Sign Language Teaching: Training for

In the United States, there are two accredited graduate degree programs specifically designed to prepare teachers of American Sign Language: Gallaudet University’s Masters in Sign Language Education, established Summer 2011, and University of Northern Colorado, established Summer 2014.

There are other types of certification, training programs, organizations, and conferences dedicated to professional development and advancement within the ASL teaching field including American Sign Language Teachers Association (ASLTA) and ASL RoundTable (ASLRT).

There are also numerous accredited degree programs with specializations or concentration areas situated in teaching of ASL, however, their full degree program is focused on the study of ASL, not the teaching of ASL. Those specializations or concentration areas may be between one to three courses focused on the teaching of ASL. Examples include University of North Carolina, Greensboro, bachelor’s degree in Professions in Deafness, established in 2008 and closing in 2015 as well as Gardner-Webb University with a bachelor’s degree in ASL Studies, and an option to minor in ASL Education, established in 1995. Those programs are excluded from this review of training programs for ASL teachers in the United States.

The first degree program focused on the teaching of ASL was established in 1983 at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC. A bachelor’s degree was established due to shifting perspectives about ASL as a communication method to ASL as a legitimate language, where a structured language study was needed. The degree name at that time was Sign Communication, and the purpose of this degree program was to prepare teachers of ASL. This program offered courses in ASL literature, evaluation and diagnosis of sign language skills, Deaf culture, history of Deaf community, visual gesture communication, media use in the ASL classroom, methods of teaching ASL, bilingualism in the Deaf community, instructional development, educational psychology and introduction to education as well as a required field experience (practicum). The bachelor of arts in Sign Communication was renamed to American Sign Language in 1996.

In 1986, the formerly named Western Maryland College, now known as McDaniel College, established a Masters of Arts degree in Teaching ASL (TAP), the nation (and possibly the world’s) first graduate program focused on the teaching of ASL. Courses offered included methodology of language teaching, curriculum design, assessing language skills, ASL and English comparative analysis, Deaf culture, structure of ASL, a comprehensive exam and an internship. Pioneering faculty for this program included Drs. MJ Bienvenu, Dennis Cokeley, Barbara Kannapell, Charlotte Baker-Shenk, Clayton Valli, and Ms. Marie Jean Philip. The program was discontinued in 1994 due to “insufficient administrative and financial support” (Jacobowitz, 2005) and phased out their final graduates in 1996. The Masters in Deaf Education program at the same college absorbed some of the courses from the defunct TAP program, and added an ASL specialization track in 1998.

In 2000,Teachers College, Columbia University initiated a Masters of Arts in Teaching ASL as a Foreign Language (TASLFL) Degree program to comply with New York State (NYSED) Learning standards for Languages other than English (LOTE). Options for foreign language credit toward high school diploma included ASL. Program director, Rusty Rosen saw the opportunity facilitate this program to provide NYSED with [Page 860]teachers trained to teach ASL to Grades 7–12 for students to successfully pass the comprehensive exam. The TASLFL programming focused on developing the pedagogy and research skills for second language acquisition, assessment, curriculum design, psychosocial and cultural aspects, literature and arts, and observation and student teaching (internship). For students who wish to obtain a teacher certificate in New york they must take the 4-portion New York State Teacher Certification Examination (NYSTCE) which includes an ASL Content Skills Test (ASL CST). The program was discontinued in August 2014 due to financial cessation, in other words, federal funding that allowed students to reduce private tuition costs through scholarship were no longer available to support the program through its fluctuating student enrollment roster.

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