ASL - American Sign Language

Vicars' "RPM" Teaching Methodology

In a message dated 10/10/2006 1:51:26 PM Pacific Daylight Time, an instructor writes:

HI Bill-

I have been using your curriculum for the past 8 semesters or so at our community college for beginning ASL 1 and 2 and LOVE it. Therefore, we get through 40 of your lessons.

At that time, the students, if they are continuing on, go to Intermediate ASL 1, and their instructor begins them on Signing Naturally 1, lesson 1. These students are very frustrated because they know all the vocabulary and feel they are not being challenged at all. I have approached this instructor about this and am told that the students I give to her have NO conversational skills whatsoever. These students, and I, completely disagree. We just went through 40 of your lessons together, practiced with your sentences and created dialogs for tests and in class work among other things. I feel I can't get my point across because this instructor and our Dean feel that vocabulary should not be taught, only learned naturally through conversation. I found on your website your points showing the differences between these two curriculum's, but I need more. My department needs more. I don't want to be told that we can no longer use your curriculum. I send students from ASL 101 able to communicate with the Deaf (in a small way but they can communicate). Can you help me here?

Is there also a way that you can just respond back to me and not put my email in your newsletter? Or, leave my name and email out?

Thank you so much,

(name on file)

Dear (name on file),
Road Safety experts will tell you that the main cause of automobile accidents is because someone "glanced" when they should have "looked." Some people "glance" quickly at something and turn away without having seen what was really there.
That is the way some instructors are regarding the Lifeprint Curriculum.
They look at it for a few minutes and think they understand it when they really have no idea what it involves or how it works in the classroom.
For example, they "glance" at one of my "lesson pages" and see what they think is a list of vocabulary, followed by a list of sentences. Then they think, "Oh, I've seen this before. That is how we used to teach ASL back in the 1960's--a list of vocabulary and some practice sentences."
What this person fails to realize is that what they are seeing is not a list of vocabulary, but rather it is a list of hyperlinks that lead to in-depth explanations of each concept.
When it is pointed out to them that these are hyperlinks and not printed words on paper, they then glance again and say, "Oh, right, that is the 'grammar-translation' method where you learn about the language but you don't really use it."
Thus we see such people managing to crash twice in the span of a few minutes.
The Lifeprint Curriculum is a discourse-based curriculum that is taught in-person via modeling and conversation and then followed up via homework in a bilingual-bicultural computer-assisted language learning (CALL) online environment.
New concepts are introduced in the target language mode (visually/gesturally) via direct association (pictures and graphics) and embedding (placement of new concepts within the context of previously learned material).
The big words aside, let's look at an example.
In lesson 3, one of the target vocabulary items is "CITY."
In the classroom the teacher shows a PowerPoint slide of a house. The sign HOUSE is then modeled by the instructor.
The teacher then shows a PowerPoint slide of a a city. The sign "CITY" is modeled by the instructor. Then a different slide is shown showing a different CITY and the sign is modeled again. Next the student is shown a slide representing a house then the teacher, using ASL, asks a specific student, "What is that?" (Student responds: "house") Then the teacher shows another slide representing a city and asks a different student, "What is that?" The student signs "CITY."
At this point the students have (partially) learned two concepts via "direct association."
Next the instructor will embed the concept of CITY into a question utilizing previously learned material. In the previous lesson the students learned the sign "LIVE/address." They have also learned that furrowed eyebrows are often interpreted as being a "Wh"-type question.
The chooses a third student and signs, "CITY YOU LIVE?" (using appropriate facial expression).
The student responds by fingerspelling where he lives or by asking for clarification. Note: All of this is taking place in the target mode without voice.
Then the teacher selects a fourth student and asks, "CITY HE/SHE LIVE?" (referring to the student who recently answered). The fourth student responds by telling where the third student lives. The instructor asks a fifth student, "HE RIGHT?" (regarding the forth students answer). Note: five students have been directly engaged in discourse and all of the students have had to pay attention throughout the whole process because they might be called upon to answer at any stage of the process.
Next the instructor shows a PowerPoint slide of the phrase "What city do you live in?" along with the gloss "CITY YOU LIVE?"
The instructor models it one more time then directs a sixth student to "ASK-me "that question" (referring to the phrase on the board). The student asks the teacher the phrase and the teacher responds. (Sometimes accurately, sometimes giving false information to check for understanding.)
This process is repeated four more times to introduce a total of at least five vocabulary concepts and five phrases which comprises a "set" or "card." Within a span of 10 minutes the instructor engages up to 30 students in personal, interactive discourse in a target mode (visual/gestural) environment.
Next the instructor places the students in pairs and distributes cards containing the recently learned five questions to one person in each pair. To the second person in each pair the instructor hands a review card containing questions from the previous class session or a previously covered lesson. The students then take turns asking each other questions in the target language and responding. Thus in less than 15 minutes all of the students have moved from not knowing those five signs, to recognizing the signs in both isolation and in context and then using the signs in meaningful discourse with a communication partner. For as much as a full third of the class every student is engaged in conversational discourse in ASL. I have coined the phrase "responses per minute" or RPM to describe the Lifeprint method of teaching. This method is a combination of the natural method, the bilingual-bicultural approach. Using this method an average instructor can easily cover three sets (or "cards") in 45 minutes.

This is a "high RPM environment" and leads to rapid acquisition of demonstrated conversation skills because the students are using the language to learn the language.

Remember earlier I said that the students had only "partially" learned the sign "CITY?" That is because the "natural" method has a major weakness. It doesn't support rapid acquisition of multiple meanings of words or expansion of semantic range. Many students will walk out of such a class with very limited concept of the sign "CITY" � not knowing that it also means "community" and can be used in such phrases as "the Deaf community." The Lifeprint method of instruction solves this problem (truncation of semantic range) by including (in the student's native language) a synonym list when appropriate. For example, such a list can be included at the bottom of the slide that is shown to the sixth student. This is where a bilingual-bicultural approach is superior to a "target language limited" or so called "natural" approach. Students who learn ASL via target language only approaches often report that they "understand" what a person is signing, but they can't put it into "words." Students who have learned ASL via the RPM method tend to become excellent interpreters because in addition to understanding what is being signed to them, they also have excellent back and forth conversational skills, and the semantic range required to interpret between their native language and the target language.
Most "immersion"-labeled courses cannot by any stretch of the imagination be considered to provide an experience similar to that of "living in the environment of the native users of the target language." A couple hours a week sitting in a classroom provides only limited exposure. At best a "target language only" course should be called "the slow drip method."

