Welcome!
Program Director	Star Grieser~ 757- 822-5015 ~ SGrieser@tcc.edu
TTY:	757- 822-5018
Fax:	757-822-5155

Thank you for your interest in learning

American Sign Language (ASL)

and/or

ASL-English Interpretation!

 

Tidewater Community College blazed the trail for American Sign Language programs in the Commonwealth by being the first ASL-related academic degree program ever established in Virginia.   As of 2002, TCC offers an Associate of Applied Science Degree in ASL-English Interpretation.

You must be proficient in both ASL and English to be admitted into the AAS Degree in ASL-English Interpretation Program. Once you 'know' both languages, we will train you to interpret between them.

Where do you begin?

The Career Studies Certificate in American Sign Language prepares you to have one-on-one dialogs with Deaf friends, families, students, collegues, etc. While you are learning ASL, you are also learning about other-than-interpreting career options and about the culture of Deaf people.  If you have learned some ASL from other schools or from using it with Deaf family and friends, email the Program Director to discuss the best place for you to begin.

If you just want to learn ASL, this is the program for you, plus, completing this track prepares you to enter the interpreting program.

 

How long does it take to learn ASL?

Of course that varies for different individuals.  The TCC program is designed to at least make you comfortable over the course of four ASL courses, but research shows that becoming truly fluent takes five to seven years of intense commitment.

Fluency in ASL doth not an interpreter make!

Along with being ready for the fifth semester of ASL (ASL261), you must also be fluent in English to be admitted to the AAS Degree in ASL-English Interpretation.  You will be asked to prove you are ready for placement into at least ENG111 (College Composition).

Interpreting is different than simply conversing.  If you are interpreting, you cannot control the direction of the conversation, as you can if you are simply having the conversation yourself.  You cannot control the rate; you cannot control what people are talking about; you cannot control the vocabulary and grammer;  etc.  Interpreting is a highly cognitive demanding task!  See the attached for a list of qualities of an interpreter.

What DOES it take to become an interpreter?

Once you are proficient in both English and ASL, you may be admitted into the AAS Degree in ASL-English Interpretation program to learn to interpret between the two languages.  The program prepares you for entry-level positions, and to take the Virginia Quality Assurance Screening (VQAS) and national certifying exams.  Employability and wages are determined, in part, by the results of your state and national exams.

For information regarding the process (from admission to graduation) of earning a degree from TCC, see the TCC College Catalog and Admissions page:

• TCC College Catalog
• Admission to Tidewater Community College

For specifics regarding the ASL and Interpreting programs, check out these helpful links:

• FAQ's including ASL program admission info
• Programs (official catalog description of programs and list of courses)
• ASL Course descriptions (including prerequisite information)
• INT Course Descriptions (including prerequisite information)

Both the ASL and the ASL-English Interpretation programs are considered 'college-wide' programs, but they are physically located on the Chesapeake campus. The next closest degree program is in Richmond, so we're lucky to have this one in our own back yard!