Division of Special Education

ASL 101 American Sign Language I - 4 cr.
First in a related series of courses that focus on the use and study of American Sign Language (ASL), the language that is widely used by Deaf Americans. This course includes basic ASL vocabulary, grammatical structures, and conversational behaviors. Students are introduced to the values and beliefs shared by members of Deaf Culture and the behavioral norms of the Deaf Community.

ASL 102 American Sign Language II - 4 cr.
Second in a related series of courses that focus on the use and study of American Sign Language (ASL), this course includes intermediate ASL vocabulary, grammatical structures, and conversational behaviors. Special emphasis is on developing more awareness of the cultural values and beliefs shared by the Deaf Community.

ASL 103 American Sign Language III - 4 cr.
Third in a related series of courses that focus on the use and study of American Sign Language (ASL), this course continues to increase ASL vocabulary, grammatical structures, and in-depth cultural awareness.

ASL 201 American Sign Language IV - 4 cr.
This course provides the opportunity to develop and use stories and language activities in both receptive and expressive modes. Nonmanual behavior, ASL structure, and fluency are included.

ASL 202 American Sign Language V - 4 cr.
This course provides opportunities to expand expressive and receptive use of the language at an advanced level. Special focus is on increasing sign clarity, fluency, and nonmanual behavior. Deaf Culture is included in class discussions.

ASL 203 American Sign Language VI - 4 cr.
Sixth in a related series of courses that focus on the use and study of ASL, the course includes ways in which signers construct meaning and messages in ASL, grammatical variation, and discourse strategies over a variety of topics.

ASL 301 American Sign Language VII - 4 cr.
This course provides opportunities to expand expressive and receptive use of ASL, including a variety of special topics at an advanced level. Special emphasis is on increasing spatial use, ASL fluency and nonmanual behaviors.

ASL 302 American Sign Language VIII - 4 cr.
Second course in an advanced series of the study of the use of ASL. Students are given opportunities to increase expressive and receptive skills through activities and class discussions, including a variety of special topics at an advanced level.

ASL 303 American Sign Language IX - 4 cr.
Third course in an advanced series of the study of language use. Students have opportunity to utilize a variety of ASL concepts and complex grammar for use in a variety of genres.

ASL 310 American Sign Language Cherology/Phonology - 3 cr.
Study of the cherological/phonological system in ASL, including methods of classifying and describing cheremes/phonemes in ASL and the relevance of this base to cherological/ phonological analysis. Prerequisites: ASL 101, 102, 103, 201, 202, 203, LING 210 or permission of instructor.

ASL 315 American Deaf Culture - 3 cr.
Course introduces major aspects of Deaf culture: 1) the history of Deaf people; 2) the community and culture of Deaf people; and 3) the literature and folklore of Deaf people. Prerequisite: ASL 101, 102, 103, 201, 202, 203 or permission of instructor.

ASL 320 American Sign Language Morphology - 3 cr.
Focus on the study of morphological analysis. Data from many languages is analyzed, but the primary focus is ASL morphology. Methods of determining the morphological patterns of language are examined. Prerequisite: ASL 101,102, 103, 201, 202, 203, LING 210 or permission of instructor.

ASL 325 American Sign Language Literature - 3 cr.
Introduces aspects of ASL literature including poetry, narrative, theatre and drama. Original works are studied, analyzed and compared. Prerequisites: ASL 101, 102, 103, 201, 202, 203 or permission of instructor.

ASL 330 Special Topics in American Sign Language - 4 cr.
Introduction to specific topics and content areas in ASL discourse. Topics include mathematics, history, science, art, sports, psychology, health, biology, computer and mental health/medical. Receptive and expressive skills in ASL are enhanced. Skills related to research in sign language discourse are introduced. Prerequisites: ASL 101, 102, 103, 201, 202, 203 or permission of instructor.

ASL 406 Individual Studies - 1-3 cr.
Terms and hours to be arranged. Designed for individual or special studies in a limited area of interest under the guidance of a designated faculty member. Prerequisite: consent of instructor

ASL 407 Seminar - 1-12 cr.
Terms and hours to be arranged. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

ASL 408 Workshop - 1-12 cr.
Terms and hours to be arranged. Prerequisite: consent of instructor

ASL 409 Practicum - 1-12 cr.
Terms and hours to be arranged. Prerequisite: consent of instructor

ASL 415 American Sign Language Syntax and Semantics - 3 cr.
Focuses on the study of syntactic structure and its interaction with meaning. Word order, lexical categories, sentence types, clause structure, topicalization and sentences with transitive, intransitive and agreement verbs are studied. Prerequisite: ASL 101, 102, 103, 201, 202, 203, LING 210, or permission of instructor.

ASL 420 Sociolinguistics of Deaf Communities - 3 cr.
Focuses on the sociolinguistic factors that affect language variation and language change. Socio-linguistic factors that influence communication and strategies for analyzing discourse are identified and described. Prerequisite: ASL 101, 102, 103, 201, 202, 203, LING 210, or permission of
instructor.

ASL 425 Introduction to American Sign Language Teaching - 3 cr.
Introduces the major theories of second language acquisition and teaching and applies these approaches to ASL instruction. The course explores similarities and differences between L1 and L2 acquisition. Prerequisite: ASL 101, 102, 103, 201, 202, 203, LING 210, or permission of instructor.

ASL 430 Methodology and Curriculum: American Sign Language Teaching - 3 cr.
Focuses on theories of second language acquisition and approaches to developing and implementing classroom methods and strategies for second language teaching, primarily teaching ASL. Prerequisite: ASL 101, 102, 103, 201, 202, 203, LING 210, or permission of instructor.

ASL 435 Mentoring for ASL Specialists and Teachers - 3 cr.
This course prepares experienced ASL specialists and teachers with skills and knowledge to become mentors and resource specialists for less experienced or entry-level ASL specialists and teachers. Special focus ison various assessment and evaluation strategies that can be applied to mentoring. Prerequisite: ASL 101, 102, 103, 201, 202, 203, LING 210 or permission of instructor.

Division of Special Education
phone: 503-838-8322
e-mail: education@wou.edu

Cheryl Davis, Ph.D., Chair
Division of Special Education
davisc@wou.edu . 503-838-8053