Oklahoma School for the Deaf offers free, online American Sign Language course
SULPHUR, Okla. (KFOR) – Anyone who wants to learn American Sign Language (ASL) can register now for Oklahoma School for the Deaf’s free online courses.
Last year, 452,934 people from the United States and more than 30 other countries participated in OSD’s self-paced ASL I or the advanced ASL II classes.
Oklahomans can now access help via sign language on 988 lifeline
The community outreach courses have eight pre-recorded lessons taught by Jolene Reed, an OSD teacher who is deaf.
Reed presents videos with no audio or voice. She signs and points to words and phrases on PowerPoint slides using a cursor to help students follow along as they become naturally immersed in ASL.
Students complete 8 lessons per course with quizzes after each lesson. The courses are self-paced, which allows students to take class at convenient times and review the lessons as many times as needed to learn the content.
“These sign language online classes are awesome opportunities to build a strong foundation for communication with deaf and hard of hearing individuals,” Reed said. “You’ll gain knowledge of vocabulary, grammar, and contextual meanings in American Sign Language and deaf culture. This can serve as a bridge between the deaf world and the hearing world.”
OSD has offered ASL courses to the public for many years. During the COVID pandemic in 2020, the school put the courses online in the spring and fall, and the new platform exploded in popularity.
“ASL is the third most popular foreign language class taught at American colleges and universities,” Dr. Laine said. “Learning ASL helps hearing people to communicate directly with deaf individuals without communication barriers. It is all about being inclusive.”
Woman who survived, led victims’ families through Oklahoma City bombing has died
“OSD’s ASL online training is free in part due to the generosity of the OSD Foundation,” Laine said. “We ask that students consider donating to the OSD Foundation at www.osdfoundation.net to help share expenses for our free training.”
No accurate count of the number of ASL users is available. A widely quoted estimate by StoryLearning indicates between 250,000 and 500,000 people use ASL as their native language in the United States and Canada. It is the third most used language in the U.S., after English and Spanish, according to the same source.
Spring 2024 registration is available now. The ASL lessons were released on February 12.
For more information about Oklahoma School for the Deaf’s online ASL classes, visit https://courses.osd.k12.ok.us/ or email aslclass@osd.k12.ok.us.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
