Online scholarships

The American Sign Language (ASL) and Deaf Culture Academy introduces ASL and an overview of topics integral to experiences of American Deaf community members. The academy features ASL instruction in an immersive environment where students learn basic conversation and narrative skills. The course also features a weekly seminar to discuss experiences and perspectives of Deaf community members as demonstrated through online publications (vlogs), lectures, and a panel of Deaf community professionals in related fields.

ASL instruction is conducted entirely in ASL, with no spoken English. We use written English sparingly to facilitate instruction. We find this the best way to get students using and comfortable with ASL quickly. In fact, students really end up loving and valuing this approach!

Upon completion of the academy, students come away with the following ASL skills:

• Sharing personal information including hometown, language background(s), and interests or hobbies
• Discussing and describing locations within a building, giving directions within a building using perspective shift and directional vocabulary, and explaining how one gets from location to location via transportation
• Expressing wants and needs and the ability to ask and tell where to obtain those wants and needs
• Asking and telling about marital status, whether they have children or siblings, and the chronological ranking of children and siblings
• Using number skills, including how to express collective group numbers, age, and time

Students also gain awareness of cultural values and topics important to the Deaf community in order to better understand and connect with the Deaf community members in future interactions.

If you attend a School District of Philadelphia public or charter high school, you may be eligible to attend a Penn Summer Academy free of charge with a Penn Summer Scholarship.

For more information: https://hs.sas.upenn.edu/request-info

Offered each summer