In preparation for working with their mentees, mentors will review their menteeﾒs application, ASL sample, self-assessment of ASL skills and goals for mentorship. Although no formal ASL assessment will be shared with the mentee, mentors will use this information as they guide mentees in refinement of goals as necessary and in selecting activities to enhance ASL fluency.

Mentoring pairs will meet for a total of 10 hours over a 14-week period. Private meetings will focus on conversational ASL skills, with the mentor prompting the mentee to produce spontaneous ASL texts on various subjects, the mentor modeling how a native ASL-user would produce a similar text and the mentee practicing incorporating ASL features as modeled. At the conclusion of each meeting, mentoring pairs will discuss and document what the mentee learned and what the mentee would like to focus on for the next session. These Journal Notes will assist mentoring pairs in maintaining focus and continuity throughout their work together.

In addition to private meetings, mentors will assist mentees' entr￩e into the community by accompanying them to one or more social events of the mentoring pairﾒs choosing. These may be community events or events hosted by The Mentorship Program. These social gatherings provide an opportunity for mentees to interact with deaf individuals with a variety of signing styles and from a variety of cultural backgrounds. At these events, mentors will support mentees in meeting new people and will act as linguistic and cultural mediators. Following an event, mentoring pairs will identify and document any particular linguistic and/or cultural challenges the mentee faced and will identify specific activities/resources/strategies to strengthen this area of development.