Syllabus for SLNG 1444
ASL: Intermediate I
Course Description:
Integrates
and refines expressive and receptive skills in American Sign Language (ASL),
including recognition of sociolinguistic variation.
A practice oriented approached to language acquisition, including the use
of multimedia.
Prerequisites:
SLNG1405. 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. NOTE: You must make a “C” or
better in this class to meet the pre-requisite for SLNG 1445, American Sign
Language IV: Intermediate II.
Required
Texts/Materials:
1) SIGNING
NATURALLY, Level Two Smith, C., Lentz, E., Mikos, K., DawnSignPress,
1993 (Expanded Version). Student workbook and corresponding Videotext.
2) For
Hearing People Only. 3rd
Edition.
3) Several
blank Mini DVD-RW (not DVD-R) for DVD camcorder
4) Access to
email/Internet and Blackboard (MANDATORY)
5) ASL: The
Basics DVD or VHS set (see handout on how to order)
Instructional
Methodology: Lecture,
reading assignments, small group activities, games, video reviews, videotaping,
deaf community events.
Course
Objectives:
A) Vocabulary Development
1. The student will be exposed to a targeted set of vocabulary items
2. Given a set of targeted vocabulary items drawn from class items and
videos, the student
will
demonstrate comprehensive mastery of vocabulary items.
B) Grammatical Features
1. Grammatical features of ASL will be utilized in all conversational
exchange and class
exercise. Student is
encouraged not to think in English form.
2. The student will demonstrate expressive mastery of dialogues and short
sentences
narratives and/or stories utilizing ASL grammatical features.
C) Conversational Skills
1. The student will demonstrate receptive competence for
relatively short narratives, stories, and so forth in ASL that are told by the
professor and/or Deaf users of ASL and fellow classmates.
2. The student will demonstrate the ability to initiate, conduct and
terminate context -
specific
conversations with Deaf users or 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
2. The student will attend social functions/events at
which members of the Deaf community are present.
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: Video Reaction Papers (2 @ 75 pts)
150
3.
Deaf Event Reaction Presentations on
your DVD (2 @ 75pts)
150
4.
Midterm Exam
200
5.
Final #1 - written part
(FHPO)
,
100
6. Final #2 - expressive part
300
TOTAL = 1000 pts
1.
Class Participation and Attendance: (100 points) It
is crucial to maintain your attendance. Students cannot expect to pass the
course with only knowledge of the information in the workbook.
a. You may have two non-consecutive absences - any absences beyond two
will result in Twenty
(20) points
being deducted from your attendance/participation grade per class missed.
Note: It is evidence that when students attend all classes, the
chance of doing well in the course is greatly
increased. Please use your unexcused
absences wisely.
b. You may have two tardies or early departures of not more than 15
minutes - any tardies or early
departures
beyond 15 minutes or beyond two 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 the
students will be encouraged to participate in class discussions and activities
on a regular basis. “Participating”
does not mean giving the “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 of 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 auditoria stimuli
discourages this learning process for both the person talking and other students
in the class. Twenty-five (25)
points will be deducted from your attendance/participation grade for every
incidence of talking/mouthing English words in Class. More than 4 documented
incidences of using your voice or mouthing English words will be viewed as
disruptive to the educational process of this class and subject to the ACC
Student Discipline Policy.
2.
Video Reaction Papers: (2
papers @ 75 points each = 150 points)
The
goal of these assignments is for you to express your own thoughts, opinions or
questions. Each paper must be 1 1/2
to 2-pages stapled, double-spaced, typed in font size 12 Times New Roman or
Arial, on white unlined paper with one-inch margins on each side.
Five (5) points will be deducted from your Video Reaction Paper for not
staling it. Early papers are always
appreciated! No papers will be accepted after the due date except under
circumstances I deem to be extreme or unique.
Use a dictionary and
thesaurus; you should already be doing that if you are a college student.
Not only are these tools required, they are online and FREE.
