Department of American Sign Language and Interpreter Education
American Sign Language: Academic Year Fall 2014
Course:
Instructor:
Emails:
Class Times:
Classroom:
Office Hours:
ASL 111
Ms. Stephanie Kesterke
stephanie.kesterke@gallaudet.edu
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:30 a.m.–11:50 a.m.
TBA
12:00-2:00 on Monday and Wednesday or by
appointment
A. Course Description
This course is for students who have no or little knowledge of American Sign
Language (ASL). There is no pre-requisite for this course, though students
pursuing a Deaf Education or Interpreter Degree will be required to complete this
course as part of their program requirements. This course is also available to
those who wish to fulfill foreign language or elective requirements.
This focuses on the student’s development of receptive and expressive skills in
ASL. Everyday communication is the centerpiece of every lesson. Students will
also learn functional vocabulary and how to utilize conversational techniques in
ASL. Grammar is introduced in context with an emphasis on developing
questioning and answering skills. Class participants will develop skills to
recognize and express spatial relationships, and use appropriate facial
expressions and body movements. Students will be exposed to the cultural
aspects of the Deaf community. Final grade is based on attendance/involvement,
quizzes, in- class presentations, reaction papers to Deaf Community events and
the final presentation/exam.
B. Goal/Objectives
Students will develop basic conversational skills in ASL to communicate in class,
lab and within the Deaf community.
C. Student Learning Outcomes
•
•
•
•
Students will be able to utilize basic conversational skills including
appropriate classifiers, facial and grammatical markers for effective
communication.
Students will be able to identify and demonstrate fingerspelling skills.
Students will be able to identify and demonstrate cardinal numbers from 0
to 100.
Students will be able to make requests, create statements, and ask
1 © Stephanie Kesterke, 2013 questions.
• Students will be able to discuss and explain their backgrounds with
appropriate spatial usage including the use of family signs, living quarters,
and leisure activities.
• Students will be able to identify, differentiate, and produce time adverbials
D. Instructional Methodology:
The curriculum parallels what we know about language development and second
language learning. You will be introduced to ASL in context and your learning will
be reinforced by various interactive activities. The teacher will use gestures,
signs, drawings, and action-filled situations to facilitate learning; your
responsibility is to approach learning with an open mind and to trust in your
natural language acquisition ability.
The conversational curriculum used requires you to be an active
participant/learner. Come prepared to sign at all times with the teacher and with
classmates. Classes are conducted in ASL from the very first day.
This Course incorporates the National Standards in Foreign Language Education:
The 5 C’s are: Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, and
Communities.
E. Materials
Required:
Mikos, K., Smith, C., & Lentz, E. M. (2008). Signing naturally: student
workbook, units 1-6. San Diego, CA: DawnSignPress.
F. Technology
Our classroom utilizes a variety of technology both inside and outside of the
classroom. PowerPoint Presentations (PPT), Keynote Presentations, Online
Videos, DVD’s and Webcams will provide students with diverse exposure to ASL
utilized by various individuals, regardless of age or location in various contexts.
Note: This course heavily relies on video technology. Because ASL is a visual
language, the best way for you to learn is through hands on activities. This
means most of your homework will require you to utilize the ASL Lab on campus
and other video recording devices (i.e. iPhone or high quality web-cam, etc.) to
complete your homework assignments. You will submit your videos to me
electronically through Blackboard. I will then review your video assignments and
share meaningful feedback with you. See Grading Rubrics for more details on
how assignments are graded.
2 © Stephanie Kesterke, 2013 Consequently, this means you will be heavily tested using video technology. You
will see a variety of videos of people signing and pictures of various images, and
you will be asked a series of related questions. Depending on the requirements,
you will sometimes be asked to answer in ASL (recorded in the ASL Lab). More
details on what the test will cover are listed in the course syllabus.
G. Class Attendance/Participation – It is impossible to learn ASL passively!
Regular attendance and a high level of class participation is required for each
student to receive the full benefit of learning this language. Face-to-face time is
crucial in developing signing skills. Students will be called to come to the front of
class frequently to demonstrate their acquired fluency and to challenge
themselves and their classmates. Missing one day of class during Interim is
equivalent to missing one week during the regular semester; the amount of
material covered in that span of time is very difficult, if not impossible, to make
up. If a student is absent, the student cannot catch up with the random daily
graded activities. Absences due to family or personal emergencies will be
excused. In this case, the student needs to contact the instructor at the email or
phone number listed at the top of the syllabus.
