In recent years, American Sign Language (ASL) has become increasingly popular as a foreign language option at ETHS. Many students are interested in learning ASL as a way to communicate with the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community and to broaden their cultural horizons. ETHS has been offering ASL as a language for about 25 years. The ASL course began as an elective class option and has gone from a few elective classes to a total of 17 language classes. However, despite the growing popularity of ASL, some colleges still do not accept it as a foreign language credit, leaving many students frustrated and confused. Although students may be worried about how taking ASL as their foreign language will play a role in their post-high school plans, there are many benefits to knowing how to sign.

ASL teacher Ms. Michelle Corrigan, an ETHS alum, has been teaching at ETHS for 15 years. As a junior, she took ASL when it was an elective class option and has utilized the benefits of taking American Sign Language her whole life. Through that class, she decided her career path would be working with deaf children.

“Sign language is a language that can be used in your own community with Deaf and hard-of-hearing or other nonverbal people,” says Corrigan. “It’s a language that you can run into somebody at McDonald’s, Starbucks, or on the bus who uses it. It’s something that you can use here in your own community.” 

One reason for the popularity of ASL is that it is a visual language, which can be easier for some students to learn rather than a spoken language. Susan Weiss, a college counselor at Ida Crown Jewish Academy in Skokie, agrees. 

“Many students with learning challenges have trouble with traditional foreign languages because of the processing and comprehension that those languages require,” Weiss says. “It speaks to ETHS diverse curriculum that they would have ASL as an opportunity.” 

Additionally, ASL offers students a unique opportunity to learn about Deaf culture and to communicate with Deaf individuals in their own language. 

Despite the growing popularity of ASL, some, but very few, colleges do not recognize it as a foreign language. This means that students who have taken ASL in high school may not be able to use it to fulfill their foreign language requirements in college, which can be frustrating for students who are interested in pursuing a career in a field that involves working with the Deaf community. 

One reason that some colleges don’t accept ASL as a foreign language credit is that it is not considered a “critical language” by the federal government. Critical languages are languages that are deemed to be important for national security or economic competitiveness. As a result, colleges may not receive funding to support ASL programs in the same way they do for other foreign language programs.

Many colleges may require that the language taken be taught in a traditional classroom setting with a focus on reading and writing skills. This can be difficult to accomplish with ASL, since it is primarily a visual language. 

Despite the unfortunate conflict between ASL curriculum and college admissions, the popularity in ASL at ETHS continues to rise. 

“It’s getting bigger and bigger, and every year we add more classes,” Corrigan shares. “In a couple of years, language is going to be a graduation requirement, whereas it’s not a graduation requirement right now. So I think that that’s just going to increase our members even more.” 

The rise in popularity is due to the engaging and enjoyable curriculum taught in the classes. Many students at ETHS participating in an ASL course have shared their excitement and passion for this class.

“I definitely enjoy my ASL class, and I genuinely look forward to it,” freshman Miriam Cortelyou says. “At my middle school, we only had two language options, which was unfortunate since I was interested in ASL. But during COVID, my friend and I learned some signs, and we looked forward to being able to take the class at ETHS.” 

Besides the course being so enjoyable, studies have shown that learning ASL can help improve cognitive function, communication skills, and can even boost grades. Additionally, it can help to develop empathy and understanding for those with disabilities, as well as prepare students for future careers in fields such as education, social work, and healthcare.

ASL is a valuable and important language that offers students a unique opportunity to learn about Deaf culture and to communicate with the Deaf community. While some colleges do not yet accept it as a foreign language credit, efforts are being made to change this. As ASL continues to grow in popularity, it is likely that more colleges will recognize its value and importance, and begin to offer it as a legitimate foreign language option.