SASL 101: South African Sign Language for beginners

Course Overview

Skills and Knowledge Acquired:
By taking SASL 101: South African Sign Language for Beginners, students will acquire basic vocabulary and communication skills in South African Sign Language. They will learn the alphabet/fingerspelling, food, colours, activities, places, and how to talk about one's family, identity and more. Additionally, students will gain an understanding of the theoretical component of the course, including the linguistics of Sign Language, deafness, and Deaf culture within the Deaf community. Regular practice is recommended to further consolidate what has been learnt and develop fluency in the language.


Contribution to Professional Growth:
SASL 101 is an excellent course for those looking to gain a basic understanding of South African Sign Language. It provides students with the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of communication in the language, such as the alphabet/fingerspelling, food, colours, activities, places, family, identity and more. Through regular practice, students can further consolidate their knowledge and develop fluency in the language. Additionally, the course encourages students to enroll in intermediary/moderate to advance classes to build upon their existing knowledge and learn about the theoretical component of the course, such as the linguistics of Sign Language, deafness, and Deaf culture within the Deaf community. This course is an invaluable tool for professional growth, as it provides students with the opportunity to gain a comprehensive understanding of South African Sign Language.


Suitability for Further Education:
SASL 101: South African Sign Language for beginners is suitable for preparing further education. This course covers topics such as the alphabet/fingerspelling, food, colours, activities, places as well as talking about one's family, identity and much more. By the end of this course, students will have acquired basic vocabulary, enabling them to talk about themselves, their surroundings and construct concise basic, clear and concise sentences in South African Sign Language. Regular practice is recommended, in order to further consolidate what has been learnt, as well as developing fluency in the language. Additionally, students are encouraged to enroll for intermediary/moderate to advance classes that are accessible to them when they feel equipped to do so, in order to build upon their existing knowledge, i.e., increase their vocabulary, as well as learning about rules concerning sentence structure, word order and sign variation. Furthermore, students will also be introduced to the theoretical component of the course at a later stage, where they will be introduced to fundamental concepts surrounding the linguistics of Sign Language, deafness, and Deaf culture within the Deaf community. Therefore, SASL 101: South African Sign Language for beginners is suitable for preparing further education.