Our classroom is a VOICE-FREE environment and you are expected to
communicate visually at all times with the teacher AND with your classmates. As
students of ASL, we must maintain a signing/visual environment at all times.
If a fellow student asks you for help during class, feel free to help by using signs
you have learned. In this way, the teacher can observe what is being discussed
and can assist, if needed.
H. Pagers and Cell Phones: All pagers and cell phones must be shut off in
class. A student caught using his/her cell phone brings treats for the class the
following day.
I. Accommodations: Students have the responsibility of formally requesting
accommodation through the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSWD) prior to
the beginning of the course. This applies to face-to-face, hybrid and online
courses. Gallaudet University is in compliance with the Americans with
Disabilities Act and this statement can be found in the Graduate Catalog. For
hybrid/online courses, please review this link to learn more about accessibility for
distance learning:
http://www.gallaudet.edu/Documents/OSWD/OSWD.Distance.Learner.Accommo
dations.pdf
J. Academic Honor Policy: As a community of scholars, the students and
faculty commit to the highest standards of excellence by mutually embracing an
3 © Stephanie Kesterke, 2013 Honor Code. The Honor Code requires that examinations and selected
assignments contain the following pledge statement to which students are
expected to sign: On my honor, I pledge that I have upheld the Honor Code, and
that the work I have done on this assignment has been honest, and that the work
of others in this class has, to the best of my knowledge, been honest as well.
K. Grading Breakdown:
Classroom Participation
Deaf Event Reaction Videos (2)
Video Homework (4)
Quiz (3)
Midterm Presentation/Exam
Final Presentation/Exam
Total:
15%
10%
20%
15%
20%
20%
100%
L. Grading Scale:
100-93=A
92-90 = A89-87 =B+
86-83 = B
82-80= B79-77=C+
76-73 =C
72-70 = C69-67=D+
66-60=D
59 and below=F
Projects/assignments are due at the beginning of the class on the date due. Late
assignments will be docked 10% for each day they are late.
M. Active Participation: Regular attendance and a high level of class
participation are required for students to maximize the process of learning ASL.
Students will be called to the front of the class frequently, and they are expected
to demonstrate their acquired fluency, and they are encouraged to challenge
themselves and their classmates. Students will be graded on class involvement.
Frequently missed classes and lack of involvement will be reflected in their grade
N. ASL Lab: Signing outside of class is also important for the development of
your receptive and expressive skills. ASL lab activities review and build on what
you have learned in class. In addition, you are encouraged to get together in
groups of two or more to practice conversing in ASL and to review homework
assignments and class lessons.
Activities to support your classroom learning will be set up in the ASL Lab
4 © Stephanie Kesterke, 2013 orientation to the Lab is available upon request. The lab is open for 32 hours a
week and you can do your work during any of those hours. You should work with
lab staff on your presentations, and expand on lab assignments by practicing
sign conversation skills with the lab staff, or fellow ASL students.
ASL Lab Hours
Mondays - Thursdays
2:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Friday
12:00 to 4:00 p.m.
O. Weekly Lab Assignments: In addition to classroom assigned homework, you
are required to do a weekly assignment in the lab for 2 hours weekly. New
weekly lab assignments will be posted on Monday morning in the lab and are due
the following Sunday by close of lab (5:00 p.m.). Participation in the ASL lab is
worth 50 points.
P. Deaf Events: You are required to attend two Deaf community events. Local
Deaf community events will be announced throughout the month. The point of
this requirement is to interact with Deaf community members – merely observing
an interpreter at an event does not count; just as meeting someone at your work
and chatting with them does not count as a Deaf Event.
Event #1: Our first Deaf event will be on campus on: October 10th in the ASL
lab and you will be required to attend. The reaction video to this Deaf Event is
due October 15th.
Event #2: The 2nd Deaf event you must attend on your own. Please refer to the
Deaf Events handout for appropriate deaf event opportunities. The 2nd Deaf
Event reaction video is due on November 5th.
Deaf Event Reaction Video Assignments: Students are expected to create a
30 second to 2 minutes video about the event. This is not a summary of the
event, but a reaction. If you choose to create your video outside of the lab, please
note you will be graded according to the Video Grading Rubric (to ensure your
video is of high quality).
