Dear Professor Soandso,
[name changed to protect his identity]
One of my Reentry Services clients, Martha Stewart [name has been changed to protect the student's identity], newly admitted for Spring 2004 is seeking your help in working with her toward verification of her Foreign Language proficiency in sign language. Ms. Stewart, a returning adult student is under considerable time constraints to complete her degree in Anthropology [name of major has been changed to protect the student's identity] expediently so she may go on toward graduate school and her pursuit of a PhD. in this profession. Toward that end, I called your Foreign Language department which recommended consulting with you toward verification of her sign language proficiency. Ms. Stewart has also suffered some diminishment of her manual dexterity from severe tendonitis and is unable to physically demonstrate her sign language proficiency. However, she remains proficient in this language in both the spoken and written form of sign and wishes to demonstrate these skills without the actual physical signing process, perhaps through interpreting your signing to her. Are you amenable to helping her prove her sign language proficiency in this fashion. Thank you. I will relay your response to Ms. Stewart.
-- Steve White
Counselor
[name has been changed]
Professor Soandso asked my opinion regarding the above request for alternative proficiency testing. Professor Soandso indicated that he wasn't sure he liked the idea of demonstrating proficiency through translation alone--without the expressive aspect.
This is my response:
Dear Soandso,
Policies for satisfying foreign language requirements
need to be rigorous enough to insure that the integrity of the academic
system is protected. Additionally requirements should be flexible enough to
accommodate a diverse student body.
According to the campus policy regarding language proficiency, students may
demonstrate proficiency through passing an intermediate-level test in two of
four skills: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. One of the tests
must be in reading or writing. This means a student can fulfill the
college’s foreign language proficiency requirement via reading and
listening. Other combinations include reading/speaking, writing/listening,
and writing/speaking.
This policy indicates that it is a currently accepted practice for students
to satisfy foreign language requirements by demonstrating one aspect of oral
proficiency (expressive or receptive) and also one aspect of orthographic
proficiency (reading or writing).
The American Sign Language equivalent of oral proficiency is the ability to
sign and to understand what is being signed. The closest ASL equivalent to
orthographic proficiency is the ability to fingerspell and to read
fingerspelling.
Thus the satisfaction of foreign language requirements via demonstration of
“receptive ASL ability” and “receptive fingerspelling ability” is in line
with existing policy.
Cordially,
Bill
William Vicars, EdD, ASLTA
Asst. Professor
ASL Program
California State University, Sacramento