American Sign Language is a rich and complex language. Recently declared
as an official language and recognized by 48 states as a foreign
language, more and more high school teachers across the country are
teaching American Sign Language as an elective.
Learning American Sign Language: Levels I & II - Beginning
&Intermediate is designed to prepare teachers to successfullyinteract
with American Sign Language (ASL) users. Lessons are structured around
language needed for common-life situations, and examples are presented
in the form of dialogues coupled with grammar and vocabulary
instruction. Information is also included about the culture of deaf
people in the United States.
Learners will discover that the book:
- Contains lessons designed around the conversational language needed
for common life situations.
- Illustrates hundreds of sentences and vocabulary with over 2,000 high
quality colorized drawings that aid in study and memory.
- Contains over 100 grammar and cultural notes, 72 exercises, and charts
of the American Manual Alphabet (Finger spelling) and ASL number
system.
- Teaches the rules of ASL in a natural order that is predictable and
compatible with everyday language of native users of American Sign
Language.
- Incorporates information about the cultural lives of Deaf people in
the United States.
- Is supported by a video demonstrating all the conversations and
important structures in the text.
Order the Video!
Video to Accompany American Sign Language, 2/e
Order No. 0-205-27554-0
American Sign Language students will find themselves captivated and
entertained by this state-of-the-art Video that presents all 72
dialogues and each key structure from the text in a clear and natural
way. Four internationally known Deaf actors animate the dialogues
bringing life to the illustrations in the text allowing students to
preview and review instructional materials at home to enhance their
classroom learning.
About the authors:
Tom Humphries is Associate Director of the Teacher Education Program
and also teaches in the Department of Communication at the University of
California, San Diego. He is currently coordinating a program to train
teachers of deaf children using a bilingual approach. Prior to this he
taught at Gallaudet University in the Department of English for several
years and later served as an Associate Dean for the San Diego Community
College District where he coordinated the development of an ASL program
and an interpreter-training program. He holds a Ph.D. in Cross Cultural
Communication and Language Learning. Dr. Humphries is co-author with
Carol Padden of Deaf in America: Voices from a Culture and several
other books and articles related to ASL and the culture of Deaf
people.
Carol Padden is a Professor in the Department of Communication at
the University of California, San Diego where she teachers courses on
language, culture and media. She is a graduate of Georgetown University
and received a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of California,
San Diego. Her recent research includes studies of reading development
in young deaf children and she has written extensively about the
cultural lives of Deaf people in the United States. She received a John
Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, in addition to numerous other awards and
grants for her work. In addition to the books she has co-authored with
Tom Humphries, she has published several other books and articles on
American Sign Language structure. Humphries & Padden (Learning American
Sign Language, 2e).
