Category: American Sign Language

Throughout my journey of learning American sign language, I have used several different tools and resources to help me. One of the difficult things about learning sign language is that some of the signs have complicated actions or movements. It can be hard to understand what exactly the hands are doing the first time learning a new sign. So what makes a good resource for learning ASL? When I am looking for resources, I look at whether it is a video demonstration or a picture, and if it is a real person or a cartoon. A resource that has really helped me with those difficult words is YouTube. Rather than pictures, that can’t move to show the actions or movement of the hands, it is way easier to understand a sign when it is demonstrated on video. Having someone demonstrate rather than just cartoon hands is very helpful as it shows the viewer where the sign is done (shoulder height, Head height, etc.)   

After I watch the video, I make a list of the words I am struggling most with, as well as any tips to help me remember them. Sometimes I put two vocab words together in my list, so I can focus on learning the small differences between those two signs. To solidify my learning, I try to go through the list of words once a day, each day. This helps me keep the vocabulary, instead of forgetting it when I move on to next week’s learning goals. 

This week I learned how to sign my fruits and vegetables on YouTube. Here is the video I used in case anyone else wants to check it out! I really like this video because she gives tips and tricks for memorization as she teaches the signs. She also teaches some basic sentences using the vocabulary at the end, which is super helpful as sentence structure is very different in ASL.

My list of words to study extra!

1. pineapple
2. blackberry
3. mango
4. pea pods vs string beans
5. berry vs cherry

I have been using both apps since last week and have learned lots from them. What makes this such a successful tool is that it is constantly in my pocket, when I have some time to spare, I can pull out my phone and do a quick review. I find myself practicing between classes and always getting some studying in before I go to sleep. 

One of the things I have learned from this app is the children’s nursery rhyme, “row row row your boat.” This would be a unique lesson to teach in a classroom as it would give the students a hidden talent, that could one day help them connect with someone through signs. It may even be what sparks a learning journey of sign language for one of the students. After all my grade one teacher taught us the alphabet in sign language, and here I am learning it now.

The other thing I have been continuing to work on this week is the basics chapters in the book, “Signing: How to Speak with Your Hands,” by Elaine Costello.

I have tried several apps at this point, many of them cost money or did not have clear tutorials. Finally this week I discovered another app, that pairs amazingly with the one I found last week, “ASL inquiry.” This second app is called “ASL,” and it includes a free and paid version. I have been using the free version of this app and have found many helpful tools.This app includes an information page about sign language, where you can learn about the history and other fun facts about sign language.

This app also includes several free tutorials on ASL words and phrases, that are grouped into simple categories. The next part of the app is my favorite, the memory games. This app includes seven different memory-matching games to help learners review signs. The last feature is also super cool, as it teaches you short songs and poems in sign language. This would be perfect for teaching a classroom, it would be fun to teach the kids how to sign happy birthday for when we sing to students in the class.

 

I have made a screen cast to show my favorite features of the two apps I have found, and how well they complement one another. 

Here are the 3 most interesting facts I learned from the ASL app!

During this week I have also been working to finish the basics chapter in “Signing: How to Speak with Your Hands,” by Elaine Costello. It mainly focuses on being able to ask simple questions, introduce yourself and express your likes and dislikes. It is a long chapter so I will be working on it next week as well, to master the content. 

As you may have seen in my weekly reflection this week, I made a wordle of all the random vocabulary words I have used that don’t fit into a specific category. I find myself wondering what random words are in sign language throughout the day. It’s awesome that I am learning new words, but I find it difficult to review them at the end of the day. However, this week I kept a list of those words and put them into a wordle that I can use for review.  

I also discovered a super cool app this week. It is called ASL Inquiry. You have to pay to be able to access the full app, but there are many free features that I enjoy. My favorite thing about this app is the dictionary feature. You can type in any word, and it will give you a short video of a woman showing you the sign. You can watch the video as many times as you need, and it comes in super handy. Sometimes it can be difficult to learn signs from a photo as they are often moving actions, that’s why I especially love this video dictionary. Most of their lessons you have to buy, but they give you a free daily lesson, with new vocab each day.  

This week I also learned my colors of the rainbow plus pink, brown, white, and black.  

ASL inquiry 

The funniest thing happened this week… 

I ended up having to fly home for some family things and ran into an old teacher of mine. She worked as the youth worker in my high school, so I stopped to say hello. Out of nowhere while I was talking, she stopped me and said “hey I have a book for you.”  From her filing cabinet she pulls a book on how to learn sign language. The book was called Signing how to speak with your hands by Elaine Costello. What are the odds! She had no clue I was doing this project, nor had I ever expressed any interest in learning ASL. I had started my ASL journey just three weeks earlier and here she was giving me this book.  

The book: Signing how to speak with your hands by Elaine Costello 

This week I decided to learn from my book, which I will insert photos of. The common phrases section overlaps with the common phrases I learned in week 2 and continued to practice in week 3, which made the process a little easier. There are several pages of common phrases, there for this week I am aiming to focus on the first three pages. 

