Texas Administrative Code
Title 19 - EDUCATION
Part 2 - TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY
Chapter 114 - TEXAS ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS FOR LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH
Subchapter C - HIGH SCHOOL
Section 114.34 - American Sign Language, Level I (One Credit), Adopted 2014
Universal Citation: 19 TX Admin Code ยง 114.34
Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(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
(B) use ASL to obtain, reinforce, or expand
knowledge of other subject areas.
(4) Comparisons. The student develops insight
into the nature of language and culture by comparing the student's own language
and culture to ASL and American Deaf culture. The student is expected to:
(A) demonstrate an understanding of the
nature of language through comparisons of the student's own language and
ASL;
(B) demonstrate an
understanding of the nature of culture through comparisons of the student's own
culture and the American Deaf culture; and
(C) demonstrate an understanding of how one
language and culture can influence another.
(5) Communities. The student participates in
the Deaf/ASL community by using ASL. The student is expected to:
(A) apply ASL at the novice proficiency level
in or out of the school setting through involvement in cultural activities such
as attending Deaf events;
(B) be
aware of methods of technology to communicate with the Deaf/ASL community;
and
(C) show evidence of becoming a
lifelong learner by using ASL at the novice proficiency level for personal
enrichment and/or career development.
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