Since signed languages were officially recognized as foreign languages in post-secondary institutions, many UNM students have looked at the subject as an easy way to complete language components.
The estimations about the course's simplicity, however, are incorrect, said Sherman Wilcox, associate professor and chairman of the Linguistics department.
"I think some students enroll in our introduction to signed languages (course) because they think that it will be an easy alternative to completing the foreign language requirements," Wilcox said. "I'm certain they soon discover they're wrong."
Freshman Kristin Stephens enrolled in an introductory studies to sign language course this semester and admits she, like many of her peers, expected the course to be a less demanding alternative to other foreign languages.
"The majority of our class just didn't want to take Spanish or a course like that," Stephens said. "We didn't expect sign to be a whole language with grammar and syntaxes and everything."
Wilcox said students become aware of the course's complexity once they begin their studies.
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"We have a rigorous, challenging curriculum for our signed language courses," Wilcox said. "ASL (American Sign Language) is an exceedingly complex language, with a linguistic structure vastly different from the structure of English or other Indo-European languages."
While studying signed languages may not be the easiest way to fulfill language requirements, those who take on the challenge can benefit from it, Wilcox said.
He said students of singed languages are presented with a variety of employment opportunities, including professional interpreters in the community and working in state and federal agencies.
Students who do not intend to work directly with the hearing impaired are advantaged in other ways, Wilcox said.
"We often have people take these courses because they have family members who are deaf," Wilcox said. "Students in business and engineering tell us that they are taking the courses to make themselves more marketable, to 'stand out from the crowd' so to speak when the time comes to apply for a job."
Whether it is the employment opportunities or the misconception of the course's ease that is considered by students, the course's popularity is undeniably increasing, Wilcox said.
Popularity has grown so much that now students are often wait-listed or turned away from classes. Referring to the situation as "desperate," Wilcox revealed that many UNM students are unable to study their chosen signed language.
"SIGN 201 classes are always filled to capacity and beyond," Wilcox said. "The shutout rate - the number of students who attempt to enroll in a closed course - for SIGN 201 is among the highest in the College of Arts and Sciences."
Students who do find a place in signed language courses are not just challenged by the courses, but inspired also.
Freshman Stephanie McCamey said she took her studies in signed languages course to complete language credits, but now considers it a preferable study for her continued education.
"After taking the classes you get more interested in the language," McCamey said.
"I think the value of studying ASL is especially unique because students often don't approach the language expecting it to be so different," Wilcox said. "Many people don't realize that deaf people regard themselves as a cultural group."
Wilcox finds immense value in exposing students to ASL and deaf culture.
"Part of a challenging education experience is to find yourself shocked by something unexpected," Wilcox said. "This is what drives us as students to learn more."