In addition to the RPM (Responses Per Minute) method, the Lifeprint curriculum utilizes Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL). From the convenience of home the student is able to access the online lessons. Upon clicking the "HOUSE" link, the student is showed two versions of house and the related sign CITY. Upon clicking on the CITY link, the student is shown two versions of the sign for CITY and is instructed that this sign also can be used to mean "Community."
This enables students to easily reinforce their learning at home and thus experience more success in the classroom.
Cordially,
Bill

___________________________________________
William Vicars, Ed.D.
Director, ASL Online and Immersion Programs
Sacramento State, College of Continuing Education
6000 J St. - Eureka Hall, Room 308
Sacramento, CA 95819-6079
BillVicars@aol.com
www.Lifeprint.com * ASL.ms * ASLpah.com

In a message dated 5/10/2004 6:44:34 AM Pacific Daylight Time, Eric-Kollar@smh.com writes:

If you were teaching in a more traditional environment how long would you have the class working on each lesson?
Thanks in advance!

Eric

In a message dated 1/17/2006 7:01:54 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, an ASL Teacher writes:

...A problem I'm having with my level 2 students this year: The teacher last year taught them many signs that are wrong and a few ways that I simply won't accept. Now they're all up-in-arms because I require them to earn their grades when last year's teacher simply gave everybody 100%. (Mind you, now they aren't where they should be. A few of the students are sort of figuring it out. I'll hear things such as "Mrs. _____., last year I got an A+, but I don't really know anything." But for the most part, I simply get "Why can't you just do it the same as last year?" My response to that is that I'm not last year's teacher and I'm trying to get them to where they can have competent signed conversations with Deaf adults. They don't even know that some signs have more than one meaning (ie., SUNDAY, WONDERFUL, GREAT...) or that some words have more than one sign (ie., WHAT or RIGHT). Then when I try to teach them these concepts, it doesn't sink in because it's not what they were taught last year.

But, I'm still plugging away...semester finals are coming up at the end of the month. :-) Thanks so much for "listening" I appreciate the chance to speak to someone who knows.

Have a good week!

C______

Hello C______,
I hope things are going well for you. Sorry for the delay in responding. Hundreds of emails in my "in box."

I find that using email helps me to educate my students beyond what we go over in class.
If I were in your shoes, I'd develop a set of emails that I sent out in spaced intervals each semester.

The emails would include information such as you mention:
* Certain signs can have several different meanings. (Provide examples).
* Various English words might be signed different ways depending on their meaning in different sentences. (Provide Examples).
* Level 2 is a higher level course than Level 1 and has higher standards for achievement.
* There is much variation in the individual signing styles of members of the Deaf community. If I show you something different from your previous teacher, congratulations, you now know two ways to "express" that concept. You are in my class though for this semester. I strive to show you the variations that I see done most often in the local Deaf community. I'll try to be flexible regarding variations, but since I'm the one assigning grades this semester, do it my way.
-------
If you are having problems regarding the students having learned "inaccurate signs" that leads me to wonder what sort of curriculum is being used at your school? It is easy enough to flip open an ASL dictionary and point out generally accepted versions of signs. Your textbook should defend you from students claiming "that isn't the way we were taught to sign _____(such and such a sign in such and such a way)." Students should be taught to sign the signs in the textbook or DVD. If the signs in your textbook or DVD are not good enough, then you need to get a new curriculum. Sure, regional (local) variations exist for many signs. If you insist on using the local variation instead of the one in the student's text book then you as a teacher should type up a "differences" sheet including the gloss of the sign, a clear description of the local version, and the page number of the sign that you are replacing. If I'm a student in an ASL class I want something concrete with which to defend myself from the whims of an inept teacher. If the book shows one thing and the teacher shows something else, I want it documented on paper (or online) and an explanation why. That way I have something reliable from which to study instead of trying to rely on my memory of what I was shown in class that day. That way I can go through the book (on my own) and cross out whatever signs Mrs. K doesn't like and write in descriptions of how she wants them done. Which is a pain mind you, but also means if I get into the level 3 class and do Mrs. K's sign and Mr. B marks me off for it I can show the sheet of paper (given to me by Mrs. K and listing Mrs. K's variations) to him and tell him to give me credit because that is the way I was taught. If he doesn't give me credit I can then go to the administration with a valid complaint that the teachers are conflicting each other and that the program is lame and in need of improvement.

Cordially,

Bill
Lifeprint.com

In a message dated 1/22/2006 12:47:24 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, an ASL teacher writes:

Hello Dr. Vicars,

I am placing in the mail an order today for 2 items (Sign me up book and the how to make a decent living teaching ASL)....

but I am writing to you at present for advice and or suggestions on something else if I may..?

I am curious to know what kind of resources exist or what and who I would need to communicate with to produce and create a series of DVDs featuring ASL songs (various genres) as well as theatrical productions done in ASL.

Any ideas??

I appreciate your time and patience.

Sincerely

Raymont L. Anderson,
D.D. Candidate, MFA, BA, AS, AS, ASLTA-Provisional Certification

I'm down to 96 emails in my box, heh. Okay, here we go...
In case you are still looking for advice regarding producing DVDs:

Perhaps the easiest and best approach would be to hire a professional to help you create the first few DVDs.

In the phone book (or on the net) you can find experts and studios listed somewhere under or near the heading of "video." There are quite a few cinematographers (videographers) out there who do weddings and graduations who would be capable of helping you create an ASL DVD on a reasonable budget. After they create the master for you, you could burn your own copies or hire a DVD duplication outfit to make copies for you and print cool labels for them.
You "could" try to make your own DVD's and do all the work yourself. That is what I do. Currently I only make CDs. Admittedly the video quality is "home made." I'm getting better all the time...but still, I have a ways to go before I'll be satisfied. Much of the issue is equipment. Actually the whole issue is equipment. I'm just using a consumer level camcorder and have no special lighting equipment. So I end up doing the recording in my sunroom at the back of the house, (at certain times during the day the sun is an incredibly good source of light for video work).

