| (a) General requirements. Level I can be offered in
elementary, middle, or high school. At the high school level, students
shall be awarded one credit for successful completion of this course.
There is no prerequisite required for this course.
(b) Introduction.
(1) The study of world languages is an essential part
of education. In the 21st century language classroom, students gain
an understanding of two basic aspects of human existence: the nature
of communication and the complexity of culture. Students become aware
of multiple perspectives and means of expression, which lead to an
appreciation of difference and diversity. Further benefits of foreign
language study include stronger cognitive development, increased creativity,
and divergent thinking. Students who effectively communicate in more
than one language, with an appropriate understanding of cultural context,
are globally literate and possess the attributes of successful participants
in the world community.
(2) Communication is the overarching goal of world
language instruction. Students should be provided ample opportunities
to engage receptively and expressively in conversations, to present
information expressively to an audience, and to comprehend cultural
and linguistic aspects of the language. The American Council on the
Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) identifies three modes of communication:
interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational.
(A) In the interpersonal mode of communication, students
engage in direct signed communication with others without voice. Examples
of this "two-way" communication include but are not limited to signing
face to face or in a group discussion. Interpersonal communication
includes receptive and expressive skills.
(B) In interpretive (receptive) mode of communication,
students demonstrate understanding of receptively viewed communication
within appropriate cultural contexts. Examples of this type of "one-way"
receptive comprehension include but are not limited to American Sign
Language (ASL) video weblogs (or vlogs), other signed presentations,
and signed DVD conversations.
(C) In presentational (expressive) mode of communication,
students present information in expressive form without voice to an
audience of receptive listeners with whom there is no immediate expressive
interaction. Examples of this "one-to-many" mode of communication
include but are not limited to an expressively signed presentation
to a group or recorded presentation where there is no receptive listener
present to respond.
(3) The use of age-level appropriate and culturally
authentic resources is imperative to support the teaching of the essential
knowledge and skills for languages other than English (LOTE). The
use of culturally authentic resources in world language study enables
students to make connections with other content areas, to compare
the language and culture studied with their own, and to participate
in local and global communities.
(4) ASL difficulty has been determined by standards
of the Foreign Service Institute and Defense Language Institute as
a Level IV out of four (Level IV being the most difficult). The American
Sign Language Teachers Association (ASLTA) states the challenge to
ASL is primarily in the modality of learning. This conclusion is based
on the complex grammar system and significant structural and cultural
differences in the language. Students are generally seated in a semi-circle
to facilitate visual communication, notes cannot be taken without
looking away from the primary source of information, and instruction
occurs in the target language where learning is done spatially and
words are not processed sequentially. The linear nature of spoken
language cannot be used in ASL and the simultaneous expression of
complex units is used. The level of difficulty of ASL should be noted.
(5) While other languages possess a spoken and/or written
element, ASL incorporates manual components with no verbal and/or
written form. ASL is a fully developed natural language that is used
by members of the North American Deaf Community. The language is distinct
from gestures seen in spoken languages in that signs used in ASL are
controlled by the structures of its linguistic system, independent
of English. ASL encompasses all of the features that make a language
a unique, rule-governed communication system. ASL includes handshapes,
movements, and other grammatical features needed to form signs and
sentences, and parts combine to make wholes. It is not a simplified
language and contains structures and processes that English does not.
The premise of Deaf culture is rooted in the language itself and cannot
be separated.
(6) ASL is a signed language where the modes of communication
involve different skills than written and/or spoken languages. ASL
is not a formal written language; glossing is the term used to describe
a chosen written system of symbols devised to transcribe signs and
nonmanual signals to an English equivalent. Since ASL information
is received visually and not in an auditory manner, communication
skills in ASL are defined as follows:
(A) interpretive listening and reading targets are
called interpretive receptive;
(B) one-to-one interpersonal targets are called receptive
and expressive; and
(C) one-to-many presentational speaking is expressed
through signs and the target is presentational expressive.
(7) Using age-appropriate materials, students in ASL
Level I develop the ability to perform the tasks of the novice language
learner. The novice language learner, when dealing with familiar topics,
should understand ASL phrases receptively and respond expressively
with learned material; sign learned words, concepts, phrases, and
sentences; recognize the importance of communication and how it applies
to the American Deaf culture; and recognize the importance of accuracy
of expression by knowing the components of ASL. Students use expressive
and receptive skills for comprehension.
(8) ASL Level I proficiency levels, as defined by ACTFL
and ASLTA, are as follows: interpersonal receptive, novice mid; interpersonal
expressive, novice mid; interpretive receptive, novice high; and presentational
expressive, novice high.
(9) Students who have fully or partially acquired the
skills required at each proficiency level through home or other immersion
experiences are known as heritage speakers. Heritage speakers may
be allowed to accelerate based on their ability to demonstrate a proficiency
in the Texas essential knowledge and skills at the prescribed proficiency
level and communicate across all modes of communication. According
to ASLTA's National K-16 ASL Standards, "heritage language learning
is an emerging issue in ASL instruction. The formal instruction of
ASL to deaf is a very recent phenomenon, as is the availability of
ASL instruction in K-12 settings for hearing children of deaf parents.
Heritage language learning is an important and developing interest
in the field of ASL teaching and learning."
(10) Statements containing the word "including" reference
content that must be mastered, while those containing the phrase "such
as" are intended as possible illustrative examples.
(c) Knowledge and skills.
(1) Communication. The student communicates in ASL
using expressive and receptive communication skills without voice.
The student is expected to:
(A) engage in a variety of ASL exchanges of learned
material to socialize and to provide and obtain information;
(B) demonstrate an understanding of basic ASL such
as simple stories, everyday commands, and brief instructions when
dealing with familiar topics;
(C) convey information in ASL using familiar words,
concepts, classifiers, phrases, and sentences to others without voice;
(D) demonstrate appropriate usage of ASL phonology,
morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics; and
(E) be exposed to and experience ASL literature such
as handshape stories that follows traditional cultural features.
(2) Cultures. The student gains knowledge and understanding
of American Deaf culture. The student is expected to:
(A) recognize and use Deaf cultural norms to demonstrate
an understanding of the perspectives of American Deaf culture;
(B) show evidence of appreciation of ASL literature
created by the Deaf and how it applies to the perspectives of American
Deaf culture;
(C) show evidence of appreciation of the contributions
by the Deaf and how they are applied to the perspectives of American
Deaf culture such as historical, geographical, political, artistic,
and scientific avenues; and
(D) demonstrate an understanding of Deaf history and
how it applies to the perspectives of American Deaf culture.
(3) Connections. The student uses ASL to make connections
with other subject areas and to acquire information. The student is
expected to:
(A) use resources and digital technology to gain access
to information about ASL and Deaf culture; and
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