There are many websites that can be used, here is an excellent link:
http://m-w.com/
One of the signs of bad writing is poor word usage, generally caused by
an impoverished vocabulary. Poor
word usage often includes reliance on slang, cliché, and idiom.
It is acceptable to employ slang, cliché, and idiom in everyday
conversation, but it is not acceptable in academic writing.
The
papers must include and answer each of the following questions:
Questions for 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 of Deaf culture?
3. What information do you feel was missing or incomplete for your won
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 attempted to convey to you?
6. From your previous readings and your own experiences, do you feel this
movie is relevant in
today’s world? Explain what ways you feel it is relevant and what ways
you feel is not (give
specific examples).
3. Deaf Events Presentations (2 presentations @ 75 pts = 150 pts): You
will do these on your own time. You
can use lab to have your assignments taped onto your Mini DVD-RW.
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.
Questions for Deaf Event Reaction Presentations:
1. In various events, you will sign with Deaf people.
How do you feel about your comprehension ability? Do you think they
understand your signs? Were there any communication barriers? If so,
what were they and how did you resolve them?
2. How do deaf people reaction when you both have
communication barriers? Do they work around
it to solve the barrier? Do they start using lip-reading and the oral
method with you? (Communicating with you through speech)
3. Do you find your social exchange or interaction with
them good/bad experience? Please elaborate.
4. How do you follow the performance? Do you find yourself depending on
the audio background (sign to voice? Do you notice the performance emphasized
Deaf culture? How?
5. What things do you find in the behavior that seems to belong to deaf
culture? How do you
determine that?
6. What information gave you new insight or understanding about Deaf
people, their community and/or
their culture as well as about yourself and your perceptive of them?
** Information on
Austin Deaf events can be found on the bulletin board adjacent to the ASL/Interpreting
Lab but not all events are approved. Please
check class website for approved events or if there’s other events not listed,
you must get the instructor’s approval first or your paper will not be
accepted.**
4.
Midterm (200 pts)
- the midterm will cover all material presented to that point of the class. It
will include information from quizzes, from Signing Naturally, class
notes, handouts, and receptive skills. There
will be NO MAKE-UP of the midterm except under circumstances I deem to be
extreme or unique.
5.
Final (total 400
pts) - There will be two parts, written (FHPO) and expressive. Cumulative
in nature, it will include comprehension and production, information from
workbook, videotapes shown in class and class discussions.
As you can see, a large part of your grade will depend on this 2-part
final. There will be NO MAKE-UP of
the finals 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 web page www.austincc.edu.
Withdrawal
Policy
You will be withdrawn if you miss 3
consecutive classes. Refer to the student handbook page 24 for the withdraw 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. Students must submit
assignments on time. Students may
not “make-up” essays at will.
Academic Dishonesty
Prohibited Acts
Refer to the student handbook.
ACC Policy on Unattended Children and
Children in the Classroom
Refer to the student handbook.
Americans with Disabilities Act (
Refer to the student handbook.
Please let me know in writing how I can accommodate my class to your
needs.
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. If you need to contact the
instructor for any reason you are
required to exercise due diligence. In
other words, do not just send one email and wait a week or longer.
If you do not get a response within a day or so, try again.
If you still do not get a response, call the instructor.
Something might not be working (e.g., an email might have been
accidentally deleted). In other
words, use due diligence and some common sense.
I will have no sympathy for the passive soul who waits weeks and then
claims to be a victim. You are responsible for getting in touch with me if you
need something.
COURSE CALENDAR:
A course calendar will be provided in class with details of when
assignments are due and when tests are held.
COMPUTER
PROBLEMS:
A computer mishap will not
excuse a late paper. You should make
frequent and multiple back-ups of your work (e.g., separate floppy disks or
other removable media), so that you never lose more than one hour’s worth of
work. Computer problems are not a
valid excuse for a paper being late. I
strongly suggest that you not wait until the last minute to send your papers.
If something goes wrong with your computer, that’s your problem.
Please plan ahead and get your work in before the due date.