I recently bought a Pinnacle Studio 10 to do my editing and capture work. After installing the card and loading the software I was very disappointed and took it back to the store. Instead I purchased Vegas Video (Sony) and a capture card by TurtleBeach. I haven't tried out the Vegas Video software yet, but the user groups all claim it is very solid and gets the job done.

The new capture card is "okay" but honestly I think I preferred my old card from a company called "Matrox." Soon I will order one of Matrox's "prosumer" level cards (half way between professional level and consumer level) that cost about 10 times what the typical home-user cards on the computer store shelves cost. (Shhhh, don't tell my wife.) It is a chunk of money, but I was so impressed with the low end version of their card that I feel comfortable going for one of Matrox's nicer cards.
Chances are you are hooked up or have some connections at a college somewhere. Often colleges have awesome resources available to faculty and students who want to do video work. It is certainly worth asking around at your college. Many colleges now have distance education centers that do broadcasting and web conferencing. These centers have nice wall backgrounds or green / blue screens specially designed for video. You might simply ask to use such a studio during unscheduled time.
One last suggestion would be to order a set of DVDs from the net that are similar to what you are interested in creating. Then look and see what company did the video work for that set of DVDs. Then contact that company and ask their prices or if they might be interested in working with you on a video project.
Good luck.
Cordially,

In a message dated 6/15/2006 7:10:53 PM Pacific Daylight Time, rhp6901@ writes:

Dear Dr. Vicars,

Thank you for sending in your e-report that I paid for. I appreciate it. I have a question: (I know you must be bombarded by lots of questions, if you don't have time, I understand)

You did not mention in your e-report if one must be considered "certified" to teach sign language classes. If I wanted to teach sign language for babies, must I be certified? I gather from your report, some areas you can get away without be certified and in other areas, certification would be required.

Thank you very much,

Heather P.

Heather,
In general you do NOT have to be certified:
To teach ASL in a community education setting you do not need any certification.
To open up your own business and invite students to take classes.
To teach ASL training workshops as a visiting instructor or consultant in a corporate setting.
To teach classes in your home.

Here are some circumstances wherein you are likely to need some kind of certification or approval:
You may have to get approval from your state if you claim that your ASL program prepares and qualifies your students for employment. Check with your State's division of occupational licensing and or department of Education. For example if you state in your advertising brochures or website that you course prepares someone to "interpret for the Deaf" or that you are offering "interpreter training" you may fall under certain state guidelines that oversee the establishment and management of schools.

If you teach ASL in a public K-12 school setting, it is likely that you will need to be certified by your state's teacher credentialing program. As time goes on, more and more states are setting up specific certification for public school system ASL educators

Some state higher education systems require instructors to show proof of certification in ASL in order to teach in state run colleges and universities.
But, believe it or not, it is generally easier to get a job teaching part time at a college than it is to get a full time position teaching in a public K-12 school setting. Some colleges will actually hire you to be an adjunct instructor with no degree and no certification. I put myself through college that way, heh.

That is usually good for a chuckle or two from the students and half of them come up and put away the cards.

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Teaching ASL:


The worth of a sign The importance of a syllabus Designing your syllabus Syllabus samples: 1 \| 2 \| 3 \| 4 \| 5 Permission to use this material General guidelines Bilingual-Bicultural Qualifications: Am I qualified to teach? (01) How accurate should my students' signing be? Ideas for when you have a substitute instructor Lifeprint Method Voicing in Class? Perfectionism? Lenience Requests Testing for Proficiency Shy students	(98) deaf / hard of hearing education credential (99) Taxes (100) Background for videoing (101) Time Capsule (110) Setting Your Fee: How much to charge (111) Activity: Who are you? (112) Game: "Givers and Keepers" (113) Help! My class is Dead. (114) Student Satisfaction form (115) Sample Student Bio video assignment * Sample ASL Instructor job announcement / qualifications (120) General Tips The "Tell 'em" Curriculum The "Find out" Curriculum Should you give extra credit? * The "67 Subject" Multiple Choice Test Testing: Students who argue over answers (01) Qualifications: Am I qualified to teach? (02)	Games / Activities to review * Go Fish * Jeopardy (1) * Speed Signing * Frankenstein's Questions * Exit Activity Activities to introduce new vocabulary: * Fingerspelling Race (1) * Name Tea Party Various ideas: * Ask for a challenger (116) Getting students to turn off their voices: * propaganda Fingerspelling games: * The quick brown fox * Who is your neighbor? Number games: * general


