SUMMERSVILLE, W.Va. (WVDN) — New River Community and Technical College is excited to announce an upcoming Introductory American Sign Language (ASL) course, open to the public and designed to offer practical language skills and cultural insights into the Deaf community.
The six-week course will begin on Tuesday, June 3, and meet weekly on Tuesday evenings from 5:00 to 7:00 PM at the Nicholas County Campus (NCC). The class will also be accessible via Zoom for remote participants.
Students will explore sign language vocabulary, phrases, and sentence structure, while learning essential grammatical features of ASL. The class will be highly interactive, offering real-time practice opportunities. In addition to language instruction, participants will gain a foundational understanding of Deaf Culture and history.
The cost of the course is $100, and the registration deadline is Friday, May 23.
The instructor, Dr. Ressie Phillips brings extensive expertise and real-world experience to this class. She currently serves as the K-12 Statewide Interpreting and ASL Liaison for the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind and also teaches ASL courses for the West Virginia Department of Education. Both Dr. Phillips and her husband are professional interpreters and are deeply engaged in the Deaf community.
This course offers a welcoming environment for anyone interested in learning ASL—whether for personal enrichment, professional development, or deeper community engagement.
To register, please fill out an application here. For additional information, contact Gloria Kincaid at gkincaid@newriver.edu or 304-793-6101.