World day of the deaf  

While looking into the deaf community, I learned that there is an international day for the deaf, where sign language is celebrated and appreciated. This holiday passed not too long ago, during the week of the deaf, the same week I started this learning process. The national day of the deaf is on the last Monday of September, which this year fell on September 26. The purpose of the national day of the deaf is to bring awareness to the challenges and difficulties of the deaf community and also to highlight the importance of sign language to all people. This day was started in 1958 by the world federation of the deaf. They want to raise awareness of deaf rights and struggles so that everyone can be a little more accommodating. Another thing it raises awareness for is hearing loss. Many people will face preventable hearing loss in their lifetime, that they potentially could have saved had they known more about the topic 

At the beginning of the book, I read about compound words. Much like in English, two words can be compounded to make a new word. An example of this in sign language is the sign “lunch.” The word “lunch” is made up of the signs for “eat” and “noon.” The first section of my book is labeled common phrases, where it teaches me how to say basic words and phrases, such as hello and how are you. This got me thinking, how do you ask a question in sign language? Often times in English we convey a question by simply raising our voices at the end, however that is not an option in sign language. I looked in the front of my book and was able to find the answer. There are two ways to ask a question in ASL you can either put a question mark at the beginning of your sentence, which looks like drawing a question mark in the air or you can simply hold your sign a little longer at the end.  

The word of the week this week is my favorite color : Purple – Sign the letter P and turn your wrist

Week3 

Last week I worked on learning the basics of sign language, however, I am not done with them. Just like any language we need to practice it in order to become efficient and fluent in that language. Not only are we practicing the words and definitions, but we are practicing the unusual and new sounds of the language. Many languages use completely different phonetics than English and we have to get used to pronouncing. In my opinion, sign language is even more of a jump as we are not even using oral language, I need to adjust to using my hands to communicate in sign language. For these reasons I try my best to review one of my basics each night, either the alphabet, the numbers 1-10, or greetings. Currently, I am feeling most confident in the alphabet and want to show you a video of me doing it.  

As of last week, I am feeling most confident with the alphabet, so I wanted to show you guys a video of my progress. However, I have not been feeling nearly as confident with my numbers or simple words. Therefore, instead of adding new content this week I want to continue to focus on those two before I move on. 

History  

In order to dive deeper into my learning, I have decided to look into the history of sign language. There is no specific day that sign language was invented, it has evolved over time to be the language that it is now. Even though it is impossible to be sure, research talks about a monk who created a version of sign language to live out his vow of silence. His name was Pedro de Leon, and he began communicating with his hands in the 1500s. Later on, in 1620, a man named Juan Pablo Bonet developed this language by creating a dictionary of signs and an alphabet. simultaneously in a small commune in Martha’s Vineyard was developing their own version of sign language. This version lasted many years due to the dominant and recessive genes common in the people from this commune. 

The first formal version of sign language was created by a French priest named Charles Michael de L’epee. He changed the French language into sign and created the first free public school for the deaf in Paris. American sign language was developed shortly after in the 1800s by Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet. Thomas was not deaf himself but was inspired by his neighbours deaf daughter. He traveled to Europe to meet with an deaf instructor of sign, Laurent Clerc. Together they founded the first American school for the deaf. 

https://www.academyhearing.ca/blog/news/News/2016/11/16/50:the-fascinating-history-of-si%20gn-language

My history with sign language 

Everyone has a history of communicating with their hands, an informal version of sign language. As babies we reach our hands out for more and know to turn our heads away when we don’t like something or arent interested. This is sign language on the most basic level as babies use their hands to communicate until they are taught a formal language. 

I had a great time learning ASL this week and am excited to share the experience with you all. Although it was challenging to memorize it all, I was able to come up with a couple of tricks to help me remember them. 

I decided to start with the basics, the alphabet. The alphabet is an essential basic of any language, because that way if you don’t know a word then you can spell it out. I was able to memorize the first 5 letters of the alphabet easily as the hand signals look like the letters themselves. In order to ensure I was doing the proper signals, I watched a YouTube video and followed along. 

I also decided tolearn my numbers up to ten. The first five are simple and how I expected. Then you bring one finger down per number starting with the pinky, with a turning thumbs up for ten. 

https://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-signs/n/numbers.htm

Halfway through the week, I was feeling confident with my alphabet and numbers to ten, so I decided to learn these simple phrases. 

https://www.dummies.com/article/academics-the-arts/language-language-arts/learning-languages/american-sign-language/signing-for-dummies-cheat-sheet-208315/

I had a great time learning these basics this week and will continue to try and practice them daily! 

I have chosen to explore American sign language for my inquiry project. I have always loved learning about different languages. I love the immersive experience of learning about a culture through their own language. I tried to teach myself ASL when I was 6 years old, however, having a 6-year-olds attention span cut that pretty short. 

More than 70 million deaf people worldwide use sign language to communicate, but only half a million non-deaf people use sign language. By learning ASL and opening myself up to the deaf community I anticipate to learn more from the community than just the language, which I am very excited and curious about. At the end of the semester when I am able to look back at my learning process throughout this journey, I think it will teach me more about my learning style as well. 

 Having the ability to speak ASL could benefit a future classroom of mine in several ways. The first and most apparent benefit being the case that I get to work with a student whose first language is ASL. Secondly, I would have the opportunity to pass this skill on to my students. It would be a unique class experience as well as a helpful lifelong skill that I could teach my students. 

I am eager and enthusiastic