Vicars' "RPM" Teaching Methodology In a message dated 10/10/2006 1:51:26 PM Pacific Daylight Time, an instructor writes: HI Bill- I have been using your curriculum for the past 8 semesters or so at our community college for beginning ASL 1 and 2 and LOVE it. Therefore, we get through 40 of your lessons. At that time, the students, if they are continuing on, go to Intermediate ASL 1, and their instructor begins them on Signing Naturally 1, lesson 1. These students are very frustrated because they know all the vocabulary and feel they are not being challenged at all. I have approached this instructor about this and am told that the students I give to her have NO conversational skills whatsoever. These students, and I, completely disagree. We just went through 40 of your lessons together, practiced with your sentences and created dialogs for tests and in class work among other things. I feel I can't get my point across because this instructor and our Dean feel that vocabulary should not be taught, only learned naturally through conversation. I found on your website your points showing the differences between these two curriculum's, but I need more. My department needs more. I don't want to be told that we can no longer use your curriculum. I send students from ASL 101 able to communicate with the Deaf (in a small way but they can communicate). Can you help me here? Is there also a way that you can just respond back to me and not put my email in your newsletter? Or, leave my name and email out? Thank you so much, (name on file) Dear (name on file), Road Safety experts will tell you that the main cause of automobile accidents is because someone "glanced" when they should have "looked." Some people "glance" quickly at something and turn away without having seen what was really there. That is the way some instructors are regarding the Lifeprint Curriculum. They look at it for a few minutes and think they understand it when they really have no idea what it involves or how it works in the classroom. For example, they "glance" at one of my "lesson pages" and see what they think is a list of vocabulary, followed by a list of sentences. Then they think, "Oh, I've seen this before. That is how we used to teach ASL back in the 1960's--a list of vocabulary and some practice sentences." What this person fails to realize is that what they are seeing is not a list of vocabulary, but rather it is a list of hyperlinks that lead to in-depth explanations of each concept. When it is pointed out to them that these are hyperlinks and not printed words on paper, they then glance again and say, "Oh, right, that is the 'grammar-translation' method where you learn about the language but you don't really use it." Thus we see such people managing to crash twice in the span of a few minutes. The Lifeprint Curriculum is a discourse-based curriculum that is taught in-person via modeling and conversation and then followed up via homework in a bilingual-bicultural computer-assisted language learning (CALL) online environment. New concepts are introduced in the target language mode (visually/gesturally) via direct association (pictures and graphics) and embedding (placement of new concepts within the context of previously learned material). The big words aside, let's look at an example. In lesson 3, one of the target vocabulary items is "CITY." In the classroom the teacher shows a PowerPoint slide of a house. The sign HOUSE is then modeled by the instructor. The teacher then shows a PowerPoint slide of a a city. The sign "CITY" is modeled by the instructor. Then a different slide is shown showing a different CITY and the sign is modeled again. Next the student is shown a slide representing a house then the teacher, using ASL, asks a specific student, "What is that?" (Student responds: "house") Then the teacher shows another slide representing a city and asks a different student, "What is that?" The student signs "CITY." At this point the students have (partially) learned two concepts via "direct association." Next the instructor will embed the concept of CITY into a question utilizing previously learned material. In the previous lesson the students learned the sign "LIVE/address." They have also learned that furrowed eyebrows are often interpreted as being a "Wh"-type question. The chooses a third student and signs, "CITY YOU LIVE?" (using appropriate facial expression). The student responds by fingerspelling where he lives or by asking for clarification. Note: All of this is taking place in the target mode without voice. Then the teacher selects a fourth student and asks, "CITY HE/SHE LIVE?" (referring to the student who recently answered). The fourth student responds by telling where the third student lives. The instructor asks a fifth student, "HE RIGHT?" (regarding the forth students answer). Note: five students have been directly engaged in discourse and all of the students have had to pay attention throughout the whole process because they might be called upon to answer at any stage of the process. Next the instructor shows a PowerPoint slide of the phrase "What city do you live in?" along with the gloss "CITY YOU LIVE?" The instructor models it one more time then directs a sixth student to "ASK-me "that question" (referring to the phrase on the board). The student asks the teacher the phrase and the teacher responds. (Sometimes accurately, sometimes giving false information to check for understanding.) This process is repeated four more times to introduce a total of at least five vocabulary concepts and five phrases which comprises a "set" or "card." Within a span of 10 minutes the instructor engages up to 30 students in personal, interactive discourse in a target mode (visual/gestural) environment. Next the instructor places the students in pairs and distributes cards containing the recently learned five questions to one person in each pair. To the second person in each pair the instructor hands a review card containing questions from the previous class session or a previously covered lesson. The students then take turns asking each other questions in the target language and responding. Thus in less than 15 minutes all of the students have moved from not knowing those five signs, to recognizing the signs in both isolation and in context and then using the signs in meaningful discourse with a communication partner. For as much as a full third of the class every student is engaged in conversational discourse in ASL. I have coined the phrase "responses per minute" or RPM to describe the Lifeprint method of teaching. This method is a combination of the natural method, the bilingual-bicultural approach. Using this method an average instructor can easily cover three sets (or "cards") in 45 minutes. This is a "high RPM environment" and leads to rapid acquisition of demonstrated conversation skills because the students are using the language to learn the language. Remember earlier I said that the students had only "partially" learned the sign "CITY?" That is because the "natural" method has a major weakness. It doesn't support rapid acquisition of multiple meanings of words or expansion of semantic range. Many students will walk out of such a class with very limited concept of the sign "CITY" � not knowing that it also means "community" and can be used in such phrases as "the Deaf community." The Lifeprint method of instruction solves this problem (truncation of semantic range) by including (in the student's native language) a synonym list when appropriate. For example, such a list can be included at the bottom of the slide that is shown to the sixth student. This is where a bilingual-bicultural approach is superior to a "target language limited" or so called "natural" approach. Students who learn ASL via target language only approaches often report that they "understand" what a person is signing, but they can't put it into "words." Students who have learned ASL via the RPM method tend to become excellent interpreters because in addition to understanding what is being signed to them, they also have excellent back and forth conversational skills, and the semantic range required to interpret between their native language and the target language. Most "immersion"-labeled courses cannot by any stretch of the imagination be considered to provide an experience similar to that of "living in the environment