Ages 6-21 Professional Development Sessions
Formal Instruction of American Sign Language
In the same way that learning the English language takes years of instruction in English, learning American Sign Language (ASL) requires instruction in ASL. Deaf students who use ASL also need formal study of the language. The study of ASL brings a level of sophistication to students’ expressive ability and increases their receptive ability to understand a wide variety of people (e.g. friends, interpreters, and teachers). ASL instruction increases students’ understanding of English as well, ensuring that students are bilingual. This workshop is offered for ASL instructors levels 1-5. If your students have had an ASL evaluation and they are not at grade level they need formal ASL instruction that this course is designed to help you provide effectively. Focusing on ASL skills will help students think about their language in a new way, understanding there are correct and incorrect ways to express themselves. These sessions are facilitated by CDHY’s ASL specialist and will focus on: vocabulary, grammar, discourse, fluency, and sign production.
Use of Classifiers
This workshop is focused on an advanced discussion of American Sign Language (ASL) classifiers and was developed with educational interpreters as the target audience. The classifiers covered will have broad application to the educational environment and relevance to classes such as anatomy and biology. This is an opportunity for professional interpreters and other advanced ASL users to further develop and apply complex linguistic elements to their repertoire.
Discourse
This workshop is focused on uncovering the key elements of effective versus ineffective communication and explores the role and responsibility of the interpreter in facilitating effective communication between deaf and hearing individuals. Intended for interpreters and other advanced ASL users to further develop and apply complex linguistic elements to their repertoire.
Register
This workshop is focused on identifying degrees of formality and appropriate American Sign Language (ASL) usage in a variety of contexts. This will include an exploration of variation in use of space, sign production, and body language as determined by the setting. This session is intended for professional interpreters and other advanced ASL users to further develop and apply complex linguistic elements to their repertoire.
Semantics
This workshop is focused on identifying different meanings between seemingly similar concepts in English and American Sign Language (ASL). It will also explore strategies for effectively bridging the gap between such concepts in order to ensure the conceptual accuracy of the message. This session is intended for professional interpreters and other advanced ASL users to further develop and apply complex linguistic elements to their repertoire.
Specialized Signs
This workshop will explore specialized terminology in different educational fields such as: science, mathematics, and history. This session is intended for professional interpreters and other advanced ASL users to further develop and apply complex linguistic elements to their repertoire.
Storytelling
This workshop is intended for interpreters, teachers of the deaf, related service providers, and paraeducators and will provide the fundamental linguistic skills necessary to create and express stories in American Sign Language (ASL). This course focuses on the elements required for effective storytelling in ASL for a deaf audience. Important features covered include: use of facial expressions and body language, role shift, conveying time appropriately, and organizing important information cohesively. The workshop is an opportunity for professional interpreters and other advanced ASL users to further develop and apply complex linguistic elements to their repertoire.
The “Hearing” World from a Deaf Person’s Perspective
This workshop gives hearing individuals insight into the experiences of their deaf child, student, or coworker, and provides practical tools for effective communication. This is an introduction to the world from a deaf perspective intended for a hearing audience and will consider the following questions: What are the unique needs of a person who does not perceive sound, what are the dos and don’ts of working with interpreters, and what can you do to communicate more effectively (e.g. facing the deaf person helps, yelling doesn’t).
Use of Space
This workshop will explore the use of space in American Sign Language for interpreters in the educational setting. Participants will focus on 3D strategies for conveying the chronology of different events, characters in a story, scientific principles and phenomena, geography, and topography.