DUBOIS, Pa. — There is still time to sign up for remaining seats in both a 10-week introductory sign language course, as well a 6-week intermediate class for those who would like to increase their sign language skills. This Fall Penn State DuBois Continuing and Community Education will offer both, with Marla Jo Ball as the instructor.
These courses are Act 48 approved for continuing education credits for educators who work with hearing impaired students or those with autism who use sign language as their primary form of communication. Students applying for Act 48 credits must attend all the class hours and complete any independent projects in order to receive credits.
The introductory class will meet from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays, beginning Oct. 1, in Room 209 of the DEF Building at Penn State DuBois. This class teaches finger spelling, conversational phrases and a variety of commonly used signs. The class will also include introducing students to deaf culture and a variety of web sites for independent learning.
Students will be introduced to the concept of “What does it look like?” as an approach to learning this language, in comparison to learning a spoken language and how words sound. Class structure will include small group centers for practicing and improving skills. The goal of the class is to allow students to learn, recognize and reproduce more than 100 signs, while also gaining the ability to spell and read fingerspelling phonetically. At the end of the class, students will be expected to converse with others at a basic level.
Registration is $160, with discounts for current Penn State students and employees. Contact Penn State DuBois Continuing and Community Education for details and discount codes.
The more advanced class will meet from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Thursdays beginning Oct. 10, in Room 209 of the DEF Building at Penn State DuBois. It is open to those who have a basic knowledge of American Sign Language. As part of the class, students will be required to conduct an independent study project based on a specific topic related to American Sign Language. This project will require time outside of class, in addition to the nine hours of instruction.
The goal of this class is for students to expand their current knowledge of sign language and ultimately allow them to learn, recognize and reproduce more than 200 signs.
Registration for this class is $100 and similar discounts to the introductory class exist for this class as well.
Students wishing to register for either class can find out more on the Penn State DuBois website.