Tutoring Handbook

• Provides additional models of deaf native signers

• Improves my conversational ASL skills

• Provides opportunities to apply skills I am learning in class

• Increases self-confidence in my ability to learn ASL

• Helps me reach my full potential

You are permitted to sign up in advance for 30-minute individual appointments. Group appointments are 60 minutes.

 If no one signs up for the next time slot, you may meet with the tutor longer. We just ask that you not sign up for more time in advance. This gives everyone equal access to appointments so they can submit homework on time.

Before making your appointment, please review the information below.

• Practice expressive ASL skills:  Converse with the tutor in ASL and ask for feedback on specific ASL features.

• Practice translation:  Translate sentences you have created or found in a book or article. Show the tutor how you think it should be signed and ask for feedback.

• Practice receptive ASL skills:  Chat with the tutor about RIT life, Deaf culture, sports, travel, family life, or another topic that interests you. This is a great way to improve your comprehension skills and learn some new signs while gaining experience interacting with Deaf people.

• Get feedback on my homework:  Show the tutor your draft homework video and ask for feedback.

• ASL tutors are language mentors whose role is to explain, clarify, and exemplify the ASL skills that you are working to develop. 

• Tutors will not do your homework for you or tell you what is the sign for _____. Instead, they help you explore options for signing what you are trying to express.

• Tutors ask questions to find out what you already know and assist you in making connections between new material and what you already know.

• Tutors are there to support you, encourage you, and help you gain confidence in your ability to develop ASL skills.

• Tutors help you think things through and identify your strengths and skills you’d like to improve.

Myth #1: Tutoring means "help with homework.”

Some students meet with a tutor only when their professor requires it for a particular homework assignment. Our ASL tutors provide broader support than just giving feedback on homework. Some of our top students meet with a tutor to practice translation skills, receptive ASL skills, or conversational skills.

Myth #2:  I don’t need to see a tutor because I’m doing well in my courses.

Many college students are motivated by grades. If they don’t earn the grades they’d like to achieve, they seek out tutoring. If they are satisfied with their grades, they don’t see a reason to meet with a tutor.

Successful Interpreting students, however, are motivated by more than grades. They understand the responsibility to provide high-quality services to consumers and, therefore, take advantage of every opportunity to develop and enhance their ASL and interpreting skills. They understand that tutors can give them individual attention that helps polish their ASL skills and improve their performance—even when they are doing well in their courses.

A tutor is essentially a mentor—someone to help lead you to higher levels that you may have been able to achieve on your own, but it would likely have taken you longer to do it. Meeting with a tutor can help you go from good to great!

Myth #3:  I don’t need to prepare anything before my appointment.

Sometimes students feel that they don’t know how to get started on an assignment. They arrive at their appointment without preparing something to show the tutor and ask the tutor how to do the assignment. In reality, meeting with an ASL tutor is similar to meeting with an English tutor. You prepare a draft of what you’re working on, and the tutor helps you fine-tune your approach. ASL tutors will not do your homework for you, but will help you use what you’ve learned to begin working on the assignment.

When you come prepared with a draft video and a goal for what you want to accomplish during the session, the tutoring experience becomes more efficient and productive.

Myth #4:  I don’t need to bring a video to my appointment; the tutor can just watch me sign live.

Since much of ASL is on the face, you are not able to see what you are signing. ASL tutors are able to give you more effective and precise feedback if they watch a video with you, pausing it so you can see what you were signing. It takes only a few minutes to record a draft video, and watching it with the tutor will enable you to see what you are doing.

The video is not for the tutor—it’s for you to observe what you are signing so you can incorporate the tutor’s feedback.

Myth #5:  Tutors give you the answers.

Tutors will not do your homework for you or simply tell you how to sign something. Instead, they will help you explore options for signing what you are trying to express. Tutors will ask questions to find out what you already know and will assist you in making connections between new material and what you already know.

Myth #6:  I don’t need to take any notes during my appointment; I’ll remember what the tutor told me.

It’s tempting to assume that you will remember what the tutor showed you. However, some students continue making the same mistakes even after a tutor has shown them ways to improve their signing.

Since ASL is not a written language, the best way to take notes is to record the tutor’s feedback using your mobile device so you can watch it again for further practice.

Myth #7:  I can ask the tutor for feedback on my test. 

If you are looking for feedback about a test you took, see your course instructor. Our tutors have been instructed to refer you to your instructor for any questions you have about your performance on a test.

