Welcome!

1. Welcome!

2. True or False • ASL is a universal language • Sign language was created by hearing people • Sign language has no order or structure • Sign language is slower than spoken language

3. Cont… • There is a written form of sign language • Sign language does not use slang • Sign language has regional signs • ex: pop/soda

4. Introductions

5. Sheri Cook

6. Deaf Family

7. Deaf cousins

8. CHICAGO

9. Northern Illinois University

10. Deaf Volleyball Team at NIU

11. Camp Lions Adventure Wilderness Program

12. Wisconsin School for the Deaf

13. Janesville, Wisconsin Murphysboro, Illinois

14. Illinois School for the Deaf Outreach Program

15. SIU Southern Illinois University John A. Logan College

16. Erica Pancoast

17. School • Graduated Mt. Vernon High School-1997 Mt. Vernon Township High School

18. Graduated Illinois State University-2002 • Bachelors-Industrial Technology

19. Disney Internship

20. Jeld-Wen Windows & Doors

21. Went back to ISUBachelors-Deaf Education

22. Arizona School for the Deaf & Blind

23. Attended Eastern Illinois UniversityMaster’s Degree-Educational Administration

24. My Family

25. Nephew Avery, Niece Camryn, Niece Rylie

28. Who are you andwhy are you taking ASL?

29. EP’s Classroom Expectations • Be on time and prepared • Participate • Be Respectful • Complete all work

30. Grading • Participation/Class work • Video Conversations • Quizzes • Assignments

31. Syllabus We will go over this tomorrow

32. Required Email address in order to send you your recorded signed dialogues Recommended

33. Materials we will use in class

34. Sheri Cook’s website for review and information shericook.wordpress.com

35. DIRECT METHOD Focus on the target language (ASL) without relying on the student’s native language.

36. No Voicing from the Instructor RECEPTIVE BEFORE EXPRESSIVE • Foster the development of ASL receptive skills in the students. • Young children learn their native language by first hearing or seeing the language used around them for many months or years. • Their receptive skills (their understanding) are developed first before their expressive skills (their production).

37. No Voicing from the Instructor • Avoid confusion of ASL and English. • If the teacher signs and talks at the same time she will not be modeling the structure of ASL since one cannot sign ASL and speak English at the same time.

38. We will focus very little on fingerspelling skills during the first semester of ASL.

39. Why?

40. “First, fingerspelling demands fine visual perception and fine motor skills, signing does not.” Beginning signers do not have this skill. • “Second, the eyes and body need a period of adjustment before being able to handle fingerspelling effectively and efficiently.” American Sign Language – The Original Green Books, p. 37

41. Goals for this semester • Readiness Activities • Structured ASL Activities • Dialogues and Conversational Activities

42. Readiness Activities:Training the Eyes and Body • It’s important to develop visual and motor skills needed for ASL. • ASL requires the use of the face, hands and body in ways which are strange and uncomfortable for many hearing people. • The readiness activities will help “loosen up” the students.

43. Students will be exposed to complete meaningful sentences… Simple questions-answer dialogue Vocabulary learning will be centered around objects and actions Shift to common situations, settings and experiences of everyday life. Structured ASL Activities

44. Dialogues and Conversational Activities • Use of sentences in a conversational format • Learn certain conversational behaviors in ASL which are different than conversational behaviors in English. • Focus on one main grammatical ASL feature in each dialogue.

45. Strategies for learning American Sign Language (ASL)

46. Strategies for Learning American Sign Language 1. Follow all conversations whether they are between the teacher and class, teacher and student, or student and student.

47. Strategies for Learning American Sign Language 1. Follow all conversations whether they are between the teacher and class, teacher and student, or student and student. 2. Focus on the signer’s face, not hands. Don’t break eye contact while in a signed conversation.

48. Strategies for Learning American Sign Language 1. Follow all conversations whether they are between the teacher and class, teacher and student, or student and student. 2. Focus on the signer’s face, not hands. Don’t break eye contact while in a signed conversation. 3.Develop active listening behaviors, i.e., nodding, responding with “huh?,” “wow,” “really?” Your teacher may stop to repeat information because you do not nod to indicate you are following along. This is not teacher / student behavior – it is cultural. Listeners have very active roles in signed conversations.

49. Participate as much as possible by adding comments, agreeing, or disagreeing, etc. The more your participate, the more you will retain what you learn. Don’t worry about mistakes. They are a part of the learning process.

50. Participate as much as possible by adding comments, agreeing, or disagreeing, etc. The more your participate, the more you will retain what you learn. Don’t worry about mistakes. They are a part of the learning process. • Try not to worry about a sign you missed. Work on getting the gist of the conversation. If a particular sign pops up over and over, and you haven’t a clue to its meaning, then ask the teacher. Try to avoid asking your classmate for a quick English translation. You would lose out on valuable communication experiences that can strengthen your comprehension skills.