If you love to use your hands in everyday conversation, don’t like other foreign languages, or just up for a challenge, Sign Language is the class for you! With an estimated 100,000-500,000 users, American Sign Language (ASL) is the fourth most used language in the United States.
ASL is one of four language courses other than English offered at WHBHS. Last year, ASL was almost cut from the district, which would have reduced the 2011-2012 budget by $63,000. But ASL has been revived and back in full motion
Students who have taken ASL in the past are familiar with Ms. Janky, who is currently on maternity leave and will be returning in December. Although she is a Deaf teacher, Ms. Janky can speak with her students, even though she can’t hear them. In her place is Ms. Daley, a hearing person who has been signing for 9 years. She previously taught at Sachem East and East Meadow High School. Ms. Daley recalls her student days learning ASL, stating, “Since elementary school I wanted to learn more about ASL, but I didn’t know how. I learned that in high school, starting in 11th grade, you could start to learn ASL. I talked with my counselor, edited my schedule, and from the first day, I loved it, and I’ve been signing ever since.”
ASL is widely used by the Deaf community in the United States and parts of Canada. Like other languages, ASL has its own syntax and word placement: nouns before adjectives. The most important aspect of ASL are facial expressions. In English, facial expressions don’t have to match what you’re saying. “If your facial expressions don’t match with what you’re saying, then it doesn’t make sense in sign language, especially in ASL,” stated Ms. Daley.
Sign Language offers students the opportunity to learn languages other than the normal Spanish and French. Students also get to learn about a thriving culture and its history. Through ASL, some students get a grasp of what profession they want to undertake in the future. Past and current students have been motivated to involve ASL in their future professions through the course. Sophomore Alison Cappabianca plans on becoming an interpreter, while senior Francesco Logozzo is unsure, stating, “It might happen in the future with music teaching.”