Identify the event and others who were in attendance then include:
1) How you felt about attending the event
2) What was the hardest/easiest part of the experience
3) Were there signers who were easier to understand than others (why?)
4) Any new signs you learned 5) How the experience contributes to your understanding of ASL and Deaf
Culture 6) Compare/contrast what you observed/ learned to what we have learned in
5 © Stephanie Kesterke, 2013 class.
Q. Video Homework: There will be multiple homework assignments that require
you to videotape yourself. Guidelines and rubrics for those presentations will be
given in class and students will be graded on 5 aspects: ASL Vocabulary
(knowledge of vocabulary and sign production), Grammar (including proper use
of space and non manual markers), Presentation Structure, and Clarity/Fluency.
These are worth 50 points.
R. Quizzes:
There will be 2 quizzes during the course. The first quiz will be on Sept. 26th and
will cover lessons learned during Weeks 1 – 3, including sentence types,
fingerspelling, and introducing you. The second quiz will be on November 14th
and will cover lessons learned during Weeks 9 – 11 and will focus on types of
leisure activities and basic use of classifiers. Midterm Presentation and
Exam:
There are two parts to the midterm. First, you will do a 3 minute presentation in
front of the class about one of your past family vacations. You will include one
picture from your family vacation to show on the LCD. More details will be shared
in class. The midterm presentation will be on Oct. 22nd. The midterm will
cover lessons from Week 1 – 7. Prepare by practicing receptive abilities with all
vocabulary learned, conversational techniques, fingerspelling, and ASL grammar.
Only students with excused absences will be allowed to make up tests. Study
guides will be shared prior to the test. The midterm exam will be Oct. 24th.
The midterm presentation and exam is worth 75 points altogether.
S. Final Presentation and Exam:
Students will do final presentation in front of the class. More details will be shared
in class. The final presentation will be on December 10th.
The final exam will be cumulative and cover everything we have covered from the
first day to present. Prepare by practicing receptive abilities with all vocabulary
learned, conversational techniques, fingerspelling, and ASL grammar. Only
students with excused absences will be allowed to make up tests. The final exam
will be December 12th.
The final presentation and exam is worth 75 points altogether. Grading Rubrics:
Below shows the grade you will receive for the course, which will depend on the
quality of your work.
T. General Grading Rubric: In-class presentations and video assignments will
be graded using the rubric below, unless otherwise noted.
6 © Stephanie Kesterke, 2013 Please note: Video Assignments will use BOTH the General Grading Rubric and
the Video Rubric below this one.
STANDARDS
4 (EXCELLENT)
3 (GOOD)
Excellent
Good
PRODUCTION AND
SIGN CLARITY Information is clear, Information is somewhat
well-focused, and
clear and relatively
completely related related to the topic, high
to the topic, has
level of cognitive skills
high critical thinking and has proper use of
skills, understands sign language and has
how to use sign
understanding about
language and have
deaf culture.
understanding of
deaf culture.
Excellent
Good
ASL CONTENT
Information
Information covers topic
organized in a
in a way that reflects
meaningful way that learning using good
clearly covers topic detail and accuracy with
with accuracy,
good organization of
detail, and
materials.
understanding.
Excellent
Good
FACIAL
EXPRESSIONS
All features used
Most features used
AND EYE GAZE
correctly.
correctly.
2 (FAIR)
1 (POOR)
Fair
Poor
Information about
Acknowledging
the subject is
information is
partially related to
unclear, lacking
the topic. Has
focus. Weak
some
connection between
understanding topic and information
about deaf culture
and has begun to
understand how to
use sign language.
Fair
Poor
Information only Coverage of topic is
covers part of the incomplete, and is
topic with basic
not totally accurate
organization
with weak
materials.
organization of
materials.
Fair
Poor
Many features
used correctly.
No features used
correctly.
Excellent
Good
Fair
FINGER
SPELLINGS AND
All parameters
Some parameters errors Many parameters
NUMBERS
produced correctly. but can be understood errors, somewhat
correctly.
hard to understand.
Excellent
ASL / GRAMMAR
STRUCTURE AND
SPATIAL USAGE
Good
There are no
There are few
grammatical
grammatical
/mechanical
/mechanical mistakes on
mistakes on the
the story itself.
story itself.
Occasionally uses realAccurately uses world orientation, spatial
real-world
referencing, and
orientation, spatial
indexing
referencing,
and indexing.