of the native users of the target language." A couple hours a week sitting in a classroom provides only limited exposure. At best a "target language only" course should be called "the slow drip method." In addition to the RPM (Responses Per Minute) method, the Lifeprint curriculum utilizes Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL). From the convenience of home the student is able to access the online lessons. Upon clicking the "HOUSE" link, the student is showed two versions of house and the related sign CITY. Upon clicking on the CITY link, the student is shown two versions of the sign for CITY and is instructed that this sign also can be used to mean "Community." This enables students to easily reinforce their learning at home and thus experience more success in the classroom. Cordially, Bill ___________________________________________ William Vicars, Ed.D. Director, ASL Online and Immersion Programs Sacramento State, College of Continuing Education 6000 J St. - Eureka Hall, Room 308 Sacramento, CA 95819-6079 BillVicars@aol.com www.Lifeprint.com * ASL.ms * ASLpah.com In a message dated 5/10/2004 6:44:34 AM Pacific Daylight Time, Eric-Kollar@smh.com writes: If you were teaching in a more traditional environment how long would you have the class working on each lesson? Thanks in advance! Eric Eric, I've found that it depends on how you teach the class. In general it takes 45 to 50 contact hours to teach 20 lessons from Level 1. If you teach no voice, and introduce the material via embedding it into sentences and the students have not "pre-studied" the material from the website, it takes 40 minutes to an hour to introduce the vocabulary material in one lesson. Then you need 15 minutes to a half hour for "guided practice." If you have an LCD projector and PowerPoint slides you can cut your vocabulary instruction time down considerably. If you assign and require the students to study the vocabulary on their own from the website then use the class time for review and to focus on grammar and conversational skills development instead of teaching vocabulary, you can teach a lesson (including practice time) in an hour. Now...if you are just going to go into class and do something lame like show a list of 20 signs (written on the board in English) and demonstrate how to sign those 20 signs, you can get through the list in about 6 minutes (allowing for occasional questions). But that isn't really "teaching" now is it? The students might develop "vocabularies" but they don't learn how to sign ASL...they end up signing in English on the hands. - Dr. Vicars Report Available! Report Title: How To Make A Decent Living Teaching American Sign Language. (And have fun doing it!) Cost: $10.00 (Plus $3.95 processing.) Once upon a time an aspiring ASL instructor named Jennifer G. contacted me and asked for advice regarding how to succeed as an ASL Teacher. She wanted a lot of advice. I told her I'd share all my secrets with her and let her ask any questions she wanted--all she had to do was pay me a hundred bucks. Heh. Jen is no sucker. She grilled me thoroughly over a period of weeks as to just how beneficial the information would be. Finally after a looooong time and some serious deliberation she bit the bullet and asked where to send the check. Well, to make long story short. She sent the moola thereby binding me to my task and thus I began my keyboard camp-out calling forth the myriad bits of mystifying mentoring she was seeking. Much later on a fateful day of deliverance--smoke pouring from my 'puter and fingertips raw, I pressed the "print" key. "Kazzam!" The report was Ready! And so I sent Jen the report. Want to know what she thought of it? Here is the email she sent me: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subj: thanks Date: 5/3/00 7:57:42 PM Mountain Daylight Time UHHH...How can I thank you for the time and effort in the information you sent! :0) Wow! All I can say is that I am really glad that I took the chance to ask and am very fortunate that you were willing to share. I have read some and plan to read the rest of the 62 pages you sent. I am also looking forward to receiving the rest of the information and your book. I have been teaching a summer workshop to teachers in the district I work in, but not for, for four years with a lot of success. It is run through the department of education and I know part of the success is they receive credit for the class but I've gotten very positive evaluations and enthusiastic reactions. I taught an adult education class for the township I live in and have taught sign for the Intermediate Unit through which I am employed...so I have a start...I am always being asked by teachers, parents, grandparents, etc. how and where they can learn more sign so there is a lot of interest. I have a lot of work ahead of me but your information will be VERY helpful and has me very excited to get started. I especially like your humor and little side notes. I will keep in touch and let you know how it is going. I may even have a question or two...but again, THANKS SO MUCH!! Happy Spring. Jen G. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now, I've thought about it for a while and come to the conclusion that there is no reason why I shouldn't make that report available to other prospective and current ASL instructors who are aiming to make a decent living doing what they love. The way I see it, more people teaching ASL will mean more people are signing--which means there will be more people wanting to learn because they have someone to sign with! So, I'll tell you what I'm willing to do. Since the work is all done and the thing is just sitting there on my hard drive waiting for a crash, I'm willing to send you my report for a fraction of what I charged Jen. The reason I'll let you have it for such a small price is because I'm not going to print it out. You have to do that. I'll send it as an attached document. Your cost for the report as an attached document is $10 (plus the $3.95 processing/shipping fee that my online shopping cart systems tacks on to all orders). For your reading enjoyment, here are a few of the original questions posed by Jen: 1. What was your purpose/reason you started the sign studio? 2. Where did you hold the classes? 3. Did you have to get approval to hold the classes/charge the students? 4. Who was your intended audience? Did you offer various types of classes and for various ages? 5. Where you the only instructor? 6. How did you advertise for the classes? In addition to answering those and other questions, I expounded upon the following topics: - writing your own book - making your own videotapes, and disks - how to hire qualified instructors - how to get free publicity - curriculum development/selection - staying within the good graces of the "Deaf Community" - to voice or not to voice - developing your own mailing list - developing a web site - how to bill your customers - and lots more! Enough already! Still not convinced? Let me put it this way. If, after reading my report, you aren't absolutely satisfied that you will more than triple your money invested just by applying a few of the hundreds of ideas and tips I'll share with you--I'll refund your money! (All I ask is that you be honest. Decide within three days, then call it a done deal.) I'm in this for the long haul. I love what I do. If you read the report and find yourself with more questions--ask me and I'll send you a response. (Heck, it benefits me as well as you because I can add the response to my report and make it more valuable.) So ready to order and get started increasing your income while doing something you love? Order as an attached document by PayPal (this is the one I prefer) --> $10.00 Order as an attached document with a Credit Card (Hey, plastic is good too.)-- REPORT-1 Price: ~~$50~~ -- now just $10 Product Name: "How to Make a Decent Living Teaching ASL" (62 page report) (Attached document emailed to you as a Microsoft Word Document, Web page, or other Electronic format). Order as an attached document, disk, or paper printed format using a Check or Money Order --> (jump to order page). Note if you want to order it on disk or in printed format using a credit card or PayPal--email me and I'll set up a link for you. I almost always get these sent out within 24 hours. If you don't get it within 24 hours, email me!

