Austin Community College
   Syllabus for SLNG 1405
American Sign Language: Beginning II

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Develops receptive and expressive ability and allows recognition and demonstration of more sophisticated grammatical features of American Sign Language (ASL). Increases fluency and accuracy in fingerspelling and numbers. Provides opportunities for interaction within the deaf community. Prerequisites: SLNG 1404. To be eligible to enroll in this sign language class, you must have at least a grade of C in the prerequisite. Course requires significant time outside of class.

 

REQUIRED TEXTS/MATERIALS:

1) One blank Mini DVD-RW disc (not DVD-R) for DVD camcorder

2) ACC AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE: THE BASICS DVD. (You can print a copy of the order form from the BlackBoard @ http://acconline.austincc.edu)

3) For Hearing People Only.  3rd Edition.  Moore , M., Levitan, L., Deaf Life Press 2003.

4) Signing Naturally, Level One. Smith, C., Lentz, E., Mikos, K., DawnSignPress, 1993 (Expanded Version)  Student workbook and Videotext.

 5)  Access to e-mail. (MANDATORY)


COURSE  OBJECTIVES:

A)    Vocabulary Development

1.  The student will be exposed to vocabulary items in Units 7-12 of Signing Naturally.

                  2.  The student will be exposed to a targeted set of vocabulary items.

      3.  Given a set of targeted vocabulary items drawn from class items, the students will demonstrate receptive and expressive mastery of ASL Beginning II level vocabulary items.

B)     Grammatical Features

     1.  Grammatical features of ASL will be utilized in all conversational exchange and class            exercise. The student is encouraged not to think in ENGLISH.

2.  Student will demonstrate expressive mastery of dialogues and short sentences narratives      and/or stories utilizing ASL grammatical features.

C)     Conversational Skills

1.  Student will demonstrate receptive competence for relatively short narratives, stories, and so forth in ASL that are told by the professor and/or by Deaf users of ASL and fellow classmates.

             2.  Student will demonstrate the ability to initiate, conduct and terminate context-specific

                         conversations of medium length with Deaf users of ASL other than the professor.

                   3.  The student will demonstrate the ability to express self generated short stories, short  

                        narratives and others in ASL.

D)    Cultural Awareness

1.   The student will read/see information on Deaf Americans, ASL, and its history. The student is responsible for the cultural notes in the workbook, chapters 45-88 in For Hearing People Only, videotapes shown in class and cultural information discussed in class.

2.   The student will attend social functions/events at which members of the Deaf community are present.

Stu dent Responsibilities:

A student in this course agrees to:

·        Attend class regularly.

·        Be on time.

·        Participate fully in class activities.

·        Describe some history and myths associated with deaf people and American Sign Language.

·        Use websites to acquire information about deafness and Deaf culture.

·        Complete all class assignments on or before the due date.

·        Refrain from using your voice or interpreting for other student(s) who may not understand the instructor.

·        Attend four deaf events/watch two videos and type six separate papers.

·        Read two deaf related articles and type two separate papers.

·        Take quizzes, mid-term and final examinations on announced dates.    

 

COURSE GRADING SYSTEM:

Your grade will be evaluated regularly on your receptive skills and at the end of the semester on your expressive skills.  You will also be evaluated on your preparation for class activities and your assignments outside of the class.

1. Class Attendance/Participation                                                                                                  100
2. Papers:  Articles/Video Deaf Event Reactio Papers (total 4 @ 50 pts. ea.)                         200
3. Self-Videotaped Assignment                                                                                                      100
4. Quizzes                                                                                                                                          100
5. Midterm Exam                                                                                                                               100
6. Final Exam #1 – expressive                                                                                                        300      
    Final Exam #2 – written                                                                                                                100
                                                                                                                                                        ------------
                                                                                                                          TOTAL =        1000 points

 

1. Class Attendance and Participation: (total 100 points)

It’s crucial to maintain your attendance. Students cannot expect to pass this course with knowledge of the information in the workbook only.

a.   You may have three non-consecutive absences– any absences beyond three will result in twenty (20) points being deducted from your attendance/participation grade per class missed. 

b.  You may have three tardies or early departures of not more than 15 minutes – any tardies or early departures beyond 15 minutes or beyond three will result in ten (10) points being deducted from your attendance/participation grade per incident. 

c.   The instructor will withdraw any student who is absent three consecutive classes. This equates to 8 hours of instruction and would put you too far behind if you miss more than this.

d.   Please inform me if you have an exceptional circumstance that causes you to miss class.

