American Sign Language Certificate

(The American Sign Language certificate is not being offered at this time)
Perhaps you view sign language as a critical professional skill capable of opening doors to a fascinating new career working with Deaf Canadians in a variety of agencies and social organizations. Alternatively, you’re the worried mother of a child recently diagnosed as deaf. Or maybe you have a deaf friend with whom you’re determined to engage in silent, albeit animated, conversations.

Regardless of the motivation, Okanagan College offers certificate programs at the preparatory, basic, and intermediate levels in American Sign Language (ASL) that can help.

You will progressively learn the vocabulary and visual grammar of sign language while advancing through the programs. Your ability to converse begins with simple introductions and builds to the point where you’re able to participate in wide-ranging debates.

At the same time as you become increasingly proficient in using sign language, you’ll also learn about deaf people themselves - the challenges of their daily lives, their culture, and their history in North America.

Okanagan College’s American Sign Language programs are part of a standardized and articulated provincial training program. Students have the option to participate in a provincial mastery examination to determine their readiness to advance to the next level of training. Students who complete the intermediate level may participate in an employment proficiency interview in Greater Vancouver and may seek admission to the ASL Interpreter Program at Douglas College.

Successful completion of the ASL Prep Mastery Exam provides equivalency to a grade 11 language, and the completion of the ASL Basic Mastery Exam provides equivalency to a grade 12 language requirement.  Both Okanagan College and Simon Fraser University currently recognize this language requirement.