CODA offers American Sign Language (ASL) classes to students of all levels. Classes are taught by Manuel Martin, the founder of ASL Academy. Manny is a highly praised instructor who has been teaching ASL since 1994 to students of all ages. Beginning ASL students will learn basic vocabulary and grammatical structure. Experienced signers can continue to practice their ASL skills while expanding their vocabulary in an advanced level class. In addition to learning ASL, students will be exposed to relevant topics associated with deaf culture, including the history of American Sign Language, famous individuals associated with deaf culture, and the effects of technology on the deaf culture. Classes are fun and relaxed; we encourage everyone with an interest in ASL to attend!

To register for classes at the beginning of the semester, or for more information about our ASL classes, please contact Alex at alexanderbardis@gmail.com.

SPRING SEMESTER: Announcements will be made later about the schedule for the spring semester!

Classes begin on Sunday September 18, and will continue weekly until December 4. There may be no classes on October 9 but there will be no classes on November 27, in accordance with Harvard's Thanksgiving break. Students will also be expected to attend at least 3 ASL Tables during the semester to work on their skills in a fun and informal setting!

Schedule for Fall 2011:

Level 1 2:00-3:00
In the introductory level, the focus is on clear handshapes and sign production. Students will develop a strong foundation vocabulary of finger spelling, numbers, foods, verbs, animals, family members, professions, days of the week, and more and at the end will clearly sign a short story using this vocabulary. They will use two sentence types - affirmation and negation.

Level 2 3:00-4:00
This class is designed to build on skills acquired in level 1 and add time concepts, tense markers, and greetings. Students will gain exposure to wh- questions at the end of the semester and practice with three additional sentence types - yes/no questions (without a topic), wh questions (without a topic) and Topic/Comment.

Level 3 4:00-5:00
This class will expand the use of classifiers and role shifting for story telling. Students will learn additional verbs and deepen their understanding of the verb system as they add more directional verbs to their vocabulary. They will learn two more sentence types - rhetorical questions and conditionals.

*All classes meet in Harvard's Science Center B-10 on Sundays.

Prices for Fall 2011:

$20 = Harvard freshmen
$30 = Harvard undergraduates
$40 = Non-Harvard undergraduates
$75 = Community members