I recently attended a workshop regarding "how to teach ASL." The method of second language instruction promoted at that workshop seemed to: Strongly discourage linking ASL signs with English words Strongly discourage use of fingerspelling to introduce new vocabulary Strongly discourage any student use of gloss Outlaw voicing in the classroom by either student or instructor Claim that their text and materials are the "next" generation of language instruction and better than all other curricula out there. Personally, I see their approach as being a silent version of the worst aspects of the audio-lingual method combined with the direct-method and a bit of vengeance (for years of oppression) thrown in for flavor. It is the "vengeance" part that concerns me. When I ask other Deaf instructors about it they shrug and reply, "We've struggled all our lives, it's the Hearing student's turn." Whoa! That is so not me. After teaching for 15 years and then spending three years learning bilingual/bicultural methodology at Lamar University (as it related to teaching literacy to deaf children) I find myself seriously wanting to apply "bi/bi" (bilingual / bicultural) and CALL (computer assisted language learning) to ASL-L2 (ASL as a second language) instruction methodology. I have been influenced by Jim Cummins' Cognitive Underlying Proficiency (CUP) model as applied to second language acquisition and his (relatively) new "e-Lective Language Learning" system. To be exposed to such powerful paradigms and then sit through the aforementioned workshop was indeed disturbing. An adult hearing second language (L2) learner is not a "tabula rasa" (blank slate). Our adult student's native languages (L1) are not poorly drawn pictures that need to be erased and redrawn. To ignore or actively work against the native language of adult learners leads to frustrated students and high attrition rates. A truly modern and effective ASL curriculum is one that capitalizes on the underlying cognitive proficiency of the student. - William Vicars, Ed.D. [comments welcome] In a message dated 1/17/2006 7:01:54 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, an ASL Teacher writes: ...A problem I'm having with my level 2 students this year: The teacher last year taught them many signs that are wrong and a few ways that I simply won't accept. Now they're all up-in-arms because I require them to earn their grades when last year's teacher simply gave everybody 100%. (Mind you, now they aren't where they should be. A few of the students are sort of figuring it out. I'll hear things such as "Mrs. _____., last year I got an A+, but I don't really know anything." But for the most part, I simply get "Why can't you just do it the same as last year?" My response to that is that I'm not last year's teacher and I'm trying to get them to where they can have competent signed conversations with Deaf adults. They don't even know that some signs have more than one meaning (ie., SUNDAY, WONDERFUL, GREAT...) or that some words have more than one sign (ie., WHAT or RIGHT). Then when I try to teach them these concepts, it doesn't sink in because it's not what they were taught last year. But, I'm still plugging away...semester finals are coming up at the end of the month. :-) Thanks so much for "listening" I appreciate the chance to speak to someone who knows. Have a good week! C______ Hello C______, I hope things are going well for you. Sorry for the delay in responding. Hundreds of emails in my "in box." I find that using email helps me to educate my students beyond what we go over in class. If I were in your shoes, I'd develop a set of emails that I sent out in spaced intervals each semester. The emails would include information such as you mention: * Certain signs can have several different meanings. (Provide examples). * Various English words might be signed different ways depending on their meaning in different sentences. (Provide Examples). * Level 2 is a higher level course than Level 1 and has higher standards for achievement. * There is much variation in the individual signing styles of members of the Deaf community. If I show you something different from your previous teacher, congratulations, you now know two ways to "express" that concept. You are in my class though for this semester. I strive to show you the variations that I see done most often in the local Deaf community. I'll try to be flexible regarding variations, but since I'm the one assigning grades this semester, do it my way. ------- If you are having problems regarding the students having learned "inaccurate signs" that leads me to wonder what sort of curriculum is being used at your school? It is easy enough to flip open an ASL dictionary and point out generally accepted versions of signs. Your textbook should defend you from students claiming "that isn't the way we were taught to sign _____(such and such a sign in such and such a way)." Students should be taught to sign the signs in the textbook or DVD. If the signs in your textbook or DVD are not good enough, then you need to get a new curriculum. Sure, regional (local) variations exist for many signs. If you insist on using the local variation instead of the one in the student's text book then you as a teacher should type up a "differences" sheet including the gloss of the sign, a clear description of the local version, and the page number of the sign that you are replacing. If I'm a student in an ASL class I want something concrete with which to defend myself from the whims of an inept teacher. If the book shows one thing and the teacher shows something else, I want it documented on paper (or online) and an explanation why. That way I have something reliable from which to study instead of trying to rely on my memory of what I was shown in class that day. That way I can go through the book (on my own) and cross out whatever signs Mrs. K doesn't like and write in descriptions of how she wants them done. Which is a pain mind you, but also means if I get into the level 3 class and do Mrs. K's sign and Mr. B marks me off for it I can show the sheet of paper (given to me by Mrs. K and listing Mrs. K's variations) to him and tell him to give me credit because that is the way I was taught. If he doesn't give me credit I can then go to the administration with a valid complaint that the teachers are conflicting each other and that the program is lame and in need of improvement. Cordially, Bill Lifeprint.com In a message dated 1/22/2006 12:47:24 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, an ASL teacher writes: Hello Dr. Vicars, I am placing in the mail an order today for 2 items (Sign me up book and the how to make a decent living teaching ASL).... but I am writing to you at present for advice and or suggestions on something else if I may..? I am curious to know what kind of resources exist or what and who I would need to communicate with to produce and create a series of DVDs featuring ASL songs (various genres) as well as theatrical productions done in ASL. Any ideas?? I