Your tutoring appointment will be the most efficient and effective, and you will progress much faster in your skills, if you prepare ahead of time.

Attend Class

Tutors are not a substitute for your course instructor. In order for you to benefit from tutoring, make sure you attend class and attempt to do the homework assignments.

Prepare a Draft

It's important to understand that our tutors will not give you “the answer,” but will help you think through how to discover for yourself how to sign what you’re trying to express. That’s why you should come to your tutoring session having already prepared how you would sign the concept and then ask the tutor for feedback on what you've done thus far. Think of it as preparing a first draft, like you would do for an English paper. Be prepared to talk about whole sentences, not just individual words/signs.

If you don't have a specific homework assignment, you can bring a  prepared translation and ask the tutor for feedback on your translation. A “prepared translation” can be a sentence, paragraph, or story that you want to practice expressing in ASL. Practice how you would sign the sentence ahead of time and then show the tutor how you sign it and ask for feedback. 

Bring a Video

Meeting with an ASL tutor is similar to meeting with an English tutor. When you meet with an English tutor, you bring a rough draft so you can get feedback on your work. The tutor shows you what you did correctly and helps you identify alternate approaches to improve what you wrote.

Unlike a spoken language, ASL does not have a written form. Much of the information in ASL is communicated on the face—not on the hands. The only way for you to see your own signing is to bring a video to your appointment. You can record a quick practice video using Go-React or your own recording software. The video doesn't have to be perfect—it's a draft to show the tutor how you approach the assignment or express something in ASL.

The video isn't for the tutor—it's for you! The tutor will pause the video and show you what you signed, then give feedback on it. Your ASL will improve much more quickly when you can see what you are doing!

Provide Homework Assignment Information

A tutor will not be able to give an accurate assessment of your work if s/he does not know the source message, assignment details, and what your instructor is looking for.

Always bring your assignment instructions, grading rubric, class notes, and syllabus. These materials will help the tutor know what you are learning in class and what the professor expects for the assignment. The NTID Scheduling System allows you to attach assignment information to your appointment. If you upload assignment information to your appointment, it allows the the tutor to prepare in advance and saves valuable time during your appointment.

When working from English to ASL, provide the tutor with a script so they will understand the assignment and the stimulus materials you are working from. 

The following tips will help you make the most of your tutoring appointment. 

Let the Tutor Know What You Want to Work On

At the start of your appointment, the tutor will ask you what are your goals for the appointment. Maybe you want to work on receptive fingerspelling that day; or maybe you want to work on how to open a conversation; or maybe you want more practice with constructed dialogue. Tell the tutor one or two skills that you want to focus on during the appointment.

Actively Participate

Be an active participant in your tutoring session. Tell the tutor what you’re thinking, what you’ve learned thus far, and what feedback you’d like to receive. 

Expect the tutor to ask you clarifying questions, to find out what you know and what you don't know. That way the tutor can get to know you and determine what strategies would be most helpful. The tutor will expect you to work and to participate in the tutoring process. Don't expect the tutor to do the work for you. 

Take Notes

Jot down notes to help you remember what you learned from your appointment. Better yet, use your phone to record the tutor's feedback so you can review and practice it later.

• Listen to the feedback (rather than preparing your response/defense).

• Ask the person to repeat it if you did not clearly understand the feedback.

• Assume the feedback is constructive until proven otherwise; then consider and use those elements that are constructive.

• Pause and think before responding.

• Ask the person to clarify and give examples if her/his statement is not clear or is unsupported.

• Accept the feedback positively (for consideration) rather than dismissively (for self-protection).

• Ask for suggestions of ways you might modify or change your work.

• Respect and thank the person giving feedback.

Just as not every English speaker talks in the same way, you will notice that not every Deaf person signs things in the same way. Their use of ASL is influenced by the school they attended, their family communication dynamics, and where they are from. If you receive conflicting feedback from tutors, discuss this with your course instructor so that you can obtain their professional perspective.

Ask the tutor for feedback on a specific feature of ASL that you’d like to work on. Tutors can help you with many features of ASL that are important for clearly communicating your message. Sign choice is only one small part of conversing in ASL; you may also want to ask for help with:

• ASL Grammar

• Classifiers

• Constructed Action

• Constructed Dialogue

• Eye Gaze

• Facial Expression

• Fingerspelling

• Narrative Structure

• Non-Manual Signals

• Prosody

• Receptive Skills

• Sign Production

• Surrogacy

• Use Of Space