DAGSBORO, Del. - American Sign Language is now offered as a World Language course at Indian River High School. Courtney Farbman, the ASL instructor, says she teaches students in the half-year course history of the deaf community and basic signing.
"I'm really impressed by how well they are picking this up. This is a very difficult thing for a beginner to learn. ASL does not follow English grammar, so it's entirely different," said Farbman. "We're asking a lot of these students and we're asking them to keep an open mind."
Students spend their daily classes taking notes, learning signs by signing along with their teacher, and practicing their new skills with their classmates in exercises of only communicating through sign. Some students even say they've been able to use sign language outside of the classroom.
"I work in Bethany and I've encountered a few, deaf customers," said Ariell Cooper. "It's really nice to be able to communicate with them. I feel like a lot of kids in here are also working, and they can use that as well."
Miss Farbman says she hopes to bring four levels of ASL to the school within the next few years. As of right now, it is only offered as a half-year beginner course, and can be taken to fulfill the World Language course requirement or as an elective.