appreciate your time and patience. Sincerely Raymont L. Anderson, D.D. Candidate, MFA, BA, AS, AS, ASLTA-Provisional Certification Raymont, I'm down to 96 emails in my box, heh. Okay, here we go... In case you are still looking for advice regarding producing DVDs: Perhaps the easiest and best approach would be to hire a professional to help you create the first few DVDs. In the phone book (or on the net) you can find experts and studios listed somewhere under or near the heading of "video." There are quite a few cinematographers (videographers) out there who do weddings and graduations who would be capable of helping you create an ASL DVD on a reasonable budget. After they create the master for you, you could burn your own copies or hire a DVD duplication outfit to make copies for you and print cool labels for them. You "could" try to make your own DVD's and do all the work yourself. That is what I do. Currently I only make CDs. Admittedly the video quality is "home made." I'm getting better all the time...but still, I have a ways to go before I'll be satisfied. Much of the issue is equipment. Actually the whole issue is equipment. I'm just using a consumer level camcorder and have no special lighting equipment. So I end up doing the recording in my sunroom at the back of the house, (at certain times during the day the sun is an incredibly good source of light for video work). I recently bought a Pinnacle Studio 10 to do my editing and capture work. After installing the card and loading the software I was very disappointed and took it back to the store. Instead I purchased Vegas Video (Sony) and a capture card by TurtleBeach. I haven't tried out the Vegas Video software yet, but the user groups all claim it is very solid and gets the job done. The new capture card is "okay" but honestly I think I preferred my old card from a company called "Matrox." Soon I will order one of Matrox's "prosumer" level cards (half way between professional level and consumer level) that cost about 10 times what the typical home-user cards on the computer store shelves cost. (Shhhh, don't tell my wife.) It is a chunk of money, but I was so impressed with the low end version of their card that I feel comfortable going for one of Matrox's nicer cards. Chances are you are hooked up or have some connections at a college somewhere. Often colleges have awesome resources available to faculty and students who want to do video work. It is certainly worth asking around at your college. Many colleges now have distance education centers that do broadcasting and web conferencing. These centers have nice wall backgrounds or green / blue screens specially designed for video. You might simply ask to use such a studio during unscheduled time. One last suggestion would be to order a set of DVDs from the net that are similar to what you are interested in creating. Then look and see what company did the video work for that set of DVDs. Then contact that company and ask their prices or if they might be interested in working with you on a video project. Good luck. Cordially, Dr. Bill In a message dated 6/15/2006 7:10:53 PM Pacific Daylight Time, rhp6901@ writes: Dear Dr. Vicars, Thank you for sending in your e-report that I paid for. I appreciate it. I have a question: (I know you must be bombarded by lots of questions, if you don't have time, I understand) You did not mention in your e-report if one must be considered "certified" to teach sign language classes. If I wanted to teach sign language for babies, must I be certified? I gather from your report, some areas you can get away without be certified and in other areas, certification would be required. Thank you very much, Heather P. Heather, In general you do NOT have to be certified: To teach ASL in a community education setting you do not need any certification. To open up your own business and invite students to take classes. To teach ASL training workshops as a visiting instructor or consultant in a corporate setting. To teach classes in your home. Here are some circumstances wherein you are likely to need some kind of certification or approval: You may have to get approval from your state if you claim that your ASL program prepares and qualifies your students for employment. Check with your State's division of occupational licensing and or department of Education. For example if you state in your advertising brochures or website that you course prepares someone to "interpret for the Deaf" or that you are offering "interpreter training" you may fall under certain state guidelines that oversee the establishment and management of schools. If you teach ASL in a public K-12 school setting, it is likely that you will need to be certified by your state's teacher credentialing program. As time goes on, more and more states are setting up specific certification for public school system ASL educators Some state higher education systems require instructors to show proof of certification in ASL in order to teach in state run colleges and universities. But, believe it or not, it is generally easier to get a job teaching part time at a college than it is to get a full time position teaching in a public K-12 school setting. Some colleges will actually hire you to be an adjunct instructor with no degree and no certification. I put myself through college that way, heh. Bill Teaching ASL: The use of "dry humor." Sometimes in class we need to take care of things that could be considered "boring." For example, after using "practice cards" for group or pair work, you will need to have a process for gathering, sorting, and storing the cards until the next time you use them. It is good to involve the students in the gathering and sorting process. Since 20 or 30 students pitching in can sort the cards in a couple minutes compared to you (the instructor) sitting there long after class is over sorting the cards on your own for 10 minutes. Maybe that is "only" ten minutes, but over the years those 10 minutes add up to untold hours. So, how do you ask students to "help out?" Most of the time you can just ask / tell them and it will be no big deal. Unless you keep them until the bell and then expect them to help. That's not right. Some of them have other classes to get to across campus and will bristle at having to stay after to help clean up your lesson activities. To make sure it goes smoothly, end your instruction early enough to allow time for the process of gathering and sorting the practice cards. I clearly label each practice card with the lesson number and section. That way it is easy to tell which pile it goes in. Then near the end of class I flash up on the overhead a message something to the effect of: "Soon we will end class�we have many cards to put up and it is a bit complex since the cards need to be put in the correct pile. Thus send the smarter of the two of you up to put away the cards in the RIGHT order. Thanks. Have a nice day." That is usually good for a chuckle or two from the students and half of them come up and put away the cards.


