The SLS Department recognizes that a sociolinguistic and cultural approach to the instruction of American Sign language best models the language used in conversation, formally and informally, by the majority of Deaf citizens in the United States.

This respect for Sign language as a human right to communicate is a central mission of the SLS Department. This represents the social, linguistic, educational and communicative direction in which respect for the American Deaf culture and its language, American Sign Language, is incorporated into educational components and the instructional philosophy of the SLS curriculum.