ASL 1552 - Intermediate American Sign Language 1
Fall 2026 Syllabus, Section 01, CRN 41217,
Credit hours: 2
Course Meeting Times
Log in to view more
Instructor
Julia Finocchi
Email: jfinocchi@ysu.edu
Course Description
Course Readings
| Group | Title | Author | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Required | Introduction To American Deaf Culture | Thomas K. Holcomb | 978–0–19–977754–9 |
Chapters will be assigned for discussion.
The course readings are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances, research developments, current events, and/or to ensure better learning.
Assignments/Assessments
Log in to view more
Signing Naturally Units 7-9
| Day | Date | Proposed Topic | Due/To Prepare for Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | 8/24 | Review of class expectations 7.1 – Identifying a Person |
Assignment 7.1: Identify the Person. Students watch 3 signed descriptions of people and create a written profile for each, identifying the descriptive sequence used. |
| Wed | 8/26 | 7.1 – Relaying a Message | Assignment 7.1B: Message Relay. Student watches a signed message once without pausing, records the information remembered, then identifies which details were lost or misunderstood. |
| Mon | 8/31 | 7.2 – Describing People | Assignment 7.2: Who Am I Describing? Record a 60–90 second description of a person without giving their name. Classmate must identify the person from the description. |
| Wed | 9/2 | 7.2 – Descriptive Order | Assignment 7.2B: Descriptive Structure Analysis. Students analyze three ASL descriptions and identify how physical characteristics, clothing, distinguishing features, and other details are organized. |
| Mon | 9/7 | Object classifiers | Analyze classifier use in authentic ASL |
| Wed | 9/9 | 7.3–7.4 – Describing Things | Assignment 7.3: Object Description. Select an unfamiliar household object and produce a detailed ASL description including size, shape, appearance, function, and distinguishing characteristics. |
| Mon | 9/14 | 7.4 – Receptive Description | Assignment 7.4: Receptive Object Identification. Students watch descriptions of unfamiliar objects and match each description to the correct object. |
| Wed | 9/16 | 7.5–7.6 – Descriptive Language/Classifiers | Quiz 1: Classifiers/spatial grammar Assignment 7.5: Classifier Observation. Students identify classifiers used to represent objects and explain the function of each classifier in a short written analysis. |
| Mon | 9/21 | Unit 7 Review | QUIZ 1 – Unit 7. Vocabulary in context, descriptive structure, classifiers, receptive comprehension, and short expressive response. |
| Wed | 9/23 | 8.1 – Explaining a Situation/Making a Request | Assignment 8.1: Request Scenario. Create two original situations requiring a request. Explain the situation, state what you need, and make the request appropriately in ASL. |
| Mon | 9/28 | 8.2 – Making Requests | Assignment 8.2: Request/Response Dialogue. Record a 2–3 minute dialogue containing one request, one acceptance, and one refusal with an appropriate explanation. |
| Wed | 9/30 | 8.3–8.4 – Agreeing with Conditions | Assignment 8.3: Conditional Agreement. Students respond to five situations requiring conditional agreement and demonstrate the condition before confirming agreement. |
| Mon | 10/5 | 8.5–8.6 – Negation/Phone Numbers | QUIZ 2 – Unit 8A. Negation, phone numbers, request structures, and receptive comprehension. |
| Wed | 10/7 | 8.7 – Asking for Advice | Assignment 8.7: Advice Consultation. Students present a realistic problem and ask a partner for advice. Partner must provide at least two possible solutions. |
| Mon | 10/12 | 8.8 – Asking for a Sign | Assignment 8.8: Communication Repair. Students demonstrate multiple strategies for requesting an unknown sign without immediately resorting to English. |
| Wed | 10/14 | 8.9–8.12 – Agreement Verbs, Advice, Negation, Comprehension | Unit 8 Case Study. Students receive a scenario involving a misunderstanding, request, refusal, or problem and create an appropriate ASL response. |
| Mon | 10/19 | Unit 8 Review/Assessment | QUIZ 3 – Unit 8 Comprehensive. Receptive + grammar + expressive request/advice response. |
| Wed | 10/21 | 9.1 – Discussing Neighborhoods | Assignment 9.1: My Neighborhood. Students prepare a 2-minute ASL description of where they live, including type of residence, length of residence, who they live with, and general characteristics of the area. |
| Mon | 10/26 | 9.2 – Places in the Neighborhood | Assignment 9.2: Neighborhood Map. Students create a map and produce an ASL description identifying at least eight locations and their spatial relationships. |
| Wed | 10/28 | 9.3 – Giving the Time | Assignment 9.3: Time in Context. Students interpret and produce schedules using ASL number/time conventions rather than translating English time expressions. |
| Mon | 11/2 | 9.4 – Describing Your Neighborhood | QUIZ 4 – Unit 9A. Neighborhood vocabulary, time, spatial referencing, receptive comprehension. |
| Wed | 11/4 | 9.5 – Giving Directions: Next to/Across From | Assignment 9.5: Map Directions. Student gives directions from one location to another using spatial referencing and appropriate perspective. |
| Mon | 11/9 | 9.6 – Yes/No Questions | Assignment 9.6: Information Gap. Partners receive different maps and must communicate entirely in ASL to determine missing information. |
| Wed | 11/11 | 9.7 – Describing a Restaurant/Classifiers | Assignment 9.7: Restaurant Description. Students describe a restaurant's layout, location of objects, seating, entrances, and relevant features using classifiers. |
| Mon | 11/16 | 9.8 – Giving Directions: Where to Turn | Assignment 9.8: Navigation Challenge. Students give directions through an unfamiliar map while their partner follows without seeing the original route. |
| Wed | 11/18 | 9.9–9.10 – Time/Suggesting a Place to Eat | Assignment 9.9: Make a Recommendation. Students recommend a restaurant/place to eat and explain why it is appropriate for a specific situation. |
| Mon | 11/23 | 9.11 – Giving Directions/Perspective Shift | Assignment 9.11: Perspective Shift Directions. Students demonstrate directions from the perspective of the person moving through the environment rather than simply describing the map. |
| Wed | 11/25 | ||
| Mon | 11/30 | Unit 7–9 integration | Integrated ASL Scenario Preparation: Students receive a situation requiring description, request/advice, and location/direction skills. |
| Wed | 12/2 | Integrated communication | Practice Performance: 5–7 minute unscripted partner interaction |
| Mon | 12/7 | Comprehensive receptive/expressive review | Final Exam Review + Individual Receptive Conference |
| Wed | 12/9 | FINAL EXAM | Receptive + expressive examination |
The course schedule, policies, procedures, and assignments in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances, by mutual agreement, and/or to ensure better learning.