Introduction
The purpose of this document is to propose to the administration of Pensacola Christian College the possibility of adding American Sign Language as a modern language elective. Because of the increase in student enrollment in the college’s Bachelor of Arts programs, more modern language electives are needed. Our team researched what the requirements would be for adding an American Sign Language course at Pensacola Christian College because it can be an effective communication tool even after one class.
My team and I feel that ASL should be added as a modern language course to fulfill partial requirements of a Bachelor of Arts at PCC. Due to the increase in enrollments and the minimal modern language courses offered, we believe that ASL would be beneficial to the college. ASL provides students with a broader reach for ministry and a more diverse cultural understanding than their current education provides. ASL is also an easy language to learn and would be a good communication tool for any job field.
Problem
Pensacola Christian College only offers two modern language electives, French and Spanish. Because these languages are complex, many students are not able to use these languages after they’ve completed the course. In order to converse easily with native speakers, French and Spanish require more than two years of learning. Unless they are using the language frequently, students forget what they have learned after the class is over. ASL is a relatively easy language to learn, and can be used efficiently even after one class. After conducting a poll among PCC students, many have expressed interest in adding ASL as an elective. Out of about 140 participants, 115 voted yes to seeing ASL added as a language elective, compared to 21 participants who voted no.
Deaf and hard of hearing people are common in our country and around the world. Though not every country uses ASL, other sign languages have been created using ASL’s root language French Sign language. This allows deaf and hard of hearing of different nationalities communicate on a basic level. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, “28 million Americans (about 10% of the population) have some degree of hearing loss. About 2 million of these 28 million people are classified as deaf (they can’t hear every day sounds or speech even with a hearing aid). Only about 10% of these 2 million people were born deaf. The other 90% became deaf later in life.”[1] Deaf and hard of hearing people are becoming more common in daily life, however, there are not many that can communicate with them.
Furthermore, many other colleges within the same bracket as PCC have implemented some form of an ASL course for their students. Bob Jones University, Maranatha Baptist University, and West Coast Baptist College all offer classes in beginning Sign Language as well as more advanced courses. Because PCC does not offer such courses for their students, it puts them at a disadvantage to these other colleges.
Solution
As a solution to this problem, we would like propose to add ASL I-IV as modern language electives at Pensacola Christian College. Students requiring two to four semesters of a language would be able to take ASL consecutively for all four semesters. These courses would allow students—at the very least—to have a basic understanding of ASL and converse with the deaf or hard of hearing. At the most, these courses would provide a foundational and advanced knowledge of ASL, allowing students more opportunities for ministry or even potential job opportunities.
Implementation
In order to implement this course into the PCC catalog, certain measures must be taken. First new faculty members will need to be hired. These candidates would need to first adhere to PCC’s standards for teaching, including all religious credentials. Preferred educational credentials are a B.S. in American Sign Language or similar communications degree, and a M.A. in a communication or interpreting-related field. Potential hires should also have at least five years of practical experience with deaf culture and interpreting.
Next, a course would need to be created. Provided with this proposal are four draft course outlines. Each one provides the materials needed, learning outcomes, grade weights, and a short explanation of what each student would be expected to complete for each course (See Appendix A). These course syllabi are only a starting point and should not be considered complete. After hiring new faculty members, they may use these as a foundation to develop their own course.
Last, the college would need to purchase new materials for this course. After extensive research we have selected course materials from Dawn Sign Press, a publisher dedicated to creating course curriculum for ASL of all levels. See Table 1 for total calculated costs of materials per student as well as per course. In those calculations, five extra textbooks are factored in the total to accommodate for students who add the class to their schedule after registration. In total, one student would pay $314.95 before tax for all four courses (Table 1).
The recommended time frame for creating this course would be 3-6 months. The new instructor would need time to develop a course. There would also need to be allotted time for purchasing new books and creating a course outline for the following semester.
Benefits
Enacting a new ASL course would allow great benefits for the students and college. First adding a new course would create more options for students to choose. As stated previously, higher enrollment would increase the number of students required to take language electives. Currently, the French and Spanish courses are already quite full. Adding ASL would create more options as well as create more space in the other language electives.
ASL is also useful for a variety of majors. After conducting the poll, we asked students provide reasons as to how they would use ASL with their majors. Many students stated that ASL would be very beneficial for their majors, especially those in areas such as nursing, ministerial, and missions. Though these students are not required to take a language elective, it would benefit their overall communication in the work place and in ministry. Not only would it help in any students major, it would provide other job opportunities for students. Assuming that students continue through all four semesters, they would be prepared to either continue their education in ASL or receive a certification. Being certified allows for students to receive payment for interpreting in various settings. Some areas of interpretation include in educational facilities, hospitals, and court rooms.
Appendix A: Course Syllabus
Appendix B: Benchmarking
