Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

ASL 103 is the third term of a three-term sequence in American Sign Language at the college level. Communicative proficiency is the main objective of the sequence.

This course utilizes the Functional/Notional approach in learning grammar in the context of communicative activities. It is designed to help the students build their receptive skills, learn vocabulary through context, and develop strategies for figuring out meaning and to build upon that foundation. 

Communicative proficiency is the main objective of the sequence. In addition, students will gain cultural awareness and appreciation.

ASL 102 is offered for 4 hours of transferable credit. It satisfies part of the foreign language requirement for the B.A. degree, counts as an elective for the A.A. degree, and contributes to the general education requirement for other Associate Degrees.

Prerequisite: Successful completion of ASL 102 or the equivalent language experience in ASL as determined by the ASL proficiency interview. Students whose skill level in ASL is more advanced than that of ASL 102 will not be admitted.

Upon completion of this course students should be able to:

• Apply language-learning skills to a variety of uncomplicated, basic, and communicative tasks and social situations in a culturally acceptable manner.
• Ask and answer questions and participate in simple conversations on topics beyond the most immediate needs; e.g. giving directions, describing others, making requests, about family and occupations in depth, attributing qualities to others, talking about routines and maintaining and interrupting conversation at appropriate times.
• Demonstrate respect for and a better understanding of Deaf people and ASL, with an appreciation for their linguistic and cultural diversity.

Students are expected to attend all classes, participate actively in classroom activities, and prepare expressive homework assignments. Students may video record their work in the classroom or Lab or at home (as indicated by the instructor).  ASL will be used in the classroom at all times. No spoken language will be permitted in the classroom. Students should plan to spend at least one hour in preparation and practice outside of class for each class hour.

Assessment strategies include observation of students' in-class receptive and expressive use of ASL, written quizzes on cultural knowledge and on receptive skills, and videorecording of students' expressive use of ASL. Students will be assessed in their competence in using the language as demonstrated by the quality of receptive and expressive preparation and participation and assignments. Attendance is an important factor but it is not used as assessment tool. 

The course focuses on the acquisition and correct use of parameters, non-manuals signals, grammatical markers, grammatical structures, functional vocabulary, and cultural concepts for the purpose of successful communication in ASL. Successful students have reviewed, expanded and perfected previously learned material, have practiced, and will be able to use the following communication topics and structures:

• Descriptive and instrument classifiers

• Years and months

• Time

• Spatial agreement

• Negations

• Role shifting

• Culturally appropriate communication

• Non-manual signals

• Classifiers

• Deaf Heritage