Full course description
This is an 8-lesson course—designed for independent study--that provides aspiring and working interpreters with the opportunity to enhance their comprehension of ASL narratives in preparation for interpreting from ASL into spoken English. It is designed for individuals who have emergent comprehension skills of ASL messages, who seek improvement towards mastery. The course schedule provides for approximately 2-3 hours per lesson of knowledge and skill development activities over the 8 lesson period of time. Participants of this course will be guided through an analysis of meaning of various ASL narratives through structured practice activities—inclusive of advance preparation techniques (prediction and/or topic research), review of structured questions about the text (which sets the stage for what will be discussed in the text before viewing the text), viewing of the text at a slower speed to enhance comprehension and analysis of specific linguistic features (such as fingerspelling and numbers, referents), answering questions about the text after each viewing and summarizing the overall message (for the purpose of considering the overall organization and cohesion of what has been comprehended), and use of an answer key for review, self-correction, and reflection. Interspersed with the practice activities are short presentations about different topics relating to ASL comprehension—such as comprehension of fingerspelling and/or pronoun/referent forms. Participants will also have the opportunity to practice interpreting the ASL texts into spoken English and to compare/contrast their performance with sample interpretations generated by experienced, certified interpreters. The course concludes with resources the participant can use to continue their skill development beyond the course. Overall learning will be assessed through pre- and post-test outcomes.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
As a result of completion of this course, participants will:
- Adopt a structured approach to improving receptive skills needed to comprehend a variety of ASL narratives focused on different topics.
- Identify and label specific language features that impact the comprehension of ASL narratives.
- Apply a series of comprehension strategies to enhance receptive ASL skills.
- Identify interpretation strategies used by experienced, certified interpreters during the interpretation of ASL narratives into spoken English.
- Self-assess the effectiveness of their comprehension and interpretation of ASL narratives through the use of course answer keys and other related tools.
This self-paced course is designed for independent learners who wish to explore the material at their own pace. There is no facilitator or instructor, and no feedback will be given on assignments. All course materials are provided, allowing participants to manage their own learning experience. Completion is flexible, enabling learners to progress according to their individual schedules and goals.
This course is structured into lessons that are designed to take 2-3 hours each to complete. The anticipated length of the course ranges from 16 to 24 hours. Participants will have up to 120 days to complete the course, otherwise they will automatically be removed and required to re-enroll.