In a message dated 9/1/2002 5:36:12 PM Central Daylight Time,
Jessica writes:
Hi,
My name is Jessica and I am 15. I am hoping to learn ASL fluently but I am NOT deaf or hard of hearing. Do you know of any immersion courses for youth who are not hearing
impaired but want to learn ASL?
Thank you so much,
Jessica
Jessica,
I did a little looking around and found the following program:
http://ce.byu.edu/yp/aslanddeaf/aslworkshop/
(Brigham Young University youth programs)
It is for ages 16 and up. Since it is held each July, depending on your birthday, you would be eligible to attend the 2003 offering of the workshop.
If you do find any sort of "ASL immersion program" for young people, I would be interested to know about it and perhaps list it at my website.
I've often thought of setting up my own "ASL immersion camp" for young people.
Maybe someday.
As it stands now, the best I could offer as far as an "immersion experience"
for you would be to invite you to come live with my family for a week. (Me, my wife, and four kids ages 12
thru 6 -- as of 2002). Sort of like a "foreign exchange student." You would turn off your voice and we would communicate with you only in ASL. We could set up a special ASL curriculum that you would be expected to master throughout the week. You'd mostly hang out with my wife, Belinda, (she's a "stay at home mom") go shopping and stuff. I'd give you a test each evening to measure your progress and give you daily goals to shoot for. Plus we'd set up a computer station for you to practice ASL via CDs
and check your email.
I'd charge you 500.00 "tuition" plus $120 for food. Before doing this I'd need letters of recommendation from responsible adults, permission slips, etc. Some sort of assurance you aren't a psycho-teenager from heck.
If my daughter wanted to go stay at the house of someone she met on the internet, I really doubt I'd let her go without my having done a serious background check. I'm happy to go through whatever background check your folks would like. If you attend a school that has a foreign exchange program, you could ask your counselor for suggestions on making it all work out.
Have a nice weekend,
Bill Vicars
www.lifeprint.com