TEL is pleased to announce that all Tennesseans have the opportunity to learn American Sign Language for free by using Transparent Language Online. ASL is the third most used language, after English and Spanish, and the fourth most studied language in the United States. Go to Transparent Language on TEL, register for a free account, and start signing today!

Created in partnership with Signing Savvy, the ASL course in Transparent Language Online contains 77 lessons covering fingerspelling, over 800 sign videos, and a series of Deaf culture facts. By the end of this 30-hour course, learners will build a good foundation in American Sign Language (ASL) and Deaf culture. Learners will start with the manual alphabet to learn the signs/fingerspelling for the 26 letters of the English alphabet. The remaining units focus on the most common, useful signs for beginners, ranging from greetings and conversation basics to numbers and food. 95% of deaf children are born to hearing parents, making access to learn ASL very important for those families. Deaf culture facts and myths are included throughout the course so learners can understand different classifications of deafness, how to be polite when communicating with Deaf people, and beyond.

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About Transparent Language

At Transparent Language, we leverage our expertise in technology and in the research and practice of language learning and teaching to build unique capabilities for use by US Government agencies and organizations, as well as thousands of public libraries, schools, and individuals. We care about all languages, regardless of commercial value. We believe that language technology needs to work for all courses and curricula, not just a few courses. It needs to benefit not only individuals, but entire programs. We believe that great language technology not only changes the user experience; it transforms the economics, logistics, and reliability of language learning.

About Signing Savvy

Signing Savvy is a labor of love by a team of educators striving to provide dynamic, easy-to-use, adaptable American Sign Language (ASL) learning tools tailor-made for parents, teachers, interpreters, and learners of all skill levels. Signing Savvy began as a passion to increase access to ASL learning tools for parents of deaf children and students learning ASL. It has grown to include many different learning tips, strategies, and features to serve the millions of people interested in learning more about ASL, a truly beautiful and intricate language long recognized by linguists as equal to any spoken language. Their team of educators, led by seasoned Deaf and Coda instructors passionate about sharing their native language, designed an ASL course for new learners using Signing Savvy’s dynamic content. They wove together video content of fingerspelling, numbers, individual words, and sentences to gracefully teach ASL while also introducing the learner to the rich history and background of Deaf culture. Like Signing Savvy’s learning tools, the course is easy-to-use and tailor-made for anyone interested in the beautiful and intricate language of ASL.

Andrea Zielke

TEL Administrator

Tennessee Electronic Library

Tennessee State Library and Archives

Office of Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett

1001 Rep. John Lewis Way North

Nashville, TN 37219

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