SASL Journal Vol. 1, No. 1 | Page 11

ASL : Access , Benefits , and Quality
Rosen
states in 1997 ( Kreeft-Peyton , 1998 ) 32 in 1999 ( Jacobowitz , 1999 ), 38 in 2004 ( Gallaudet Research Institute , 2004 ) and 45 in 2014 ( Rosen , 2015 ). The results of deaf community work in ensuring recognition of ASL and deaf community and culture at the state government level were carried over to high schools , colleges and universities ( Rosen , 2006 ).
Colleges and universities . ASL as second ( L2 ) or additional ( Ln ) language was initially offered in colleges and universities in conjunction with collegiate programs that prepare individuals to work with deaf children or adults . In particular , these classes were developed in the fields of deaf education , speech pathology and vocational rehabilitation . The broader idea of studying ASL as part of meeting the foreign language requirement took over and shaped the educational landscape in a profound way . It did not matter if students had plans to work with deaf children or adults . ASL was now seen as a language worthy of study in itself .
The rise of ASL for study by hearing students has been documented in various scholarly sources . Shroyer and Holmes ( 1982 ) identified five higher education institutions in 1980 that accepted ASL in fulfillment of requirements for proficiency in a foreign language . McIntire ( 1984 ) listed eight higher education institutions in 1983 that did not teach sign language but accepted it in fulfillment of foreign language requirements , which increased to 12 in the following year ( The Reflector , 1984 ). Delgado ( 1984 ) added that there were 20 higher education institutions that accepted sign language in fulfillment of the foreign language requirement for their graduates .
A study by Corwin and Wilcox ( 1985 ) attempted to ascertain policies on ASL as a foreign language from over one hundred higher education institutions . Most of the universities reported that they did recognize ASL as a language but did not accept it as suitable for foreign language credit . Since then , this resistance seems to have lessened . Wilcox and Wilcox ( 1991 ) found that ASL was accepted as one of the foreign languages that meet the requirement for undergraduate admission in 48 U . S . national research universities as of 1991 . The number had grown to 93 in 1997 ( Cooper , 1997 ), 148 in 2006 ( Wilcox , 2006 ), and to 181 by 2015 ( Wilcox , 2015 ). Delgado ( 1984 ) took a national survey of community and junior colleges , and found that 373 institutions offered sign language classes .
Goldberg , Looney , and Lusin ( 2015 ) produced some of the most solid findings . This group of researchers conducted a survey of foreign language enrollments in higher education for the Modern Language Association and found that 756 ( a third ) of colleges and universities in 2013 offered ASL classes . In addition , an increasing number of colleges and universities offer formal degree programs in ASL Studies with coursework not only in ASL but also ASL linguistics , history , sociology and the anthropology of deaf community and culture , and ASL and Deaf arts and literature . Goldberg and his colleagues added that the number of higher education institutions that offer bachelor ’ s degrees for ASL majors has increased from 28 undergraduate colleges and universities in 2005-2006 , to 35 in 2008-2009 , and 43 in 2012-2013 .
High schools . The impetus for introducing ASL for foreign language credit in public high schools was the presence of signing deaf students in mainstream classrooms . According to Rosen ( 2006 ), the mainstreaming of ASL and deaf community and culture was initially framed by Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ( IDEA ) provisions and practices that promoted the use of speech and hearing for students with deafness . This legislation covers what is known as special education , which is a powerful force in the public school system . A pathological orientation towards deafness was criticized in the scholarly literature as “ audist ,” and places spoken language in a superior position ( Bauman , 2004 ; Eckert & Rowley , 2013 ; Lane , 1992 ). This attitude has created communication and language barriers between deaf and hearing students in public education classrooms ( Foster , 1989 ; Gaustad & Kluwin , 1992 ; Stinson & Liu , 1999 ). In the 1997
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