Homeschool American Sign Language 1 Course Description Examples

Three ready-to-use ASL 1 course descriptions for a homeschool transcript, plus credit guidance and how colleges treat American Sign Language as a foreign language.

Sample american sign language 1 descriptions

Copy the one closest to how you taught the course, then adjust the resources, assignments, and emphasis so it describes your homeschool honestly.

Standard ASL 1

A full-year introductory American Sign Language course using the ASL University (Lifeprint) curriculum by Dr. Bill Vicars. The student completed the first two levels of the program, covering fingerspelling, numbers, a core vocabulary of roughly 600 signs, basic ASL grammar and sentence structure, and an introduction to Deaf culture. She practiced about 140 hours, including weekly video practice with a study partner. By year end she could hold a basic signed conversation and fingerspell fluently. Grading used the program's quizzes, recorded signing samples, and a final signed presentation.

ASL 1 with live instruction

A full-year beginning ASL course taken through Mr. D Math's online American Sign Language class, taught by a Gallaudet-trained instructor. My son attended live sessions, completed assigned practice videos and vocabulary work between classes, and logged around 150 hours total. The course covered fingerspelling, everyday vocabulary, facial grammar, classifiers at an introductory level, and Deaf culture and etiquette. He finished able to introduce himself, ask and answer common questions, and follow slow conversational signing. The instructor's rubric-based evaluations set the grade.

Community-based ASL 1

A full-year introductory ASL course combining the Start ASL Level 1 curriculum with monthly Deaf community events in our city. The student worked through the full Start ASL 1 workbook, practiced daily with flashcards and video lessons, and attended eight silent dinners where she used her signing with Deaf adults. Total time was about 130 hours. Work included a notebook of vocabulary and grammar notes, video journals recorded twice a month, and a written report on Deaf history. Grading was based on the video journals, workbook tests, and participation.

What an ASL 1 course description needs to cover

American Sign Language earns foreign language credit, but a reader may know less about it than about Spanish or French, so the description carries more explanatory weight. Cover the program used, the hours practiced, the vocabulary and grammar ground covered (fingerspelling, sign vocabulary, ASL sentence structure, facial grammar), and the Deaf culture component, which serious ASL curricula treat as part of the course.

Receptive and expressive skills are the language milestones. Say what the student could do: fingerspell fluently, follow slow conversational signing, introduce herself and hold a basic signed exchange.

Counting the credit

A full year at 120 to 180 hours earns 1.0 foreign language credit. Hours include lessons, daily practice, video work, and community events like silent dinners or Deaf church services. ASL 1 fits any high school year, and since most colleges want two or more years of one language, plan ASL 2 behind it. Because a few programs still define their requirement as a spoken language, check the admission pages of likely colleges early, ideally before junior year. The transcript guide covers how language sequences appear on the final document.

Mistakes to avoid

Treating ASL as a lesser credit. It is a full language with its own grammar. Title it "American Sign Language 1" and describe it with the same rigor as any language course.

No video evidence. ASL is visual, so recorded signing samples are the natural equivalent of written compositions. A description that mentions video journals shows real assessment happened.

Skipping Deaf culture. Standard ASL courses include it, and leaving it out makes the course look like vocabulary drill.

Assuming every college accepts it. Most do. A handful of programs still want a spoken language, and finding that out senior year is too late.

Keep the records as you go

Practice hours, community events, and video journals pile up fast in an ASL year. Logging them in Homeschool Fox as they happen gives the description its hour count and its evidence, and the transcript generator builds the final record from the same log.

Common questions

Do colleges accept ASL as a foreign language?

Most do. ASL is a complete language with its own grammar, and the large majority of colleges count it toward a foreign language requirement. A few programs still define the requirement as a spoken or written language, so check the specific colleges on your student's list before senior year.

How do I document a visual language?

Video. Have the student record signing samples on a schedule, monthly video journals work well, and keep them with the course records. Recorded samples are the ASL equivalent of written compositions and make grading defensible.

How many hours earn the credit?

The standard 120 to 180 hours for 1.0 credit. Count lessons, daily practice, video work, and time at Deaf community events like silent dinners. Community interaction is legitimate course time for a living language.

Should we plan ASL 2?

Yes, if the language requirement matters for your student's college plans. Most colleges want two or more years of the same language, and that applies to ASL like any other. One year alone leaves the sequence incomplete.

Write every description at once

The Homeschool Fox transcript builder drafts a description for each course from the details you enter, then you edit until it sounds like your homeschool. The transcript and descriptions always match.

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