American Sign Language (ASL)

ASL is the third most-used language in the U.S., after English and Spanish

As a Harper student you'll have access to: 

  • Day, evening and blended courses
  • Free, individual and group tutoring 
  • Participate in social and career-building events through the ASL Student Club.

What level course should I take?

Harper College offers five levels of ASL courses as well as separate courses in fingerspelling and numbers, Deaf culture, and ASL literature. These courses begin with the prefix SGN. All course work is designed to offer students meaningful, interactive language-learning experiences. American Sign Language Placement Service

Reasons to learn ASL

1. ASL is used in many parts of the world

American Sign Language (ASL) is the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States and most of Canada. Dialects of ASL are used in many countries around the world, including much of West Africa and parts of Southeast Asia.

2. ASL is also valuable outside the Deaf community

Signed language is also useful for those who cannot communicate vocally (autistics; auditory processing disorders; ill people; scuba divers).  

3. ASL students gain a fresh perspective

ASL students learn about the rich cultural life of deaf people. Deaf culture is now recognized and studied by anthropologists, ethnographers, folklorists, and others interested in culture and cross cultural communication.