In the Moment

By: Becca Robbins

Valentino Vasquez the second-year American Sign Language instructor at the University of Oregon. He is deaf and shares with students aspects of Deaf culture and the ways in which hearing culture is insensitive or ignorant to it.

Second-year American Sign Language instructor, Valentino Vasquez, prepares for a meeting with two of the University of Oregon’s interpreters on how to best structure assignments for an online class over the summer. ASL is a part of the Communication Disorders and Sciences department within the College of Education, yet counts toward students’ foreign language requirements for Bachelor of Arts degrees.
Vasquez teaches one in-person and one online ASL 201 course this fall term, but said he’s looking to offer online classes over the summer. As a deaf man, Vasquez films himself signing assignments and each week’s vocabulary and uploads them to the class’s Canvas page.
Vasquez explains to Interpreter Audrey Averill and Sign Language Interpreting and Transcribing Coordinator Jeff Jaech how he structures the online portion of his classes and what he’d like them to do. Vasquez proposed to Averill and Jaech adding audio and written captioning to some of his videos due to the lack of in-person communication and to increase clarity.
On the wall outside of his office, Vasquez has a remote that causes a light inside to flicker to alert him that he has company. He also utilizes a videophone in his office that connects callers to an interpreter who translates the call. His office is adorned with lighting and video equipment for him to film with.
Vasquez makes a list with his hands as he works with Averill on the best way to interpret his online classes. The Colorado native has been teaching since 1998, with six of those years spent at UO and counting.