2

The Syllabus
Professor: Susanne McLaughlin

Email: [email protected]

Class location: TWA 150

Class time: M & W 6:00pm – 7:50pm

Please email me if you want to set up an

appointment with me outside the
classroom
COMMUNICATION WITH STUDENTS
I regularly send out announcements
through canvas and email. It is your
responsibility to check your email and
Canvas account often.
 Course Description

Continued systematic study of the structure,

vocabulary, and conversational strategies of
ASL. Skills focus on the basic principles of
phrasing, sentence patterns, manual counting
and spelling, semantics, the development of
expressive and receptive abilities.
 Course Outline
• Unit 7: Describing People and Things
• Unit 8: Making Requests and Asking for
Advice
• Unit 9: Describing Places
• Unit 10: Giving Opinions About Others
• Unit 11: Discussing Plans and Goals
• Unit 12: Storytelling
At the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Produce ASL structures and verb agreements.

• Incorporate classifiers in ASL sentence structure.

• Increase speed and accuracy in fingerspelling and

lexicalized fingerspelling.
Required Course Materials

https://chaffey.instructure.com

Signing Naturally Level 2 Student DVD

and Workbook by Ella Mae Lentz, Ken
Mikos, and Cheri Smith
ISBN:978-1-58121-221-1
Price: $84.95
 Types of Assignments
Throughout this course you will be completing
several types of assignments to help build your ASL
skills and discover the values and characteristics of
the Deaf community.
1. Lab Assignments 5%
2. Movie Reaction 5%
3. Deaf Event Experience 10%
4. Unit Assignments 10%
5. Production Assignments 15%
6. Unit Tests 15%
7. Midterm__________________20%
8. Final Exam_ 20%
Lab Assignments
You are to complete the lab assignments to successfully complete
this course. It is your responsible to follow the schedule of lab
assignments on time. This means you MUST sign in and to complete
the provided lab assignments at the Success Center Language.

Attached is a sheet of Directed Learning Activities (DLA). You are to

complete these activities and have them verified by a tutor at the
success center. The tutor will assess your skills and sign a sheet
stating that you have accomplished each of the assigned tasks. Be
aware that the due dates for all activities.

Lab Information: http://libguides.chaffey.edu/languagesc

Tour: https://www.thinglink.com/video/941478258719850498
Directed Learning Activities
Printable in Canvas
 Movie Reaction

During class, we will watch a rich film exploring

Deaf Culture and History in America.

You will submit a movie reaction paper on Canvas.

 Deaf Event Experience
You will be required to attend an event organized
primarily by or for Deaf people and type one
paragraph in response to the experience.
May 6th

http://www.deafroadrunner.com/events/

https://www.meetup.com/InlandEmpireASLFriends/?_cookie-
check=GSLdF1TTALfJTdHH

http://www.cad1906.org/events/list/

https://www.csdr-cde.ca.gov/
Why is it important to attend deaf events?
Unit Assignments
You will demonstrate your comprehension skills by
watching signers in your student workbook and
DVD.

At each homework prompt, you will post your

answers from your student workbook into Canvas
where they will be graded.

You will get an instruction of each assignment at the

end of class.
 Production Assignments

You will complete 3 production assignments. The

assignment assess your ASL skills using vocabulary and
grammar structures.

1. Before and After Clothing Narrative (Video)

2. Describing Your Neighborhood (Live)
3. Unit 12 Storytelling (Video)
 Unit 7-11 Tests

The Comprehension part tests your ability to

understand what is being signed to you and
grammatical concept.

The Production Part test assess your ASL

skills using vocabulary and grammar structures.
 Final Exam

The Comprehension exam covers all units. The

exam tests your ability to understand what is
being signed to you and grammatical concept.

The Production exam covers all units. The exam

tests your ability of ASL skills using vocabulary
and grammar structures.
 ASL Zone
ASL is a visual language that will require you to develop
communication skills you may not be accustomed to using your
hands, face, body, eyes and space. In order to progress, it is
important that students become comfortable using their bodies
and "listening" with their eyes.
 
