Students who have studied this language for three or more years in high school, or who use it at home, are not eligible to register for this course. This course introduces students to American Sign Language (ASL). Students will master basic structures of ASL. They will acquire a sizeable vocabulary, and they will achieve the ability to participate in conversations on a variety of topics. Meets World Languages Requirement.
Prerequisite(s): AMSL 101. This course is a continuation of AMSL 101 and is designed to further students' command of American Sign Language (ASL). They will learn additional ASL structures; they will add to their vocabulary; and they will improve their fluency in conversation. Meets World Languages Requirement.
Prerequisite(s): AMSL 102. This course builds on the skills acquired in Beginning ASL I and II. Emphasis will be on acquiring the ability to use ASL to converse about a wider range of topics. Students will increase their vocabularies, learn additional sentence types, and improve their skills in the use of the Manual Alphabet. Meets World Languages Requirement.
Prerequisite(s): AMSL 201. This course is a continuation of AMSL 201. In addition to an increased vocabulary and greater fluency in the use of ASL, students will learn several structures that are absent from English and many other familiar languages. Meets World Languages Requirement.
Prerequisite(s): AMSL 102. The course is designed to provide a foundational development of students’ vocabulary and language skills in several content areas used in academic, business, and consultative settings. Students will be introduced to vocabulary genres such as legal, medical, health, mathematics, science, engineering, and technology. Along with application of the vocabulary, ASL linguistic features will be focused on numerical incorporation, indicating and depicting verbs, non-manual modifiers, grammatical aspects, use of fingerspelling as a semantic specification (flagging), and spatial mapping in appropriate ASL discourse structure.
Prerequisite(s): AMSL 201. A survey course introducing theories, principles, and practices of interpreting for Deaf persons. The course covers interpreting processes, physical and mental factors, attitudes, ethics, roles of the interpreter, perspectives of the consumers (deaf and hearing), and NIC (RID-NAD) certifications. The historical, social, political, religious, philosophical and cultural views of the deaf community will be addressed along with contemporary issues affecting interpreting dynamics. Prerequisite skills for interpreting will be introduced in this course through instruction for applications in interpreting. Students are exposed to basic interpreting situations in a variety of settings through 25 field observation hours.
Prerequisite(s): AMSL 202. This course will focus on the development of advanced conversational skills used by the Deaf and hearing signers here in the United States, such as spatial mapping, prosody, discourse structures, rhetorical analysis, involvement and interaction strategies, coherence and cohesion, and framing. Students will compare discourse features of American Sign Language and English, explore variation of communication styles dependent on the audience types, and develop an awareness of context and situation and describe their impact on discourse in American Sign Language. Students will enhance their use of American Sign Language through incorporation of these features. Meets World Languages Requirement.
Prerequisite(s): AMSL 201 and AMSL 202. This course focuses on American Sign Language literature and poetry by introducing students to ASL storytelling techniques, story analysis and the techniques used to develop ASL poetry. This course develops students' receptive skills through the use of DVDs/videotapes. Students are expected to experiment with ASL storytelling and poetry. American Sign Language cultural information is shared through readings, DVDs, and classroom discussions.
Prerequisite(s): AMSL 260. This course will focus on text and discourse analysis of American Sign Language and English in different registers/styles. Processes of text and discourse analysis, semantics and pragmatics, sociolinguistics, structures of ASL and English discourse will be discussed. The course will take an in-depth look at discourse through selected written texts, videotapes and live demonstrations. Lectures and videotapes will be used for skill development in text/discourse analysis and students will practice and apply discourse structures and semantics/pragmatics in ASL and English.
Prerequisite(s): AMSL 260. A review of theoretical components and principles of interpreting process discussed in AMSL 260 for application towards basic skill development in interpreting and transliterating from spoken English to ASL/Signed English. Strategies for effective listening skills, text analysis, conceptual accuracy and linguistic factors of sign language will be discussed and applied. Classroom practice is provided. 12 hours of field observation on specific aspects of ASL-English interpreting will be required.
Prerequisite(s): AMSL 360 and AMSL 361 and demonstration of proficiency by examination. A review of theoretical components and principles of interpreting processes discussed in AMSl 260 for application towards basic skill development in interpreting and transliterating from spoken English to ASL/Signed English. Theories and Techniques of public speaking are discussed and applied. Strategies for effective comprehension and text analysis are discussed and practiced. Skill development application will be conducted within class. 12 hours of field observation on specific aspects of English to ASL Interpreting will be required.
Prerequisite(s): AMSL 360 and AMSL 362. This course will provide exploration of ethical standards and dilemmas in interpretation through discussion, case studies, scenarios and role-plays emphasizing the dynamics of the interpreting team and similarities and differences between advocates, peer counselors, and interpreters. Emphases are on values, ethics, and morality; professional principles, power and responsibility; group dynamics; and decision making. RID-NAD’s Code of Ethics is discussed, practiced and applied in role-plays and scenarios.
Prerequisite(s): AMSL 361, AMSL 362 and AMSL 363. This course will provide students with an introductory overview of working with the Deaf-blind community. Students will become familiar with features of the Deaf-Blind community, learn common etiologies of deaf-blindness, learn basic communication and guiding skills for use with Deaf-Blind people, and experience real-life situation facing deaf-blind consumers. These experiential activities include a clear teaching component with instruction in specific alternative techniques and communication modes, using the palm, hands, arms, and other parts of the body as well as techniques for those with limited vision to interpret within their visual range. Students will learn about the diverse roles and responsibilities of individuals working within the Deaf-Blind community, including ethical decisions, communication strategies, and cross-cultural considerations. Communication Strategies focuses on linguistic modifications for tactual and restricted field interpreting and strategies for incorporating environmental aspects into the interpreting process. Specific linguistic modifications and flexibility for a variety of consumer needs are critical. The course also introduces and discuss resources, agencies, and effective provision of interpreter/ interveners/ Support Service Providers (SSP) services for academic or community events where Deaf-Blind individuals participate.
Prerequisite(s): AMSL 362 and AMSL 363. This course gives classroom practice to provide more in-depth skill and technique development in interpreting and transliterating and introduces students to specific interpreting situations: educational, technical, medical, mental health, legal, oral, deaf-blind, etc. Strategies for enhancing professional attitudes and ethical behaviors in interpreters, team interpreting and working with deaf interpreters are discussed. This course is highly interactive with literatures and group discussions as part of the institutional approach.
Prerequisite(s): AMSL 362 and AMSL 363. 90 hours of interpreting observation and hands-on experience with supervision. Students will gain experience interpreting in a variety of settings with Deaf consumers who have diverse linguistic preferences. Attendance to seminars and lab activities are required in conjunction with field experience activities. Development of website is required for this course.