American Sign Language

ASL Courses

MLM 101
MLM 102
MLM 198
MLM 299a
MLM 299b

MLM 101 Elementary American Sign Language I (4 credits)

This course introduces students to the use and study of American Sign Language (ASL), its grammatical rules, and cultural aspects of the Deaf Community. Emphasis is on building beginning receptive and expressive sign vocabulary, appropriate grammatical and affective facial expressions, syntax, and body modifiers.
Upon successful completion of MLM 101, the student should be able to:

Demonstrate basic, functional conversational skills in ASL.
Show an elementary understanding of ASL syntax (including basic sentence structures, such as affirmations, negations, confirmations, interrogatives, commands, declaratives and wh- questions).
Use simple temporal markers, pronominalization, numbers, spatial referencing, noun-verb pairs, and contrastive structure.
Exchange introductions, personal and family information at an elementary level.
Use simple role shifting, classifiers, dual personal pronouns, temporal sequencing and inflecting verbs.
Participate in discussions about one's surroundings and personal activities.
Behave appropriately in simple, informal, and social situations.
Discuss various aspects of the Deaf Community, its culture, how Deaf and hearing people have interacted historically and the role that ASL plays in the lives of Deaf people.
Appreciate the role of storytelling in ASL.
Produce simple transcriptions of short ASL text.

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MLM 102 Elementary American Sign Language II (4 credits)

Prerequisite(s): MLM 101 or equivalent

This course has students continue the use and study of American Sign Language (ASL), its rules of grammar and cultural aspects of the Deaf Community. Emphasis is on continued building of elementary receptive and expressive sign vocabulary, appropriate grammatical and affective facial expressions and body modifiers.
Upon successful completion of MLM 102, the student should be able to:

Demonstrate basic, functional conversational skills in ASL through giving and asking directions, making requests, contradicting others, explaining relationships and describing others.
Continue to show an understanding of ASL syntax as developed in MLM 101 (including basic sentence structures, such as affirmations, negations, confirmations, interrogatives, commands, declaratives, and wh-questions).
Show beginning level competency with new grammatical concepts.
Continue to use simple temporal markers, pronominalization, numbers, spatial referencing, noun-verb pairs, and contrastive structure.
Use role shifting, descriptive classifiers, dual personal pronouns, temporal sequencing and inflecting verbs.
Demonstrate social and cultural behaviors in a polite, informal register of ASL.
Demonstrate increased vocabulary.
Discuss various aspects of the Deaf Community, its culture, how Deaf and hearing people have interacted historically and the role that ASL plays in the lives of Deaf people.
Show an appreciation for ASL storytelling.
Produce written transcriptions of short ASL texts.

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MLM 198 Deaf History, Deaf Culture and American Sign Language (4 credits)

Prerequisite(s): MLM 101 or equivalent

This course will give students the opportunity to immerse themselves in Deaf Culture, Deaf History and American Sign Language at Oregon School for the Deaf (OSD) in Salem. The course will introduce students to the Deaf History of social, cultural, political, educational and social service aspects of the Deaf Community. Students will examine the norms and values of Deaf Culture, the linguistic, educational, social and professional influences on the Deaf Community, and the ways in which deaf and hearing interact in American Society.

Additionally, this course will further develop students' use of American Sign Language in both receptive and expressive modes. The storytelling medium will be used to challenge students to increase their expressive and receptive use of ASL in terms of nonmanual behavior and ASL structure.

Upon successful completion of MLM 198, the student should be able to:

Demonstrate knowledge of significant events and dates that have shaped Deaf History in the United States and Europe.
Demonstrate knowledge of the impact that the major institutions of education and family have historically had on Deaf people.
Demonstrate knowledge of a sociological understanding of Deaf people as a unique cultural group that has spent much of its history fighting oppression.
Interact with Deaf students and staff at OSD.
Demonstrate receptive and expressive skills in the use of ASL stories.

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MLM 299a Intermediate American Sign Language III (4 credits)

Prerequisite(s): MLM 102 or equivalent

This course has students continue to refine the language skills and knowledge acquired in American Sign Language (MLM 101-102). Emphasis it on encouraging students to talk about people and things in a more abstract manner, using more complex grammar, descriptions and conversational strategies.

Upon successful completion of MLM 299a, the student should be able to:

Demonstrate basic, functional conversational skills in ASL through making requests, suggestions and complaints, talking about routines, exchanging complex personal information, and describing locations in detail.
Use the ASL syntax learned in MLM 101-102 more accurately.
Use conditionals, "when" clauses, descriptive and locative classifiers properly.
Understand and use more complex temporal markers, numbers, role shifting, spatial referencing, temporal sequencing, inflecting verbs, and contrastive structure.
Show an increased vocabulary that includes everyday objects and activities.
Comfortably describe family's history and country(s) of origin, showing the correct signs for various countries and nationalities.
Accurately convey various life events.
Sustain longer narratives about personal experiences.
Demonstrate appropriate social and cultural behaviors in a polite, slightly more formal register of ASL.
Discuss more aspects of the Deaf community, its culture and the role ASL plays in the lives of Deaf people.
Know and understand certain forms of ASL literature.
Produce transcriptions of longer ASL texts.
Use fingerspelled words and loan signs appropriately.

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MLM 299b Intermediate American Sign Language IV (4 credits)

Prerequisite(s): MLM 299a or equivalent

This course continues to refine the language skills and knowledge acquired in American Sign Language 299a. To strengthen their fluency, students will concentrate on describing objects, events, locations and complicated circumstances in greater detail. Also, creative expressions of ASL will be covered extensively.

Upon successful completion of MLM 299a, the student should be able to:

Demonstrate increased confidence and control over grammar, vocabulary and common expressions used in daily conversation.
Describe unusual objects and their function in great detail by using appropriate descriptive and instrument classifiers.
Show the distinction between similar objects.
Make recommendations, give opinions, express feelings about certain activities, and handle digressions and interruptions.
Describe various disruptions using element classifiers.
Understand and more complex adverbial and adjectival facial modifiers.
Accurately use complex numbers and temporal markers, inflecting and spatial verbs, and contrastive structure.
Sustain and comprehend longer narratives about various circumstances and activities.
Demonstrate appropriate social and cultural behaviors in a variety of settings.
Discuss, in detail, more aspects of the Deaf Community, its culture and the role ASL plays in the lives of Deaf people.
Show examples of creative ASL (i.e., sign play).
Identify and understand several forms of ASL literature.
Produce transcriptions of longer ASL texts.
Use and improve comprehension of fingerspelled words and

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