This past spring William & Mary Libraries offered an 11-week ASL course to faculty, staff, students, and community members. ASL is a language course that is not offered by the university, so this was a great way to offer more diverse learning opportunities on campus.
For Fall 2024, the Beginner ASL classes start on September 10, with registration starting September 3. We will be offering Intermediate ASL later in the semester as well.
ASL class of spring 2024
We talked with Lauren Su, Acquisitions Assistant, and Kristin Froehlich, Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at WJCC Public Schools. Lauren spearheaded this offering through W&M Libraries’ EDI Committee and an Office of Diversity and Inclusion grant, and Kristin was the instructor of the course.
What was the ASL course?
Lauren: This semester we offered a Beginner ASL course that was generously supported by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion's IDEA Grant and the EDI Committee. It was an 11-week course that met every Tuesday. We were taught by Kristin Froehlich, a teacher with Williamsburg-James City County Schools.
Kristin: The ASL course was a beginning level class to introduce American Sign Language to people who were interested in learning some basic ASL. Some learners were completely new to ASL, and others had some prior experience and knowledge.
How did you come up with the idea?
Lauren: I've always been interested in learning ASL, and tried to learn on my own online, but that method never really worked for me. I prefer learning in person, but in person classes are hard to find and sometimes cost-prohibitive. After I joined the staff at Swem library, I realized that there must be many other people on campus who would appreciate an in person ASL class as well. William & Mary Libraries is great about supporting new initiatives, and when I realized an ASL class would fit into the mission of the EDI Committee, I felt like starting an ASL class was a real possibility.
How did you get involved as the instructor of this course?
Kristin: Kathryn McKenzie [Coordinator of ILL and Research Librarian] is an acquaintance of mine who knows I teach Deaf and hard-of-hearing students in the local school division. She contacted me through a mutual friend.
How did it go?
Lauren: I thought it went really well overall. There was a lot of interest and a huge waiting list. Of course, some people had to drop out because life happens but most students were able to attend most classes. Kristin also came up with a really robust syllabus. I think a lot of the students walked away feeling confident they can carry basic conversations in ASL.
Kristin: I thought the class went well for a first-time offering. I have not taught ASL to adults before, so it was a learning experience for me as well. Trying to decide what to teach in the 11-week span of the class was a challenge!
What was your favorite class?
Lauren: Playing a modified version of Uno for the last class. It was fun to put what we learned to use in a less formal setting.
Kristin: I think my favorite class was the week we learned to describe people. Then we played the "Guess Who" card game to practice. It seemed like everyone was having a great time! This would be followed closely by the last class where we played *silent* Spicy Uno :-)