NES American Sign Language I (823) Practice Tests

Competencies 01–03 make up about 50% of the test. They ask you to understand the linguistic structure of American Sign Language; understand sociolinguistic and pragmatic features of American Sign Language and variations within American Sign Language; understand the similarities and differences among American Sign Language, English, contact signing, and invented sign systems.

• Competency 0001: Understand the linguistic structure of American Sign Language. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of the phonological structure (e.g., segmentation) and parameters (e.g., handshape, orientation, movement, location, nonmanual markers) of American Sign Language; Demonstrate knowledge of phonological processes that occur in American Sign Language (e.g., assimilation, alternative locations of signs, two-handed relationships, hold and movement patterns); Demonstrate knowledge of the morphological structure and features of American Sign Language (e.g., distinguishing among lexical, derivational, and inflectional features of signs in American Sign Language; lexicalization of fingerspelled words); Demonstrate knowledge of morphological processes that occur in American Sign Language (e.g., assimilation, reduplication, pluralization, incorporation, compounding); Demonstrate knowledge of the syntactic and semantic structures and features of American Sign Language (e.g., sentence construction, types of sentences, linguistic devices used to create connected and cohesive discourse, use of space, signs with multiple meanings); Demonstrate knowledge of the use of classifiers and classifier predicates in American Sign Language; Demonstrate knowledge of nonmanual features of American Sign Language at the phonological, morphological, and syntactic levels (e.g., the function of facial features and expressions, mouth morphemes, eye gaze, body shift and body orientation in American Sign Language).
• Competency 0002: Understand sociolinguistic and pragmatic features of American Sign Language and variations within American Sign Language. Skills tested: Recognize major regional differences in vocabulary and usage among American Sign Language users; Demonstrate an understanding of major changes that have occurred in American Sign Language over time; Demonstrate an understanding of the origins and major features of differences in the usage of American Sign Language (e.g., differences of culture, educational background, register, gender, age); Demonstrate knowledge of discourse strategies used in American Deaf culture (e.g., attention getting, turn taking, interrupting, leave taking, use of name signs, ensuring line of sight).
• Competency 0003: Understand the similarities and differences among American Sign Language, English, contact signing, and invented sign systems. Skills tested: Compare and contrast linguistic structures of American Sign Language and English (e.g., morphological processes, word order, structures for expressing time and mood, ways of expressing differences in register such as level of formality); Compare and contrast how meaning is expressed in American Sign Language and English (e.g., the use of classifiers, superordinate terms, use of lexical items with multiple meanings, lexical nonequivalence, nonmanual markers); Recognize differences between American Sign Language and Manually Coded English (e.g., SEE1, SEE2, CASE); Recognize differences between American Sign Language and contact signing; Compare and contrast how lexical items are borrowed into American Sign Language and English (e.g., fingerspelled words, signs from other sign languages); Compare and contrast differences in discourse strategies used in American Deaf culture (e.g., attention getting, greetings, turn taking, interrupting, leave taking, forms of address) with sociolinguistic and communication strategies used in other communities in the United States.

Competencies 04–06 make up about 50% of the test. They ask you to understand historical events and perspectives of American Deaf culture; understand the relationship between the products (e.g., literary and artistic works, media, technology, entertainment) and perspectives of American Deaf culture; understand the relationship between the practices (e.g., education, social and communicative practices) and perspectives of American Deaf culture.

• Competency 0004: Understand historical events and perspectives of American Deaf culture. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of significant individuals and major historical events within American Deaf culture and analyze their influence on the development and evolution of the culture; Demonstrate understanding of the history and development of American Sign Language and Deaf communities and how they influence the development of American Deaf culture; Demonstrate understanding of how political, social, economic, technological, and educational systems and institutions have been shaped by and continue to influence American Deaf culture; Analyze how political perspectives and legislation (e.g., PL 94-142, ADA, IDEA, Communications Act and Television Decoder Circuitry Act) have influenced and continue to have an impact on American Deaf culture.
• Competency 0005: Understand the relationship between the products (e.g., literary and artistic works, media, technology, entertainment) and perspectives of American Deaf culture. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of major artistic and literary works, genres, time periods, and creators (e.g., paintings, sculpture, plays, poetry, dance, storytelling, ABC and number stories, humor) and analyze how they reflect the perspectives of American Deaf culture; Demonstrate an understanding of forms of media and entertainment within American Deaf culture (e.g., films and film festivals, video, television, Deaf sporting events, conferences, captioned movies) and analyze how they reflect the perspectives of American Deaf culture; Demonstrate familiarity with the use of various forms of technology to access and exchange information within the Deaf community and between Deaf and hearing individuals (e.g., relay services, e-mail, instant messaging, video messaging apps, captioning, videoconferencing, vlogs); Compare and contrast the products and perspectives of American Deaf culture with the products and perspectives of other communities in the United States; Recognize ways in which understanding the products and perspectives of American Deaf culture can contribute to understanding important concepts of other disciplines (e.g., literature, art, science, architecture).
• Competency 0006: Understand the relationship between the practices (e.g., education, social and communicative practices) and perspectives of American Deaf culture. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of the cultural values and practices of the Deaf community (e.g., group decision making, sharing information, reciprocity, visual orientation, public/private space, cultural taboos); Analyze the interrelationship between schools for the Deaf and Deaf culture; Demonstrate knowledge of cultural institutions and organizations related to the Deaf community (e.g., National Association of the Deaf [NAD], Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf [RID], Deaf clubs, Deaf sports groups); Analyze how views of D/deaf people (e.g., medical/pathological, cultural/linguistic) relate to social, legal, and educational practices (e.g., PL 94-142, IDEA, ADA); Compare and contrast the practices and perspectives of American Deaf culture with the practices and perspectives of other communities in the United States; Recognize ways in which understanding the practices and perspectives of American Deaf culture can contribute to understanding important concepts of other disciplines (e.g., history, sociology, technology); Recognize the value of knowing American Sign Language for career development as well as for personal enjoyment and enrichment (e.g., sign language interpreters and Certified Deaf Interpreters [CDIs], attending Deaf art and media events, attending Deaf cultural events, attending silent dinners).