Fair
Poor
Jumbled
fingerspelling or
numbers, not
understandable.
Poor
There are some There are too many
grammatical /
grammatical
mechanical
/mechanical mistakes
mistakes on the
on the story itself.
story itself. Lacks
Lacks real-world
real-world
orientation, spatial
orientation, spatial
referencing and
referencing, and
indexing.
indexing.
POINTS SCORED
Video Rubric: Your video homework assignments will be graded with two
rubrics, the General Grading Rubric (above) and this Video Rubric (below).
7 © Stephanie Kesterke, 2013 STANDARDS
Video
Background /
Clothing
4 (EXCELLENT)
3 (GOOD)
2 (FAIR)
1 (POOR)
Excellent
Good
Fair
Poor
Background is ideal: Background is mostly Background is barely
solid and nonacceptable with a
acceptable and has
distracting. Signer is minor distraction.
minor distractions.
wearing solid
Signer is wearing
Signer may or may not
colored, contrasting
solid colored,
be wearing appropriate
clothing, making
contrasting clothing,
clothing (non-solid
signer easily visible. making signer easily clothing such as plaid or
visible.
stripes or distracting
clothing such as tank
tops or T-shirts with
images on it).
Excellent
Video Quality
/
Frame
Good
Video is of high
Video is of good
quality and sharp
quality. Video is
focus. Video is
framed around
framed comfortably signer’s head to the
around signer’s head
waist. Signer’s
to the waist. Signer movements can be
has a full range of
seen mostly clear
movements. Signer with minor pixelation.
can be seen clearly
Signing is still
without pixelation.
understandable.
Excellent
Good
Fair
Background is not
acceptable
(distracting images
in background.)
Signer is not
wearing appropriate
clothing (non-solid
clothing such as
plaid or stripes or
distracting clothing
such as tank tops or
T-shirts with images
on it).
Poor
A few instances of
Video quality is
blurring or pixilation are unacceptable. Signs
present. Video is framed are often unclear or
either too close or too far blurry at times (3
from the signer. One or
signs or more).
two signs appear blurry
and unable to
understand.
Fair
Poor
Video Lighting
Room is well lit. Lighting is acceptable Lighting is a little too dark Lighting is poor.
Signer’s facial
and signer’s facial
but signer can still be
Difficult to see the
expressions can be
expressions are
understood.
signer’s facial
seen clearly because
mostly clear.
expressions. Light
lighting comes from
may come from
the front of the
behind, rather than
viewer.
from the front.
POINTS
SCORED
8 © Stephanie Kesterke, 2013 U. Course Schedule
Schedule subject to change depending on pace of class. Weekly Lab – 2 hours
in lab are required each week to earn participation points.
Weekly
Week 1
Tues.:
9/3/13
Thurs:
9/5/13
Tuesday
Thursday
-Introduction: Roll Call
activity using popsicle
sticks and fingerspelling
names.
-Explain Syllabus
- Getting One’s
Attention: tapping &
wave
-How to Greet
-Eye contact is
important
-Roll Call
(Review
fingerspelling of
names and receptive
abilities.)
-MasterASL!
Activity
5C’s – Culture,
a popular game played
by deaf people.
Elephant’s Ears
-Precision is important
-Numbers 1-10
-Emotions / Facial
expressions
5C’s - Comparison: ASL is not English. Signing Space and Dominant Hand
Assignments
Tues.: Practice
fingerspelling
names learned in
class
Thurs.: (Video)
Practice introducing
your name and
background
information as
practiced in class.
Activity: Pictionary
Week 2
Tues.:
9/10/13
Thurs:
9/12/13
-Roll Call
-Review
-Fingerspelling
-WH & Y/N questions
-negation
-Numbers 11-20
-Roll Call
-Review
-Numbers 21-30
-Shapes
-Colors
Tues.: (Video)
Create 5 sentences
using WH, Y/N, and
Negation
sentences.
Activity: Drawing
shapes
Thurs: Watch
assigned video and
practice signing
shapes.
9 © Stephanie Kesterke, 2013 Weekly
Week 3
Tues:
9/17/13
Thurs:
9/19/13
Tuesday
Thursday
Assignments
-Roll Call
-Numbers: 40, 50, 60,
70, 80, 90, 100 g
Rocking Numbers:
67-98
-Identifying others by
body position or
appearance
Tues: Create family
tree and practice
signing types of
relationships.
