Sign Language related certifications:
Frequently people ask me how to become "certified in ASL." Usually what they
actually want to know is how to become a "certified ASL interpreter," "a
certified ASL Teacher," or a "credentialed Teacher of the Deaf."
If you have a moment, would you mind describing to me your situation and goals a
bit more?
I recall that Sacramento State University (my former employer) used to offer an
"ASL certificate" for completion of ASL 1 - 5.
However, that was problematic.
The problem was that students went out into the community and claimed to be
"certified in ASL" and that was misunderstood by employers as meaning "certified
to teach and/or interpret" ASL. WHOA -- big problem.
Five courses in ASL (even full-semester courses at accredited universities) does
not sufficiently prepare an individual to do much more than hold basic
conversations.
So we (the ASL faculty at Sacramento State University) literally cancelled that
certificate and removed it from the advertising materials. Instead we set up a
minor and then later a major.
Students stating "I have a minor in ASL" is much different from
students stating "I am certified in ASL."
Claiming to be certified in something implies a level of expertise.
Completing 5 ASL classes doesn't result in someone being an expert.
A certificate of completion (of a class) is not the same as certification of
knowledge, skills, and abilities.
I worry that job seekers (or professionals in particular fields) who get a
certificate of course completion for taking signing courses might be inclined to
state "I'm certified in signing" when really, a course completion certificate is
not the same as being certified via a rigorous testing and review procedure.
The right phraseology for most online ASL classes would be: I completed a series
of introductory-level self-study auto-graded course in basic sign language
communication and I may or may not actually be able to hold a half-way decent
conversation with a skilled Deaf signer.
But who wants to say that?!?
Completing an ASL course or an ASL program and obtaining a "certificate of
completion" is not the same as becoming a certified interpreter. There is a
difference between "having a certificate (of completion)" and "being a certified
ASL interpreter."
There are a number of certifications available related to ASL that are issued by
various organizations:
Sign Language
Interpreter Certification: There are several types of interpreter certification
available. Many states have their own system of certifying interpreters. There
is also national certification available from the Registry of Interpreters for
the Deaf and the National Association of the Deaf (RID). There is also the
Educational Interpreters Performance Assessment (EIPA).
Teacher of the Deaf Certification: For people who want to teach Deaf children in
the public school system or at a residential school for the Deaf. This
certification is provided by state departments of education.
ASLTA Certification: This is a certification for people who want to teach ASL. ASLTA stands for American Sign Language Teachers Association.
Public School Student Certification: This type of certification is offered by
some state systems to their high school students who complete a course of study
and pass a comprehensive final.
ASLPI: The American Sign Language Proficiency Interview is a test that many
employers use to determine if job applicants are have the ASL skills necessary
to do the job for which they are interviewing. It is also used to determine ASL
proficiency for placement in some education programs.
SCPI: Sign Communication Proficiency Interview: This test is used by employers
and others to determine if job applicants are able to communication in sign
language.
State Certification for Teachers of American Sign Language: This is a type of certification states require for public school teachers of ASL. For example, the "California Subject Examinations for Teachers: American Sign Language" (CSET:ASL)
Question:
Dear Dr. Vicars,
I have two questions: (I know you must be bombarded by lots of questions, if you
don't have time, I understand).
Does a person have to be certified to teach sign language classes? If I wanted
to teach sign language for babies, must I be certified? I gather from [what
you've written elsewhere], some areas you can get away without be certified and
in other areas, certification would be required.
Thank you very much,
Heather (rhp6901)
Response:
Heather,
In general you do NOT have to be certified to:
* Teach ASL in most community education settings.
* Open up your own business and invite students to take classes. (But you will
likely need a business license.)
* Teach ASL training workshops as a visiting instructor or consultant in a
corporate setting.
* Teach classes in your home.
