March 29, 2013
The ASL program is also expanding at Temple’s Main Campus.
 Rena Krakow wants to put to rest a likely common misconception about American Sign Language (ASL) as the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders expands its ASL offerings at Temple University Ambler and the Main Campus.
“American Sign Language is not ‘English-on-the hands,’ but an independent language with its own history, structure, and even an associated Deaf Culture. ASL is the fourth most commonly studied language by college students,” said Krakow, Associate Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders. “While enrollments in other languages are declining, enrollments in ASL courses are rising. Some students want to study ASL to learn about language in another modality and some want to study ASL because they want to be able to communicate, and perhaps work, more effectively with people who are Deaf.”
To meet a growing demand for ASL courses, Krakow said, Communications Sciences and Disorders will be offering American Sign Language 1 and American Sign Language 2 at Temple University Ambler for the first time beginning in the first Summer 2013 session (classes start the week of Monday, May 20). Additional ASL sections are also being added at Main Campus, she added.
“We are delighted with the increase in interest and we would like to be able to serve those students at Ambler and on Main Campus who want to study ASL. We also plan to add ASL classes at higher levels in the near future,” she said. “Both the Linguistics major and the Speech-Language-Hearing major at Temple require the study of a non-English language and they both accept and encourage the study of ASL to meet that requirement. Recently, Temple’s College of Science and Technology has also added ASL to its list of languages that meet the foreign/second language requirement for all of its majors and we anticipate that other colleges and departments will follow suit in the near future.”
American Sign Language is a visual-based language “that uses the eyes to process language whereas other languages are auditory based,” said ASL instructor Meghan Rainone.
“Right off the bat, this is the biggest difference that requires students to adjust their learning style. In an ASL class, you must be alert and engaged in order to learn how to ‘see’ a language rather than hear it,” said Rainone, who graduated with a Juris Doctorate from Temple’s Beasley School of Law. “Just like any language it takes hard work to learn — and to teach — but it is extremely rewarding. Being Deaf and an ASL user, I figured I could teach it to others — it was no easy task but after teaching one course after another it came naturally. What I thought was going to be a short gig became a career.”
Philadelphia is a city with a relatively large Deaf population, “which reflects the presence of the well-known Pennsylvania School for the Deaf (PSD) right in our city and a community that has grown up around PSD,” said Krakow.
“The ability to use ASL provides students with a language that they can use in their professional work — whether they become teachers, nurses, doctors, social workers, speech-language pathologists/audiologists, lawyers. Of course, the study of introductory ASL can be the beginning of a path toward becoming a Sign Language interpreter. There is a huge demand for interpreters that is not currently being met.”
According to Rainone, U.S. News and World Report lists sign language interpreting and translating as number 16 on its “100 Best Jobs in 2013” list.
 “The demand is certainly there. What I hope to see is Deaf people having access to visual communication in hospitals, schools, stores, everywhere,” she said. “The goal of Temple’s ASL program is to enable students to carry on a basic conversation with a Deaf person anywhere and anytime. There are a large number of students who fall in love with learning the language and decide to do more with it.”
Everyone could benefit from learning American Sign Language no matter their profession or chosen course of study, said Susan McCaffrey, Director of Academic Advising and Disability Resources and Services Coordinator at Temple University Ambler.
“There are Deaf people in all walks of life and, if you can sign, the communication barrier diminishes greatly. At Ambler, we are happy to be offering an opportunity for students in any major to learn a new language and broaden their ability to communicate with the Deaf,” she said. “These courses will allow the students in the Communication Science and Disorders program to fulfill their language requirement at the Ambler Campus but it would be an enriching experience for students and professionals in education, social work, criminal justice, psychology and any number of other fields.”
McCaffrey hopes to see individuals that take the courses “embracing the language and the chance to express themselves visually.”
“They will learn that their facial expressions and body language express their ‘tone of voice.’ They will learn to think about what they mean to communicate, not just replace English words with the ASL counterpart,” she said. “They will become more confident in front of others and they will learn that they have to listen with their eyes.”
According to Rainone, people have a “higher chance of using ASL with a Deaf person” than using another language with someone from another country.
“Ninety percent of Deaf children are born to hearing parents — this often comes as a surprise for many people. Statistics indicate that there are many families with Deaf members that require sign language communication. Temple is the perfect place to offer ASL because of its diverse student body as well as programs,” she said. “I hope the individuals that take these courses will experience a paradigm shift and realize that ASL is a true language of its own right — it has no relationship to English and possesses unique grammar and syntax like other languages. The Deaf community is considered a linguistic and cultural minority. We are proud to be Deaf. My hope is that students can appreciate the pride we carry in our daily lives.”
To learn more about taking courses in American Sign Language at Temple University Ambler and Main Campus, contact the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at 215-204-7543 or visit http://chpsw.temple.edu/commsci/home.
CONTACT: James Duffy, 267-468-8108, duffyj@temple.edu, release available by e-mail |