Activity: Partners
guess who was
described.
Handout: Study
Guide
-Roll Call
-Review
-Numbers: 1-100
- SN: Likes and
Dislikes
-Roll Call
- SN Identifying: by
position and or
appearance.
-Review
-Activity: BUZZ (
Every 7th number must
be “buzzed”)
Quiz – Weeks 1 - 3
Tues & Thurs:
(Video) With your
partner, create 2
minute dialogue
using structure
learned in class.
Due Tues., Oct.
1st.
-Roll Call
-Review
-Numbers: Time and
age
-Dates: Calendar
months/week/days/year
-Roll Call
-Review
-Give/Follow
commands
-Roll Call
-Review
-MasterASL!
Family/relationship
-place/location
-Exercise: Pictures to
describe clothes/person
Thurs: study for
Quiz on Thurs.
(week 1-3)
Activity: Charades
Week 4
Tues:
9/24/13
Thurs:
9/26/13
Week 5
Tues:
10/1/13
Thurs:
10/3/13
Tues: (Video)
Share your favorite
leisure activity and
why?
Activity: Categories
Clapping
Activity: What will you
do on…?
Week 6
Tues:
10/8/13
Thurs:
10/10/13
-Roll Call
-Review
-Giving Directions
-MasterASL! Locations
with US Map
5C’s: Connections.
Applying ASL to
Geography
-Roll Call
-Review Locations
Activity: Walk around
campus with your
partner and ask/give
directions.
10 © Stephanie Kesterke, 2013 Tues: (Video)
Create 10
commands.
Weekly
Week 7
Tuesday
Thursday
Tues:
10/14/13
-Roll Call
-Review: Directions
-Expressing Needs &
Wants
-Roll Call
- MasterASL!
Family Pets
-Review for midterm
Thurs:
10/17/13
Activity: Topicalization
Practice with Partner
Mock Midterm Exam
Week 8
Midterm: Expressive
Midterm: Receptive
NO CLASS
-Roll Call
- Review – Family Pets
-MasterASL! Special
Occasions and
Holidays
Assignments
Tues and Thurs:
Study for Midterm
from Week 1-7
Handout: Study
Guide
Tues:
10/22/13
Thurs:
10/24/13
Week 9
Tues:
10/29/13
Thurs:
10/31/13
Week 10
Tues:
11/5/13
Thurs:
11/7/13
Activity:
5C’s Communication:
Deaf Guest
-Roll Call
-Review
Activity: Act out the
leisure activity and learn
the signs.
-MasterASL! Leisure
Activities
-Roll Call
-Review
- More Sports
Dialogue
- SN: Likes and
Dislikes
5 C’s: CultureDeaflympics, Local
Deaf Sports
Associations
Tues: (Video)
Create 5 sentences
using a variety of
basic classifiers.
11 © Stephanie Kesterke, 2013 Tues: (Video)
Share your favorite
leisure activity and
why?
Weekly
Week 11
Tuesday
Thursday
-Roll Call
-Video: Ben Bahan’s Ball
story
Discussion on video
-Roll Call
-Review Occasions,
Holidays & Leisure
Activities
Thurs:
11/14/13
Activity: Partner
practice - retell Ben
Bahan’s Ball Story
Quiz (week 9-11)
Week 12
-Roll Call
-MasterASL!
-Discerning
Differences in
preference.
Review
-Roll Call
Handout: Study
-Review
Guide for Final Exam
- MasterASL!
Classifiers Concepts
Tues:
11/12/13
Tues:
11/19/13
Thurs:
11/21/13
Discussion: What did
you do last weekend?
Exercise: How would
you use classifiers to
describe an animal?
Week 13
Tues:
11/26/13
Thurs:
11/28/13
NO CLASS
THANKSGIVING: NO
CLASS
Week 14
Tues:
12/3/13
Thurs:
12/5/13
Activity: Watch Audism
Unveiled and Discuss
Review for Final
Week 15
Tues:
12/10/13
Thurs:
12/12/13
Final Presentation:
Expressive
Activity: Phone Line
Activity: Phone Line with with ASL Grammar
fingerspelling
Final Exam:
Receptive
Class Evaluation
Assignments
12 © Stephanie Kesterke, 2013 Thurs: (Video)
Re-tell Ben Bahan’s
Ball Story