I plan to go to BYU. And all the high school teachers tell me that most colleges require a second language. I want to learn sign language instead of Spanish. Is sign language considered a second language that I need to get into college?
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Yes, it is considered a second language.
Some colleges will give foreign language credit for sign language and others won’t. Most colleges require two years of college-level foreign language, but you take a placement test at the beginning which can exempt you from part or all of it. BYU may or may not have accommodations for you to “test out” of sign language, but may not if they don’t offer courses in it. So you may end up having to take another language when you get there, but many students who take two years of high school Spanish have to start over in college anyway, or in any case they will usually have to take a year of it in college.
So even if they don’t take your credits, you wouldn’t be far behind, and if you want to learn ASL and have the opportunity to do so, you should go ahead because it’s not offered at a lot of colleges. As for how it will look on your college application, one language in high school is as good as another. It will look even better if you’re also involved in a sign language club or volunteer with the deaf community in your area.