Immersive experiences are conductive to learning. The best way
to learn German would be to visit Germany, surrounded only
by German language speakers.

Similarly, ASL is best mastered if the students turn off their

voice. By refraining from speaking aloud, students will develop
better receptive ASL skills.



ASL Zone
ASL Immersion
Help your classmates out and facilitate their
effective learning by letting them wrestle with their
own questions. Whispering answers to them
does not help them learn anything.

During and at the end of each class session, feel

free to sign or write your questions on the
whiteboard to get clarification on ASL grammar
or what was covered in class that time for the
benefit of the class.
 Language and Culture Acquisition Contract

The classroom is a speech-free zone for two major reasons:

Learning environment and cultural respect.

Learning environment: a student’s learning ability is greatly

enhanced by this voice-free environment. Full immersion helps
develop better receptive and expressive skills. Using voice will
distract or interfere other students’ learning process.

Cultural Respect: classroom is a good place to train and learn to

practice “voice-free zone” habit that will be applied to a cultural
behavior and norm in the ASL/Deaf world outside.
 Language and Culture Acquisition Contract
Hearing people who know ASL talk in ASL in front of any deaf
person to respect their culture and language.

The use of voice in classroom is a rude or offensive behavior

in deaf space. It demonstrates an ignorance or disrespect for
their culture as well as reminder of the historical oppression.
Your role is to be an ally.

All conversation must be in ASL until you leave at the end of

class.
Disruptive students will be asked to leave the class.

Complete the contract form in Canvas under modules

 Class Schedule

6:00pm-6:30pm: Lecture
6:30pm- 7:30pm: Receptive & Expressive Activities
7:30pm-7:40pm: Wrap up & questions
7:40pm: Class dismiss

No breaks
https://chaffey.instructure.com/login/ldap
Student Code of Conduct 

Student handbook
 Course Management
Students are expected to follow the Student Code of
Conduct as state in the Chaffey College catalogue
and online at

http://www.chaffey.edu/fac-handbook/c/pdf/
Student_Behavior_CodeSH14-15.pdf
Disability Programs & Services (DPS)

DPS extends to individuals with developmental, learning,

physical, psychological disabilities the opportunity to acquire
the necessary knowledge and skills for increased self-
actualization and independence.

Additional information about the DPS is available at:

http://www.chaffey.edu/DPS/students.shtml
Student Success Centers

Success Center network of services enhances the

college learning experience through a variety of
instructional practices with a demonstrated positive
impact on student success.

Additional information about the Success Centers is available at:

http://libguides.chaffey.edu/successcenters/home
Extended Opportunity Programs & Services
(EOPS)

EOPS is a community college counseling program

that provides “over and above” academic, personal,
and financial support to qualified students whose
educational and socioeconomic background might
prevent them from successfully attending college

Additional information about the EOPS is available at:

http://www.chaffey.edu/careercenter/
Career Center

The Career Center assists students in making

informed and educated decisions in order to pursue
their career path.

Additional information about the Career Center is available at:

http://www.chaffey.edu/eops/
Transfer Center

There are many ways to begin your road to

transferring to a University or College. The Transfer
Center offers a variety of helpful services and
resources to help you navigate the transfer process.

Additional information about the Career Center is available at:

http://www.chaffey.edu/transfer/
Veterans Resource Center

Chaffey College improves lives within the diverse

communities it serves through equal access to
quality occupational, transfer, general education,
and foundation programs in a learning-centered
environment where student success is highly valued,
supported, and assessed.

Additional information about the Veterans Resource Center is available

at:
https://www.chaffey.edu/vets/Veterans%20Resource%20Center%20PPT.pdf
 I believe in fostering a
communicative and
inquisitive environment
where students are free to
ask any questions. I look
at each question with
value, and I define and
simplify answers to help
students grasp the
concept.