Certificate (CRT.ASL/IE)

Whenever people from two cultures that use different languages try to communicate, the message often needs interpretation. For instance, when (hearing) individuals who speak English try to communicate with Deaf individuals who use American Sign Language (ASL), a qualified Interpreter for the Deaf is often requested, and sometimes mandated by law. Job opportunities in this rapidly expanding profession have increased especially since the enactment of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the American With Disabilities Act of 1990. Qualified Interpreters for the Deaf are employed by public and private agencies or institutions within education, social services, rehabilitation, medicine, mental health, criminal justice, business, and the arts, especially the theater.

Thus, this certificate is designed to prepare students for the written and performance screening tests given by the New Jersey Division of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing (DDHH) or for an entry level career as an Interpreter of the Deaf.

Students planning either should (both during and after their education) expose themselves to ASL and the Deaf Community in preparation of DDHH’s screening tests or in preparation of the career.

Students who complete the ASL/IE Certificate requirements should be able to:

• Understand and express ASL messages that incorporate statements, questions, spatial locations, classifiers, conditionals, rhetorical questions and idioms
• Identify and use various linguistical structures of ASL including the parameters (I.E. hand shape, location, movement) of signs
• Use and respond to facial expressions, gestures, and other nonverbal cues in ASL
• Incorporate fingerspelling appropriately in a message
• Define terms in the field of deafness and Deaf Culture
• Discuss historical, social, political, recreational, medical, educational, and linguistical issues that affect individuals who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing
• Give examples of geographical, generational, ethnic, and gender differences in ASL
• State the Code of Ethics as delineated by the Registry of Interpreters of the Deaf (RID), act in accordance with them, and persuasively discuss ethical issues that arise within the profession
• Apply an understanding of interpreting in various settings and fields such as education, mental health, medicine, law, social services and with varied clientele including individuals who are deaf and blind
• Interpret ASL messages into spoken English
• Interpret spoken English messages into ASL
• Change a message from an English-based sign language into spoken English
• Change a message from spoken English into an English-based sign

ADVISING FORM for CRT.ASL/IE for Part-time Students

Prerequisites:

ENG 101 College Composition I (prior to or concurrent with ASL 101 and ASL 103)

ASL 101 Elementary American Sign Language I
ASL 103 Deafness & Culture (concurrent with ASL 101)
ASL 102 Elementary American Sign Language II
ASL 104 Fingerspelling (concurrent with ASL 102)

NOTE:    So that students are more prepared for the linguistic, business, and 'theatrical' aspects of interpreting, the following courses are recommended; however, the following courses are NOT REQUIRED to obtain a certificate:
 

Course	Credits
BUA 101 Business Functions in a Global Society	3
ENG 102 College Composition II	3
ENG 106 Business Communications	3
ENG 252 Semantics	3
MAT 104 Business Mathematics	3
THR 105 Fundamentals of Acting	3
SPE 102 Public Speaking	3

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