Hello and welcome to American Sign Language page! You are probably here because you are taking this course and it fulfills an elective or language requirement needed to satisfy your goals. Yet, a part of you is probably also fascinated with the prospect of communicating with your hands instead of your mouth. Did you know that ASL is the 4th most used language in the United States? Many Americans have some form of hearing loss and rely on visuals to communicate. Those that utilize American Sign Language (ASL) are part of a group known as the Deaf community which is rich in culture, traditions, history, and community! ASL has also had a major impact on American traditions - the football huddle, signs in baseball, captioning/subtitles, the internet, open concept architecture and so much more! You’ve probably even heard of many famous people who have some level of deafness: Will.I.Am (Black Eyed Peas), Jane Lynch (actress, notably on Glee), Lou Ferrigno (the Hulk), Thomas Edison (invented the lightbulb), Beethoven (musician), Helen Keller (deaf-blind), Derrick Coleman (Vikings, Seahawks, Cardinals), and of course, your teacher! Just kidding, I’m not famous!

I identify with many titles and roles within my community. I was born a CODA (Child of a Deaf Adult) and I also have a Deaf sibling. I worked as an educational sign langauge interpreter from 2009-2014. During that time I started gaining my deafness and worked to become an ASL teacher. I now identify as Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing. I have degrees in Accounting (A.S, Cabrillo College), Psychology (A.A. & B.A, Pennsylvania State University), and Teaching (M.A, Brandman University) as well as post-graduate experience in ASL lingusitics and ASL literature from Gallaudet University. 

ASL 1 Syllabus

Assignments and Daily Agenda posted in Google Classroom