Some circumstances In which you are likely to need some kind of certification or
approval include:
* Employment preparation programs:
You may have to get approval from your
state if you claim that your ASL program prepares and qualifies your students
for employment. Check with your State's division of occupational licensing and
or department of Education. For example if you state in your advertising
brochures or website that you course prepares someone to "interpret for the
Deaf" or that you are offering "interpreter training" you may fall under certain
state guidelines that oversee the establishment and management of schools.
* Public K-12 school systems:
If you teach ASL in a public K-12 school
setting, it is likely that you will need to be certified by your state's teacher
credentialing organization. As time goes on, more and more states are setting up
specific certification for public school system ASL educators
* Some state higher education systems require instructors to show proof of
certification in ASL in order to teach in state run colleges and universities.
But, believe it or not, it is generally easier to get a job teaching part time
at a college than it is to get a full time position teaching in a public K-12
school setting. Some colleges have in the past and may still actually hire
people to be an
adjunct instructor with no degree and no certification. I put myself through
college that way. I literally taught at the same university at which I was an
undergraduate student. These days it seems most community colleges tend to require
either a combination of a basic degree and substantial experience -- or a
graduate degree in a related field. For example, in California (U.S.)
accredited community colleges tend to require a minimum of any associates degree and
six years of related experience or any
bachelors degree and two years of related experience, or a directly related (to
your topic) masters
degree.
* Some private schools (particularly community education programs) will require you to produce evidence of a minimum
level of ASL familiarity and not much else.
That evidence may or may not be in the form of
"certification. It may just be documentation of having successfully
completed a certain number of ASL courses.
A large problem affecting hiring of a significant number of ASL instructors is
that often the person doing the hiring doesn't know ASL and can't appropriately
judge if an applicant actually knows ASL.
Cordially,
Dr. Bill
Notes:
In regard to certification testing:
I've never been a fan of traditional "certification testing." The way
certification testing has typically been done is stressful, subjective,
opinionated and variable.
I much prefer the idea of "ability documenting" via a process of real-time
instant feedback based on objective criteria. For example, suppose we state that
we want to know if someone is good enough to "interpret" numbers. We can
objectively state that "good enough" means being able to recognize 7-digit
numbers accurately on the first try 9 out of 10 times when those numbers are
presented at a speed of 3 digits per second via a pre-recorded video.
That is an objective measure with little opportunity for discrimination or bias.
The person can do it or they can't. Want to make it more valid? Use
a variety of fingerspelling models and increase the amount of numbers. For
example, instead of ten 7-digit numbers do a hundred 7-digit numbers.
A candidate could use a computer program in the privacy of their own home and
could practice again and again until they reach a success rate of well over 9
out of 10 times at a speed faster than 3 digits per second. This particular
skill would then be documented by the program itself and then the person could
simply move on to the next skill that needs to be documented. Some people would
move through the "ability documenting" process very quickly, others would take
many times longer. When the person feels ready they could take the official test
via a testing center.
Candidates would be free to "fail" the test a massive number of times,
privately, without embarrassment, or additional expense.
Other people, including those leaders of the "certifying organization" would not
know of a candidate's progress until that candidate has already mastered the
skill being documented.
Additionally, such leaders would have no say in whether individuals receive
documentation. The documentation is automatically achieved when the objective
criteria is met. If organizational leaders feel that the quality of current
candidates' performance should be higher, then the target criteria for future
candidates is raised. For example, from 7 digit numbers to 8 digit numbers.
Critics will say, "Sure, that works for documenting simple number recognition
skills, but such an approach wouldn't work for complex grammar structures."
To which I reply that just as some apps or computer programs are now "better at
English grammar" than many (perhaps even most) English speakers, there will come
a day when gesture recognition software programs will be better at ASL grammar
than many ASL signers. Feel free to scoff or roll your eyes -- but I'm
confident that eventually history will prove me on target. What seems
preposterous to people prior to technological advancement later will seem
obvious or expected to people living in the future.
Dr. Bill
(3/11/2012)
Also see: "How to teach ASL in
California High Schools"