American Sign Language ASL

5 courses · Palo Verde College · 2026-2027 Catalog

Classes: Fall 2026 · Spring 2027

ASL 125 American Deaf Culture

Units: 3
Hours: 54 hours total, 3 hours lecture weekly
Transfers to: CSU, UC

Student Learning Outcomes: Analyze the sociolinguistic relationship between American Sign Language and Deaf culture, including the role of communication identity, andcultural expressions. Evaluate the impact of Deaf activism on rights, accessibility, and culture. Analyze the relationship between Deaf culture, values, and community life. Demonstrate ethical advocacy and cultural awareness to bridge Deaf and hearing communities.

General Education: CalGETC: Transfer General Education Requirements ( 3- Arts and Himanities- 3B: Humanities )

Course Duration (Weeks): 18

This course introduces Deaf culture and the experiences of Deaf people in the United States. Students examine cultural values, social practices, and historical developments shaping Deaf identity, emphasis on ASL as a linguistic and cultural cornerstone. Drawing from sociolinguistics, cultural studies, and disability studies, the course explores Deaf education, systemic oppression, audism, and social movements for Deaf rights. Through literature, art, history, and community traditions, students analyze how Deaf cultural expressions resist dominant norms and develop skills to compare Deaf culture with other marginalized groups from intersectional perspectives.

Offered: Spring 2027 (1 section, listed as ASL-125)

ASL 131 American Sign Language I

Units: 4
Hours: 85.5 hours total, 3.75 hours lecture weekly, 1 hour lab weekly
Transfers to: CSU, UC

Student Learning Outcomes: Produce and distinguish between approximately 400 conceptually accurate signs in simple sentence format. Convert simple written English sentences into grammatically correct ASL sentences. Identify some historical figures, features, and developments in American Deaf culture. Analyze the historical and ethical issues related to Deaf rights and accessibility, including the Deaf community's fight for ASL recognition as alegitimate language and the impact of these struggles on modern Deaf culture. Examine the philosophical role of language in shaping personal and cultural identity, with a focus on how ASL contributes to identity within theDeaf community.

General Education: Not approved for General Education

Course Duration (Weeks): 18

This course focuses on the study of American Sign Language (A) for those who wish to communicate with members of the Deaf community, including American Sign Language interpreters and Deaf educators. ASL 131 focuses on developing basic principles and skills of ASL through cultural appreciation and non-verbal instruction. An emphasis is placed on Deaf culture and Deaf people in history, visual training, sign vocabulary comprehension, and communicative skills development. ASL 131 is associate degree applicable, a requirement for students earning an AA or certificate in career preparation and fulfills the associate degree general education requirements for humanities.

Not on the Fall 2026, Spring 2027 schedules.

ASL 132 American Sign Language II

Units: 4
Hours: 85.5 hours total, 3.75 hours lecture weekly, 1 hour lab weekly
Prerequisite: ASL 131
Transfers to: CSU, UC

Student Learning Outcomes: Demonstrate knowledge of ASL vocabulary and structure through conversation skills, utilizing 1000 conceptually accurate ASL in complex sentences. Recognize ASL signs in complex sentences provided by another through proper response to questions, fingerspelling, lexicalized signs, and asking for clarification. Differentiate proper usage of signing space and spatial relationships. Demonstrate awareness and ability to integrate etiquette of Deaf culture in to expressive and receptive skill as well as knowledge of Deaf clubs and organizations available to the Deaf community.

General Education: Not approved for General Education

Course Duration (Weeks): 18

This course is a continuation of EDU 131 or ASL131 and is designed to increase proficiency in American Sign Language structure, vocabulary and conversational strategies as used within Deaf culture. This course is intended for students interested in expanding their skills and pursuing greater competence in an additional language. Some stress will be placed on the educational,social, psychological and economic problems of deafness. ASL 132 is associate degree applicable, a requirement for students earning an AA or certificate in career preparation and fulfills the associate degree general education requiremeents for humanities.

Not on the Fall 2026, Spring 2027 schedules.

ASL 134 American Sign Language III

Units: 4
Hours: 85.5 hours total, 3.75 hours lecture weekly, 1 hour lab weekly
Prerequisite: ASL 132
Transfers to: CSU, UC

Student Learning Outcomes: Apply philosophical frameworks, such as those related to ethics, identity, and language theory, to analyze and reflect on their own interactions with the Deaf community, both in and outside of the classroom. Demonstrate the ability to communicate with the deaf, both receptively and expressively at an intermediate level with proper use of grammar, syntax, facial grammar, and use of classifiers and utilize a wide range of new vocabulary, increasing their fluency and ability to engage in extended conversations on diverse topics. Reflect on and analyze contemporary philosophical and cultural issues affecting the Deaf community, such as language rights, accessibility, and the ethical implications of technological advancements like cochlear implants.

General Education: Not approved for General Education

Course Duration (Weeks): 18

Utilizing the skills acquired in prior courses, students will be asked to place emphasis on developing a fluent mode of communication and instruction in American Sign Language with instruction in both receptive and expressive skills. Instruction is provided in the cultural aspects of the deaf and introduction to the Code of Ethics. The culture of Deaf people in North America, visual training, sign vocabulary development, receptive and expressive skills development, and basic sentence patterns of American Sign Language will be covered. ASL 134 is associate degree applicable, a requirement for students earning an AA or certificate in career preparation and fulfills the associate degree general education requirements for humanities.

Not on the Fall 2026, Spring 2027 schedules.

ASL 135 American Sign Language IV

Units: 4
Hours: 85.5 hours total, 3.75 hours lecture weekly, 1 hour lab weekly
Prerequisite: ASL 134
Transfers to: CSU, UC

Student Learning Outcomes: Demonstrate comprehensive mastery of targeted, content-specific commands, questions, and statements in ASL Master the use of classifiers to effectively represent complex spatial relationships, intricate movements, and shifts in perspective. Demonstrate mastery of classifiers to effectively represent complex spatial relationships, intricate movements, and shifts in perspective. Evaluate key cultural norms and values of the Deaf community, demonstrating an understanding of how these elements influence communication, social interactions, and community dynamics.

General Education: Not approved for General Education

Course Duration (Weeks): 18

This course builds upon sign language skills students will have acquired in ASL 131, 132 and 134 through advanced, in-depth study of the structure, vocabulary, and conversational strategies of American Sign Language as it is used within the Deaf culture. The course emphasizes mastering a fluent mode of communication in both receptive and expressive ASL skills. ASL 135 is associate degree applicable, a requirement for student earning an AA or certificate in career preparation and fulfills the associate degree general education requirements for humanities.

Not on the Fall 2026, Spring 2027 schedules.

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