit 5

07/09                                                                           HW-5:1-5:6, 11/07, ASOR, CR, 11/09/17

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12                                           Unit 6, ASOR                        

14/16                                                                           HW-5:7-5:12, 11/14, Quiz 5, 11/16/17

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13                                           Unit 6, Deaf Event

21/23                           Discussion                               HW-6:1-6:6, 11/21, ASOR, 11/28/17

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14                                           Unit Reviews, Q&A

28/30                           ASOR                                      HW-6:7-6:12, 11/28, Quiz 6, 11/30

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15                                           Guest Speaker, Q&A

05/07                           Individual Presentations         ASOR, IP, 12/05/17

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16                                           Final Exam Week

12/14

 

 

Attendance Policy:

Attendance is very important.  You will not want to miss information for the quizzes and exams.  The class forms a small community and your effort or lack of it impacts the overall success of the group.  Please make every effort to come to every class with homework done and ready to learn and participate.  If you have one absence for emergency reasons, it will not affect your grade and the instructor must be notified well in advance of the next class meeting.  If you come late or leave early by 12 minutes or more, two times, this will be considered one missed class.  If you miss 3 classes you may be dropped from the class in accordance with college attendance policies.  If you have your 3^rd absence after the deadline for withdrawal with a “W”, your final exam grade will be lowered by two points per absence.  If you know you will be absent from class inform the instructor and make arrangements for a classmate to take notes and collect handouts for you.

Missed Exams/Quizzes:

Prior arrangements must be made before the day of quizzes.  Arrangements are made for emergency circumstances only.  There will be no make-up for the final exam.

Withdrawal Policy:

If it becomes necessary to withdraw from the course, it is your responsibility to follow the deadline guidelines for withdrawal.  All dates and procedures for withdrawal can be found on Web Advisor under course information.  According to college policy, a student may be dropped for non-participation if the student has missed in excess 10% of the total course activities.  Course activities included but not limited to class attendance, discussions, assessments, etc.  I may drop a student without notice if a student has not attended class in the first week or a student has missed 2 classes.

 

 

Academic Honesty:

Students enrolled in Santa Ana College instructional programs are expected to be honest and forthright in their academic endeavors and assume an obligation to obey the Academic Honesty Policy.  While taking quizzes, the midterm and final exam you are not allowed to look at another student’s paper or use your voice (whispers with or without lip movement.) If it is observed that any violation of this policy is committed a verbal warning will be initially given.  On a second warning the violator will be asked to leave the class immediately and given a zero for that assessment.  The procedures for addressing academic honesty are set forth in the college catalog.  It is expected that all students read and understand the policy and the provisions outlined in the catalog.

 

Accommodations for Disabilities:

Your success in this course is very important.  Santa Ana College and I are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for all individuals with disabilities.  If you have a disability that may have some impact on your ability to do well in this course, I encourage you to inform me as soon as possible.  It is also important that as a student you contact Disabled Student Programs and Services to ensure that we can all collaborate on your classroom accommodations in a timely manner.  DSPS is located in VL 203 and their phone number is 714-564-6264.  The DSPS office requires documentation of your disability to provide reasonable accommodations.  If you do not have documentation they will work with your to acquire it.  I look forward to supporting you to meet your learning goals.