Classroom Bases Experience

Georgia State University

Applied Linguistics
Spring 11
ASL IV 37.5 hours
Jonathan Shive
For my classroom-based experience I taught a spring semester course as an
instructor at Georgia Perimeter Colleges Sign Language Interpreter Program. This
courses was ASL III SLIP 1906. For our program we have been using the Signing
Naturally, Level 2: A Student Workbook and Videotext for two courses. We divided up
this textbook into two and used one half for ASL III and the other half for ASL IV. Yet
after reviewing out comes and how our students are progressing in relation to the rest of
the interpreting course, the faculty felt that there needs to be more of an emphasis on
language and prep for the students to succeed. So this year we have been changing it up.
We used the Level 2 textbook for ASL III and the Level 3 textbook for ASL IV. That
meant we expanded the content in both classes. This required a lot of pre-planning to
coordinate the two classes.
The instructional objective we came up with are as follows:
1) Produce known signs with the correct handshape, palm orientation, location and
movement.
2) Build narrative skills in ASL.
3) Participate in ASL conversations exchanging personal information about life
events.
4) After viewing narratives in ASL, make appropriate responses.
5) Practice using ASL to explain and elaborate on ideas and concepts
6) Develop formal presentation and conversational skills.

7) Interact appropriately with the Deaf community.

So this is the newly redesign ASL IV class. We are using the Level 3 textbook and videos.
I think this is great. I have really enjoyed this textbook. I think the most important part is
that if focused a lot of discourse and small narratives. Within the Deaf Community,
everything is some kind of a story. I like how the curriculum has set this up. Yet I think
our program has been ahead of the game in some ways. In all of our ASL class, beginning
at I, we require students to make video recordings. One way we evaluate our students is
by having them tell narratives for expressive recordings. So our students are used to
making recordings. In this new textbook, each lesson has them prepping for a final unit
narrative. We decided to skip those parts of the units.
The units were set up as introducing the topic, grammar features and vocabulary.
Students are required to work at home following the workbook and DVD. The teacher
DVD had many examples of narratives, and they would break them down in smaller
video vignettes. These were at times in slow motion and close up view. I felt this is an
excellent use of media and the curriculum. Students always want to use slow motion to
see how something in ASL flows together. So I felt the students really benefitted from
that. The units were set up to apply what they learn in an immediate way to make them
use it.
This class had 15 students. Thirteen were from the ASL III class from the first half
of the semester. The other two students have taken SLIP 1906 and the old SLIP 1907.
When they heard about this newer class, they decided to take it to further their language
development. During and after the class, I did a few informal discussions with them about

the class and how they felt about it and how it compared to the previous version. They
both were glad we added the new book; they felt it focused more on just conversation and
interaction, using the language. As stated before, the Level 3 book focuses a lot on
narratives and using them to show language and from there, acquisition occurs. I see this
in alignment with what Im learning at GSU. Language learning is not about
memorization, reading, vocabulary, and drill. Its applying all these pieces together for
the goal of meaningful communication. I see this Level 3 book as providing
comprehensible input and explanation of what students are learning. Then the classroom
work is there to build on it, reinforce the input and bridge learning and then
communication.