Student Theater, Advanced-Mid, ASL 301 Lab 05

Created March 20, 2024 by Amber Hoye, Sarra Foerster, Camille Daw, Mimi Fahnstrom

Please Note: Many of the activities on the Pathways Project OER Repository were created by upper-division students at Boise State University and serve as a foundation that our community of practice can build upon and refine. While they are polished, we welcome and encourage collaboration from language instructors to help modify grammar, syntax, and content where needed. Kindly contact pathwaysproject@boisestate.edu with any suggestions and we will update the content in a timely manner.  — The Pathways Project

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The activities provided by the Boise State World Languages Resource Center (WLRC) serve as foundational activities which can be adapted by any language and scaled up or down on the proficiency scale. Many of these activities offer an English Version that is “language-agnostic” to provide language instructors from around the country a platform to remix these instructional materials, infusing them with their target language and culture! The activities within the Pathways Project OER Repository seek to help students solidify their interpersonal speaking and interpretive skills through task-based situations or communicative activities. These activities should be facilitated in the target language for approximately 90% (or more), per the recommendation of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

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1. Use the Activity as is:

Before you begin:

  • Most activities are 30 minutes in duration, unless otherwise specified.
  • Be sure to read through the activity description, and review the list of required materials. You will notice that the activity materials are also highlighted in yellow throughout the activity instructions.

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2. Remix for Your Language Classroom:

When you are ready to begin remixing the activity, in order to adapt it for the needs of your language classroom, simply click the blue “Remix This Resource” button at the top of your screen. This will then take you to a screen with a NEW, editable version of this activity. The text provided in purple is a suggestion of what you might say to your students in the target language, and may be altered for different levels and age groups. All activities have “NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do” statements, a warm-up, a main activity, and a wrap-up.

Many of the activities include printable cards and other instructional materials such as Google Slideshows. If you would like to make changes to these materials for your classroom, follow the instructions below:

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Student Theater, Advanced Mid

Description:

Students will review what theatrical interpreters consider when signing live performances. After creating a list together, students will be grouped into two or three, analyze their movie clip and work together to interpret it. Students will learn more about interpreting live performances, and how to best interpret performances. 

Proficiency Level:

Advanced Mid

Keywords:

Interpreting, Theater, Movies, Perform

NCSSFL-ACTFL World-Readiness Standards

  • Standard 1.1 Students engage in conversations and correspondence in American Sign Language to provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions. 
  • Standard 1.2 Students comprehend and interpret live and recorded American Sign Language on a variety of topics.
  • Standard 2.1 Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of American Deaf culture. 
  • Standard 3.1 Students reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciplines through American Sign Language. 

Idaho State World Language Standards:

  • COMM 1.1: Interact and negotiate meaning (spoken, signed, written conversation) to share information, reactions, feelings, and opinions.
  • COMM 2.1: Understand, interpret, and analyze what is heard, read, or viewed on a variety of topics.
  • CLTR 1.1: Analyze the cultural practices/patterns of behavior accepted as the societal norm in the target culture.
  • CLTR 1.2: Explain the relationship between cultural practices/behaviors and the perspectives that represent the target culture’s view of the world.

NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements:

  • In my own and other cultures, I can analyze how products of personal and public interest are related to perspectives.
  • I can understand the cultural struggles of others and propose solutions to these problems.
  • I can state a viewpoint with supporting evidence on social and professional topics.

Materials Needed:

Warm-up

1. Begin by introducing the Can-Dos for today’s activity and guide students in discussing the considerations theatrical interpreters need to think about to apply to their performance. 

If students are struggling, give them a few examples such as "theatrical interpreters need to stand close enough to the stage so Deaf audiences will be able to see them, but will not have their view of the play interrupted" or "theatrical interpreters need to match the tone of voice of the character when signing to provide an equal experience to the Deaf audience's hearing counterparts", etc.

"Today, we'll be talking about different things theatrical interpreters consider when preparing for their performance. What are some considerations you think would be important and why?"

2. Make sure students hit the following points before continuing:

     • Interpreters should be wearing dark clothes

     • Interpreters need to reflect the same emotion the actors have

     • Interpreters need to keep up with the flow of the play or performance

     • Interpreters need to interpret any sounds (such as a bell ringing, music playing, singing, etc)

3. The lab assistant will be creating a list of points the student bring up on the whiteboard to reference later.

Main Activity

1. Partner the lab into groups of two, one group of three if necessary. 

2. The lab assistant will hand out one iPad to each group which has been pre-loaded with one clip. Please make sure they play the clip to the correct time stamp. At this point, the lab assistant will then explain the directions:

"Keeping the list we made together in mind, your groups are receiving a video clip that you all will be interpreting together. Each person should have their own character they stick to during the performance. Don't be scared to interact with another student if your characters do interact. You will have 15 minutes to assign roles, practice your parts, and ask any questions you need. After 15 minutes, you will be sharing your performance with the group." 

3. The lab assistant will answer any questions that come up. Offer whiteboards if students feel it would help them remember their parts, but usually, there is not enough time to write down exactly what they will be signing. 

4. Once students are finished with their parts and are confident in their performances, each group will present their clips while interpreting it.

Wrap-up

Ask the following questions to finish the lab: 

1. "What did you struggle with the most with this activity? Why? What would you do to improve that skill?"

2. "As a self-reflection, what aspects of theatrical interpreting do you think you neglected? Why?"

3. "What are some signs you learned during this lab? In what context in your life could you use this vocabulary?"

4. "Did anything about this lab impact you specifically? If so, what was it?"

End of lab:

• Read Can-Do statements once more and have students evaluate their confidence. 
(Use thumbs up/thumbs down or download our student cards.) 
• Encourage students to be honest in their self-evaluation.
• Pay attention, and try to use feedback for future labs!

NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements:

  • In my own and other cultures, I can analyze how products of personal and public interest are related to perspectives.
  • I can understand the cultural struggles of others and propose solutions to these problems.
  • I can state a viewpoint with supporting evidence on social and professional topics.


Where are we? Rate yourself on the weekly Can-Do Statements using this scale: I get it!, I got it!, I kind of get it..., I don't get it...
Where are we? Rate yourself on the weekly Can-Do Statements using this scale: I get it!, I got it!, I kind of get it..., I don't get it...
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Where are we? Rate yourself on the weekly Can-Do Statements using this scale: I get it!, I got it!, I kind of get it..., I don't get it...


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