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Course Title
Learning American Sign Language IV
Overview of Course
Ten dialogs introduce over 200 new ASL signs. The dialogs look at conversations that take place around the house and school, common phrases associated with talking about the weather and sports, and end with two lessons devoted to talking about ASL. In addition, there is one lesson that introduces the ASL linguistic feature known as classifiers. They illustrate more ways in which a variety of ASL sentence structures can be used to form conversational sentences. Further fascinating insights into the lives of people in the Deaf community are presented in each of the ten lessons and this time with topics relating to rationale for visual applause, the creation of name signs, the varied use of the directional verb-sign LOOK-at, an association for Deaf and hearing people, the importance of eye movements when signing ASL, the relationship of signing to intellectual development in babies, rules for sports in the Deaf community, and personal alert systems.
Overview of Lessons
| Lesson |
Title/Theme |
Dialog |
Grammar |
Vocabulary |
Culture |
| 1 |
Around the house |
Talking about what to do around the house. |
Placement of sign indicating time. |
Directional verb-sign. Use of the sign WHICH. |
What is a visual applause? |
| 2 |
Fixing things |
Conversation about fixings things around the house. |
Rhetorical question. Placement of the sign KNOW-NOTHING. Multiple sentences. |
Signs related to fixing house-hold items. |
Name signs |
| 3 |
Verbs |
Different movement of the directional verb-sign BORROW is explored. |
Negation. Topic/comment sentence. |
Conversational phrases. |
Here’s looking at you! |
| 4 |
Talking about school |
Common phrases used to talk about school. |
Topic/comment format for asking questions. |
Numbers. School-related signs. Negative incorporation (i.e., DIDN’T-KNOW) |
Jumpstart your baby’s IQ? |
| 5 |
Talking about someone |
Inquiring about a person. |
Rhetorical question. Topic/comment sentence. Facial clues. |
Use of TWO-of-us as a translation for the English “we.” |
An association for Deaf and hearing people |
| 6 |
Talking about the weather |
Introduces terminology and phrases related to the weather. |
Rhetorical question. Topic/comment sentence. Longer sentences. |
Weather related signs. |
Facial expressions, movements, and meaning of signs: Part 2 |
| 7 |
Classifiers |
Introduction to the use of classifiers. |
Eye movements. Classifiers to represent objects and people. |
Person classifier. Vehicle classifier. |
The eyes have it |
| 8 |
Sports & games |
Talking about favorite sports and exercises. |
Use of fingers to list things. Placement of sign indicating time. |
Sports and exercise related signs. |
Are rules different when Deaf people play sports against each other? |
| 9 |
A few more words about signing |
Phrases new signers use to talk about signing. |
Placement of sign indicating time. Topic/comment sentence. |
Signs related to how a person signs. |
Personal alert systems from the past. |
| 10 |
There’s more ASL ahead |
Conversation about what to do when a course if completed. |
Topic/comment sentence. Placement of sign indicating time. Simple sentence. |
Use of the sign FINISH and WHY-NOT. |
Personal alert system |
Lesson Organization
Each lesson is based on seven easy steps:
- Learning the Signs
There is a dialog between two people in each lesson. You are shown how to sign each ASL sign used in the dialog.
- Creating Sentences
Each dialog is separated into sentences. A clear description is given of how the sentences are translated from English to ASL. You are shown how to sign each sentence.
- The Complete Dialog
You watch and practice a dialog between two Deaf signers.
- Additional Signs
Each lesson has additional signs for you to learn that are not in the dialog.
- Practice Activities
Practice activities help you exercise your new knowledge of ASL. You translate English sentences to ASL. After you have done this, a single click shows you one way for the signing the sentence in ASL.
- Quiz
Take the quiz to find out if you are ready to move on to the next lesson.
- Culture Information
Each lesson ends with information about Deaf people and the way they live. This section provides insight and motivation for helping you learn ASL.
Final Exam and Certificate
After completion of the lessons, you can take the final exam for the course to test your newly learned ASL knowledge. Upon successfully passing the final exam, you will earn a certificate of completion. The certificate will be mailed to you to mark your accomplishment.
Continuing Education
Educator CEUs - If you are an educator, you can take the above courses for Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for an additional $20 per course. The CEUs are issued by the Michigan Department of Education through Michigan State University. You earn 1.5 CEUs per course. To receive CEUs, you must log 15 hours online and fill out a CEU completion form upon completion of a course.
Nursing CEs - If you are a nurse, you can take the above courses for Continuing Nursing Education Contact Hours (CEs) for an additional $20 per course. The CEs are issued by Michigan State University College of Nursing, which is approved as a provider of continuing nursing education by the Michigan Nurses Association, an accredited approver of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center Commission on Accredtitation. You earn 18 contact hours per course. To receive CEs, you must log 15 hours online and fill out a CEU completion form upon completion of a course.
Tools to Help You Learn
With your enrollment, you receive complete access to several useful tools and resources to aid you in your learning, including:
- Dictionary
You have quick access to nearly 2000 ASL signs.
- Fingerspelling
ASL uses a manual alphabet where a different handshape is used to represent each letter of the alphabet. These handshapes can be seen at anytime.
- Numbers
ASL uses different handshapes to represent numbers. These handshapes can be seen at anytime.
- Glossary
At the click of a button you can refresh your memory about ASL rules and signing techniques.
How long does it take?
You are given four months to complete the course. The time it takes to complete the course will vary depending on your previous experience with sign language, ASL, and your own learning style.
With that said, the site will pace you so you can take at most one lesson per day. Each lesson should take you about 1-2 hours of online time. Therefore, a complete course would take 10 days, taking on average around 15-20 hours total to complete.
How much does it cost?
The cost to take this online course is $49.95. ($69.95 if taking to earn CEUs or CEs)
For a limited time, if you enroll in more than one course at a time, the course access duration will be extended and you will get a multi-course discount on the cost.
How do I enroll?
You can enroll via our secure, online enrollment process.
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