Associate in Arts Degree - American Sign Language

Peralta Community College District

Welcome to Berkeley City College’s American Sign Language Program. Berkeley City College is a national leader in American Sign Language education, curriculum development, and instruction. Colleges and universities throughout America, Canada, Great Britain, and other parts of the world use or have adapted Berkeley City College’s model curriculum to teach sign language.Now, more than ever, people are learning ASL, a foreign language elective in California high schools and universities. Public and private sector organizations, in their efforts to conform with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), now wish to train bilingual employees. This means that at worksites which employ or serve Deaf people, designated staff must know ASL.Berkeley City College’s ASL Program enables students to acquire the communicative competence in ASL and the cultural sensitivity needed to interact successfully with members of the American Deaf community. American Sign Language (ASL) is the fourth most used language in the United States. It is the major language that the American Deaf population uses.Students who will benefit from this program include the following: those who wish to expand their language skills and cultural knowledge to enhance other majors (e.g., interpreting, education, social work, and psychology) those who need to fulfill a university foreign language requirement parents of deaf children and deafened adults. Students will develop skills which will also make them more marketable to potential employers who encounter the Deaf.Program Learning OutcomesStudents who complete the program will beable to:Demonstrate expressive competence in ASL. Demonstrate receptive competence in ASL.Demonstrate awareness of and respect for the language, history and culture of Deaf people, including their values, beliefs, and customs.Demonstrate appropriate cultural behavior at events where a majority of attendees are 56 Deaf people and ASL native signers, e.g. school, club, organization, etc.

Berkeley City College