American Sign Language
- Students will learn :
·the History of Sign Language
·the anatomy of the ear and how sound travels
·Causes of hearing losses
·various signs covering areas as home, food, animals, action words, etc.,
·Songs including signing
·Because of the considerable number of languages in California, the content standards were developed to accommodate all languages and describe the various stages a learner goes through to become proficient. Therefore, the content standards are not language-specific. In addition, because of the various levels of student proficiency and the multiple points of entry and exit from California’s language programs, the content standards that follow are not tied to specific grade levels; instead, they describe the stages of linguistic and cultural acquisition. For ease of presentation, the standards are separated into five categories: Content, Communication, Cultures, Structures, and Settings. The categories should be taught together and, in practice, merge into seamless instruction within the various stages of the Language Learning Continuum.
·Language users address a wide variety of topics that are appropriate to their age and stage. As students develop their ability to communicate in the target language and culture, they are able to more fully address topics that increase in complexity along the Language Learning Continuum.
·Real-world communication takes place in a variety of ways. It may be interpersonal: culturally appropriate listening, reading, viewing, speaking, signing, and writing take place as a shared activity among language users. It may be interpretive: language users listen, view, and read by using knowledge of cultural products, practices, and perspectives. It may be presentational: speaking, signing, and writing take place in culturally appropriate ways.
·Culturally appropriate language use requires an understanding of the relationship between the products and practices of the culture and its underlying perspectives. Students must acquire the ability to interact appropriately with target culture bearers in order to communicate successfully. This category allows students to make connections and comparisons between languages and cultures.
·The content standards use the term structures to capture the multiple components of grammar that learners must control in order to successfully communicate in linguistically and culturally appropriate ways. Students need to acquire orthography, the writing systems of languages that have them; phonology, the sound systems of languages or parameters in ASL; morphology, the rules for word formation; syntax, the principles of sentence structure; semantics, language-based meaning systems; and pragmatics, meaning systems connected to language us
- Language users need to carry out tasks in a variety of situations representative of those they will experience in the target culture. The success of learner communication will depend on the situation in which the language is used. Understanding social linguistic norms will assist learners in communicating effectively in real-world encounters