� Lifeprint Institute



Permission to use material from this site... Dr. Bill's Notes for expansion and inclusion in activities list. When I get some time (ha!) I will be explaining these and adding them to the list above: Session 1 � Module 1 � Module 2 � Module 3 � Fingerspelling � Numbers � Finger exercises � Change five things � Frog � Sculpture � Pick A Finger � Pencil Between Thumbs � Pull a face relay � Piano fingers � Simon Says � Stick behind back � This finger weighs � Where's the quarter? � Elephant trainer � Who's The Leader � Roz "He's handicapped" � "No, I want to fly" � Hands on the wheel � Monestary � Bullhorn, Fire Alarm, Football Huddle Session 2 � Module 4 � Module 5 � Picture It � Pass the coin � Human knot � Tic-tac-toe � Bingo � Buzz � New signs between switches � Same or Different Session 3 � Module 7 � Look up the words in book � Pass It On � Circle of sign � Module 8 � Dear Hunter � Speed drills � (Joke) Working with Elders � (Joke) In this very room Session 4 � Module 10 � Concentration � Review � Practice test � Phonetic spelling sheets � Fingerspelling relay � Hellen Keller Speller Session 5 Midterm and Spelling Test � Spelling � uiz using vocab Session 6 � Module 11 � Gestures/Act out words (1.11/12) � Sign relay in rows � Module 12 � Touch the color within 10 seconds � Battleship Session 7 � Module 14 � Family Feud � Hot & Cold (1.14) � Module 15 � My boss is ... � Circle using first letter Session 8 � Module 16 � Tell a story, add a sign (1.16) � Module 17 � Go Fish � Circle using handshape Session 9 Readings Test and Project � Module 18 � Describe sign to partner � Sign up for interview Session 10 Finals (individual interviews) Miscellaneous: � Geometric Shapes � Circle sit down � Electricity race � Jeopardy � Charades/Pictionary JOKES � Two years to figure out I wasn't MR � So-So-Suck-My-Toe � Pledge Of Allegiance � Bill is "Bald" � Inflamed Throat � Merlin The Magician � Making Out in the hall � I have AIDS � Grandpa's Aid � Three Deaf Guys � "What time/kind is it?" � Lena and Ollie UR going to die � Does your wife sign? checks � Belinda and I are compatible: HA675 � Honeymoon � Wife fell out of car � Deaf couple adopt hearing � So if a deaf kid swears do you tell him to wash his hands? � graduate student screw in a light bulb � Deaf screw in a light bulb? � That's a deaf hunter's dodo ------------------- � Deaf Kong � Safari � Deaf Tree � sign language continuum: gesture, mime, ASL, PSE, SE, cued speech, Rochester method, etc. � space-present referent � space-absent referent � headshake for negation � headnod for affirmation � "y/n" � uestion expression � "wh" � uestion expression � agent affix � plurality: horizontal / vertical sweep, number, reduplication, � uantifier, etc. � incorporation of number: pronoun � incorporation of number: time � sign parameters: handshape, location, movement, and orientation � directionality � classier: 1 � compound signs, (e.g.): brother, wife, daughter, etc. � name signs � initialized signs Register: intimate: ellipsis, private language casual: ellipsis consultative: some ellipsis, collo� uial language formal: impart information frozen: formulaic (religious, courtroom) More notes: (proprietary?) WARM UPS/BREAKAWAYS q Change five things q Circle sit down q Electricity race q Finger exercises q Frog q Geometric Shapes q Hot & Cold (1.14) q Human knot q Mime introductions q Pass the coin q Pick A Finger q Pencil Between Thumbs q Piano fingers q Picture It q Pull a face relay q Sculpture q Simon Says q Stick behind back q This finger weighs q Tic-tac-toe q Where's the quarter? NEW LESSON ACTIVITIES q Act out words (1.11/12) q Add a sign (1.15/1.16) q Bingo q Buzz q Charades q Circle of sign q Circle using handshape q Circle using names q Circle using first letter q Concentration q Dear Hunter q Describe sign to partner q Elephant trainer q Family Feud q First letter circle q Go Fish q Hangman q Hellen Keller Speller q Look up the words in book q New signs between switches q Pass It On q Same or Different q Spelling quiz using vocab q Who's The Leader REVIEW ACTIVITIES q Fingerspelling relay q Phonetic spelling sheets q Sign relay in rows q Speed drills ANECDOTES & STORIES q Roz "He's handicapped" q "No, I want to fly" q Hands on the wheel q Monestary q Bullhorn q Fire Alarm q Merlin The Magician q Making Out q Football Huddle q Inflamed Throat q Hallway Scenes JOKES q Deaf Kong q Deaf people have AIDS q Deaf screw in a light bulb? q Deaf Tree q Does your wife sign? checks q Grandpa's Aid q Honeymoon q In this very room (1.7) q Pledge Of Allegience q Safari q So-So-Suck-My-Toe q That's a deaf hunter's dodo q Three Deaf Guys q "What time/kind is it?" q Why do farts smell? q Wife fell out of car q Working with Elders (1.7) TOPICS q Deaf German q He fell in love with her q ASL Continuum q Videos available q Sign dictionaries q Tutoring available q 3-D computer language q Prescription for arthritis q Albert Mehrabian: 55% body, 38% para 7% verb q Monkeys pass sign to kids q Used with disabled q Schizophrenics q New laws passed q recognizable signing q questioning techniques q Deaf couple adopt hearing q Crick Or Creek q Woof, Meow, Boom. N 38 G 58 O 69 B 14 I 28 N 31 G 49 O 62 B 10 I 18 N 37 G 47 O 65 B 1 I 19 N 32 G 52 O 64 B 8 I 21 N 42 G 51 O 63 B 4 I 16 N 34 G 48 O 68 B 6 I 17 N 36 G 53 O 66 B 11 I 26 N 41 G 50 O 67 B 5 I 24 N 40 G 60 O 74 B 13 I 22 N 35 G 59 O 73 B 3 I 20 N 39 G 55 O 75 B 2 I 23 N 44 G 57 O 71 B 12 I 25 N 43 G 56 O 72 B 15 I 27 N 45 G 54 O 70 B 7 I 30 N 33 G 46 O 61 B 9 I 19 H N O D L E U V W C G P R I F J X Y Z A B K M S T Q Thought questions: Chapter 3, BSC Level 1 1. In general, how do you indicate the pronouns ME, YOU, HE/SHE/IT, WE,YOU-ALL, and THEY in ASL? 2. How do you negate a statement in ASL? 3, How do you indicate that something is true or assert the reality of a statement? 4. How are the signs WE, YOU-ALL, THEY, THESE different from the signs ME, YOU, HE, SHE, and IT? 5. If I raise my eyebrows and move my head and shoulders slightly forward and hold my last sign a bit longer, what type of question am I asking? 6. How do I change the sign TEACH into the sign TEACHER? 7. When I sign the phrase "the two of us", or "we", using the number handshape for two, what principle am I using? 8. When I want to affirm something emphatically, what sign might I want to use? 9. What are the four building blocks or parameters of a sign? Year one outcomes: Utah 1. Introduce and exchange information about themselves and their families. 2. Describe surroundings and give directions 3. Tell time and discuss routines or schedules 4. Make requests 5. Talk about or describe the following: � occupations � activities (e.g. sports, recreation, hobbies...) � meals � health � transportation � money � colors � shapes � home � people � school 6. Fingerspell and read fingerspelling, (including loan signs) 7. Count to 100, ordinal/cardinal numbers 8. Recognize and use classifiers, (e.g. descriptive, locative, semantic, body, instrument, and plural) 9. Incorporate the following grammar features into his or her signing: � agent marker � directionality for agency � distributional aspect � eye-gaze � incorporation of number--time/pronoun � inflection for degree � negation and assertion, (e.g. reversal of orientation, head-nod/shake, etc.) � non-manual markers, (facial expressions & body language, e.g. "yes/no", "wh", "cs", "cond.", "th", "mm" , "rel-cl", etc.) � pluralization, (e.g. horizontal/vertical sweep, clustering, reduplication, etc.) � possession � role shift � spacial referencing, (e.g. locatives, space absent/present referent, etc.) � temporal aspect � topicalization Ask your instructor to clean his or her bedroom and make his or her bed. Ask your instructor to put away his clothes. Ask your instructor to wash the dishes. Ask your instructor to help you sweep the floor. Ask your instructor to bring you a cup of coffee. Ask your instructor to vacuum the living room floor. Tell your instructor to please feed the cat. Tell your instructor to please mow the grass. Tell your instructor to please walk the dog. [COFFEE, TEA, MILK, SODA-POP, CANDY] From the list above, tell the instructor what you want and ask where to buy it. -------------------------------------------------------- Explain to your instructor that next Friday night you will be...______ (Describe an activity). Explain to your instructor that last Tuesday morning you went to sign language class. Explain to your instructor that yesterday you met his or her sister. Ask to your instructor if he or she will be going to the movies tomorrow. Explain to your instructor next Wednesday you can't come to sign class. Tell your instructor that you want to leave now. Tell your instructor you need to go to work today. Tell your instructor you have an appointment with the doctor tomorrow. Tell your instructor that you are sorry you are late. You lost your car keys. Ask your instructor where the bathroom is, (wait for your instructor to respond), then ask if it is near the cafeteria. Ask your instructor where your friend named Jim is. Ask your instructor where the sign language class is. Ask your instructor where he or she lives. Ask your instructor what kind of housing he or she lives in. Ask your instructor how he or she comes to class. Ask your instructor what he or she will be doing next weekend.