The Foreign Language department offers a number of language courses to students. At Woodgrove High School, we have Spanish, French, Latin, and German, but they also offer a course that is less commonly taught at other schools. ASL or American Sign Language has been used by the deaf community for years to communicate with each other. At Woodgrove, ASL is taught to students of all grade levels, and there are no requirements needed to be enrolled in the class.
The ASL teacher, Cheri Martinez, went to college to teach deaf students and worked as a sign language interpreter for Fairfax County Public Schools. She transitioned into teaching after an ASL teacher at a Fairfax County school left. She continued teaching there for another year until she eventually ended up teaching at Woodgrove. When asked why she continued to teach ASL, she said, “I guess I kept with it because it gave my heart such a joy when students would come in and they would be working in the community and a deaf person would come in to their place of employment and they could use their skill to introduce themselves, to say, ‘What can I help you with in the store?’, to answer questions, and I felt ‘How fair is that?’, you know all these years that deaf people have been able to do that, and ‘How fair is that now?’”
The ASL curriculum is slightly different compared to how other languages are taught. During class, there is a period of time where students are not allowed to communicate to the teacher or to other students using any vocal languages. They can only use ASL. This kind of environment is necessary for students to be immersed so they can learn the language better. The ASL classroom is different from any typical classroom at Woodgrove. Instead of using desks, students sit in chairs that are formed in a semicircle. This makes communicating easier with the teacher and the other students, because it allows students to see each other signing.
Language classes at Woodgrove have certain expectations for students, and ASL is no different. The main one is to practice the language outside of class. This is helpful so you are keeping up with vocabulary and keeping up in class. Not understanding the vocabulary can hinder your own learning as well as everyone else’s learning, so it is always important to review the things you learned in class. Studying for 10 minutes every night is recommended to remain caught up.
Understanding the importance of learning ASL comes down to communication. Throughout many cultures, communicating with one another is how things get done. Deaf people should not have to find communicating with hearing people difficult. Isabella Roma, a 9th grader taking ASL, was asked about what she had learned about the deaf community and how it impacted her understanding of it. She said, “It impacted me to see things, like how they think and understand them a little more than how someone who didn’t know ASL wouldn’t.” Learning ASL can help students learn about the lives of deaf people and how they interact with each other. Taking ASL is not just a way to improve your academics, it is also a way to learn about history and culture.
