In Calif., 2nd language Spanish or ASL?

[wick4000]

I am beginning my studies at the community college level with the goal of a masters in communication disorders and sciences. It is recommended (not required) that I take sign language courses, but I wonder if I will be hirable in California ten years down the road without being fluent in Spanish. But will I be a viable candidate without knowledge of ASL? I am not lazy, but learning a new language is difficult, and I'd rather not learn two. Any advise on this? 

[skeener687]

I honestly believe that Spanish would be much more desirable, given the large number of Spanish speakers in California (and other parts of the country). However, if you plan to specialize in working with specific populations where knowledge of ASL would be beneficial or essential, it would probably be best to take ASL courses.

[skeener687]

Btw, I was accepted to three grad programs, and I have never taken a single ASL course (although I would love to). I am fluent in Spanish, however.

[Yancey]

I agree with the above poster's answer. I just wanted to add that a few schools do have an intro to ASL class as a prerequisite (not a majority, but a few). So you may want to check the schools that you are interested in to see if they have any particular requirements.

[wick4000]

Thank you skeener and yancey. I'm finding myself inclined towards Spanish due to the demographics in my area. Santa Cruz/San Jose is where I would like to work. If I choose to work in schools, Spanish would be vital. It also seems like the easier choice for memory maintenance, (use it or lose it) and I see the potential to use Spanish on the daily.

[ImHis]

Spanish! You can use it everywhere there is a need in the world too. Who knows, you may work abroad or go on a mission trip. Go for it!

[combustiblecake]

Spanish - aside from my very biased preference to it as a native speaker, I'm not surprised if Cali had more Spanish speakers in need of these services. ASL would be nice if you were to specialize it.

[HippoPirate]

Just something to consider: unless you have near-native fluency in Spanish, you will need to use an interpreter to provide services as an SLP anyway. A bilingual Spanish speaker is going to be in much higher demand than someone who has some college-level Spanish (which is most people in California, I think). Unless you're planning to REALLY become fluent, which would probably take more than taking 2-4 years of college Spanish classes, you won't be able to call yourself bilingual.

 

That's not to say a working knowledge of Spanish wouldn't be useful. It definitely would! But if you're planning on working with the Deaf community especially, a few years of ASL might get you further toward fluency than a few years of Spanish.

 

And I'd be willing to bet that you'll be employable as a monolingual SLP, even in California.

[caterpillar]

Just something to consider: unless you have near-native fluency in Spanish, you will need to use an interpreter to provide services as an SLP anyway. A bilingual Spanish speaker is going to be in much higher demand than someone who has some college-level Spanish (which is most people in California, I think). Unless you're planning to REALLY become fluent, which would probably take more than taking 2-4 years of college Spanish classes, you won't be able to call yourself bilingual.

 

That's not to say a working knowledge of Spanish wouldn't be useful. It definitely would! But if you're planning on working with the Deaf community especially, a few years of ASL might get you further toward fluency than a few years of Spanish.

 

And I'd be willing to bet that you'll be employable as a monolingual SLP, even in California.

 

I work in California for a large education organization and I can attest that while we desire SLPs who are bilingual, it is in no way required and SLPs are absolutely able to get work with us if they are monolingual and/or go through a staffing agency that doesn't value bilingualism.

[wick4000]

Thank you all for your input and advise! After your responses I am wondering if HippoPirate isn't hitting the nail on the head with his observation on the difference between being bilingual and taking a few years of Spanish. If my commitment level isn't for native fluency, won't I be best served with a few resume-boosting courses in ASL? Sign language courses are recommended but not required by SJSU (no mention of Spanish). I probably won't have volunteer time to put in to look good for grad school acceptance, so I'm thinking I need to show my commitment to the focus of the field in as many other ways as possible, and ASL seems more tightly focused. Any thoughts on this?