URL: http://www.ASLinfo.com/tipsforstudents.html
|
||||||||
|
Many University's/College's now offer ASL as a foreign language credit . Some Instructors who teach these ASL classes require their students to get "contact hours" for a certain percentage of their cumulative grade. This is customarily at the teachers discretion... not all ASL instructors require this of their students and is not usually required for ASL 1 students. My University (USF) does require ASL students to obtain Contact hours within the deaf community through silent dinners and deaf related events. These students are also normally required to get a signature of a deaf person who was at the event or are required to write down ten new signs that they learned at the event. I myself feel the latter is the best. Not everyone feels that students should be required to do this and it can be a touchy subject. In the Tampa Bay Area there are silent dinners 5 days a week, year round that are setup at area malls. The purpose of these silent dinners or as I like to call them, ASL Social Nights is for students and the deaf community to get together and socialize. There are many deaf individuals who go to see other deaf friends and catch-up on things that are happening in their life and so forth but I would have to say that 99% of the deaf community are very accepting of the students and for the most part patient with them. We are very fortunate here in the Tampa area to have such a large deaf community and whose members are encouraging. I know it can be frustrating, embarrassing, and somewhat awkward to attend some of these functions. You're not really sure what to sign or what to say. I suggest that you go with friends or classmates so you are not alone. Introduce yourself and explain you are taking ASL and that you are here to socialize and learn more from the deaf community. All I can say is relax, take your time and have fun, make some new friends. If you plan to major in ASL, Interpreting, Deaf Education or any deaf related field there are many options availableto you besides Silent dinners. You can volunteer at a Deaf Service Center, Residential school, or a school that has a mainstream program. You can also mentor with an Interpreter and try to attend as many deaf/interpreting related workshops. Take advantage of every opportunity available. Join RID or your local State RID Chapter, if you are here in Florida it is FRID or any other organization that will help you in your profession. Another great resource is the Internet itself. There is a plethora of information out there related to deafness that can be of great benefit. Check out my Links page, I have many links available to many deaf Web sites as well as a resource page of Books. At any rate I hope these tips are useful to you in your Journey into the Deaf community. |
||||||||
Printed from http://www.ASLinfo.com |