 

All students will be encouraged to participate in class discussions and activities on a regular basis.  “Participation” does not mean giving “right” answers. It means thinking about the material, sharing your thoughts, paying attention, and giving your best effort.  

So as to maintain a signing environment, using your voice or the mouthing of English words in the classroom is NOT allowed.  Write notes to each other if you must or SIGN! This NO VOICE rule will be enforced from the beginning until the end of the class.  The skills to be developed in the class depend on visual perception and memory. Use of auditorial stimuli discourages this learning process for both the person talking and other students in the class.  Twenty five (25) points for each and every incidence of talking/mouthing English words in class will be deducted from your Final grade.

If you own a pager, or cell phone, please turn it off during class. 

 

2.  Articles/Video/Deaf Event Reaction Papers: (4 papers @ 50 points each = 200 points)

The goal of these assignments is for you to express your own thoughts, opinions or questions.  Each paper must be in MS Word format, 2-page double-spaced, typed in black ink, font size 12 Times New Roman or Arial, with one-inch margins on each side and sent to the Digital Drop Box on the BlackBoard. Early papers are always appreciated!  No papers will be accepted after the due date except under circumstances I deem to be extreme or unique.

The papers must include and answer each of the following questions:

            Questions for Articles/Video Reaction Papers:

1.   What information gave you new insight or understanding about Deaf people, the Deaf community or Deaf culture?

2.   What information gave you new insight or understanding about yourself and your OWN perception of Deaf people, the Deaf community or Deaf culture?

3.   What information do you feel was missing or incomplete for your own interests or needs?

4.   What role do you think the author/director has in the Deaf community (teacher, parent of a Deaf child, an administrator, no role, and so forth)?  Is it biased?  Why or why not?

5.   In your opinion what were the primary messages that the videotape, movie or book attempted to convey to you?

 

Questions for Deaf Event Reaction Papers:

                             1.  What information gave you new insight or understanding about Deaf people, the                                 Deaf community or Deaf culture?

     2.  What information gave you new insight or understanding about yourself and your    OWN perception of Deaf people, the Deaf community or Deaf culture?

           3.   What information do you feel was missing or incomplete for your own interests or  needs?

4.  Did you have any conversations with any of the Deaf participants? If so, were there any communication barriers?

           5.   What were the general impressions of what transpired at the event?

 

**Information on Austin Deaf events will be posted on the BlackBoard. **

 

3. Self-Videotaped Assignment (100 points):

We will do this in the lab during class time.  You will be given time to practice your signing skills before actually videotaping your work.  Each assignment must be between 3 and 5 minutes long. Anything shorter than 3 minutes will not be accepted.  Details will be discussed in class.

 

4. Quizzes: (anywhere from 2 – 10 ) – Some quizzes will be announced in class and some will be “pop” quizzes. You may not make up any quizzes you miss – if you miss the quiz, you will get a zero.  The quizzes will be based mainly on the ability to comprehend ASL, and cultural information. Questions may also be drawn from the reading/viewing from the Signing Naturally workbook/video, from For Hearing People Only, video assignments, vocabulary videotape or from class discussions.

 

5. Midterm (100 points) – The midterm will cover all material presented to that point of the class.  It will include information from quizzes from Signing Naturally, For Hearing People Only, vocabulary videotape and receptive skills.  There will be no make-up of the midterm except under circumstances I deem to be extreme or unique.

 

6. Final (400 points total) - There will be two parts, expressive and receptive. Cumulative in nature; it will include comprehension and production, information from the workbook, videotapes shown in and out of class, vocabulary videotape, class assignments and discussions.  As you can see, a large part of your grade will depend on the final. There will be no make-up of the final except under circumstances I deem to be extreme or unique.

                                                 

COURSE POLICIES:

You are responsible for knowing the policies and procedures below.  You can pick up a copy of the Student Handbook at a counseling office at any campus or access it online from our college web page www.austincc.edu.  Please take special note of the following:

Policies on Academic Dishonesty, Prohibited Acts, Unattended Children, Children in the Classroom, and Student Discipline Policy refer to the student handbook.

 

Americans with Disabilities Act ( ADA ) Accommodations:

Refer to the student handbook.  Please let me know in writing how I can accommodate my class to your needs.

 

Withdrawal Policy

You will be withdrawn if you miss 3 consecutive classes. Refer to the student handbook (www.austinc.edu) for the withdrawal policy under other circumstances.  If you have a very unique or extreme situation, please discuss it with me.

 

Incompletes

Incompletes will be given only under very unique or extreme circumstances.

 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Please feel free to call, email or write me notes about any questions or concerns you may have.  You may also request to meet with me with an interpreter during my office hours or by appointment.

  

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