Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, located at 400 E. Second St. in Bloomsburg, offers Sign Language Interpretation and Translation studies. An ASL/English-interpreting major implies six-semester studies of ASL techniques, linguistics and hearing-impaired culture. Interpreter teaching techniques encompass introductory categories, translation, transliteration, and consecutive and simultaneous interpreting. Courses to assist your prospective vocation include public speaking, history, learning and guidance for the hearing impaired, and functional syntax and usage. Visual and gestural communication as well as oral- and tactile-interpreting courses are elective.
Mount Aloysius College, at 7373 Admiral Peary Highway in Cresson, offers the Sign Language/Deaf Studies Associate Degree program. The course aims to prepare students to work with the hearing-impaired community after graduation. Students also are welcome to participate in the Mount Aloysius American Sign Language Club program. Underlining the sociological, historical and linguistic aspects of the hearing-impaired community, oral interpretation, gestural communication and public speaking are some of the skills taught throughout the course.
The Community College of Philadelphia, located at 1700 Spring Garden St., offers a two-year program in ASL/English Interpreting (INT). Courses unite various subjects, including hearing-impaired culture, ASL structure, comparative English and ASL, interpretation skills and diagnostic feedback. The college has an INT lab where learners, divided into small groups, have access to video and digital material. Besides theoretical courses, the college encourages students to engage in fieldwork, guest lectures, internships and scholarly observations.
Two schools offer ASL programs in Pittsburgh: the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC), with various locations throughout the city, and Connelley Technical Institute & Adult Education Center, at 1501 Bedford Ave. CCAC offers an American Sign Language Certificate Program, which grants an American Sign Language Proficiency Interview and enables students to understand pronunciation and vocabulary and comprehend signs and gestural communication. The two-year ASL program is further transferable to four-year institutions.
Online ASL programs offer a basic understanding of the language. Michigan State University's ASL Browser, for example, offers video material; it is not a comprehensive ASL course, however, but rather a reference point for basic sign-language understanding. ASL University offers lessons, quizzes, finger-spelling and other checkpoints for ASL students and teachers. ASL Pro is an online resource for teachers, with phrases, dictionaries and quizzes. Start American Sign Language includes ASL tutorials, dictionaries and an online discussion forum.