In-Depth Blog Post #1

In-Depth Blog Post #1

I have chosen to learn about American Sign Language (ASL). Not only that, but also about Deaf culture. ASL is one of many sign languages used in the world. It’s one of the few sign languages used in America and Canada. It uses different grammar and syntax than English, which is one of the reasons on why ASL is hard to learn. Deaf culture is not a skill, although it is an important role in learning sign language. Learning sign language with no knowledge of Deaf culture can be disrespectful to Deaf people.

The reason why I have chosen to learn ASL is because I admire those who use it. It looks very interesting and since it is such a different language, I thought that it would be a fun, new experience. I have a little bit of experience from learning 2 years ago, but I have mostly forgotten the signs that I learned. I didn’t continue with learning ASL, so I thought that it would be a good opportunity to try and learn it again. Even for the small chance that I come across someone who is Deaf and sign with them, I still think it is worth learning. Another reason is because it’s a new way of communication, which is uncommon among hearing people. Personally, I like learning skills that are more uncommon. It brings out the significance which leads to wanting to learn the skill.

The way I will learn this skill is through many different online resources. I have been recommended some websites and textbooks to learn sign language with, from someone studying ASL interpretation. I would also use youtube videos, but I would preferably use a textbook for consistency, although it is unlikely. I will keep track the signs I learned somewhere so I can review whenever, even if I forget. I will not focus a lot into learning individual signs, but rather learn sentences. I think I would learn quicker, and it would be more beneficial for conversational uses. I was also hoping to have sessions with my peers who are also learning ASL as I think it would a more enjoyable way of practicing.

For my mentor, I haven’t found one yet. Finding one has been difficult since I have no personal connection to anyone who is Deaf. I am hoping to find someone who is actually Deaf so that they are able to mentor me about Deaf culture as well. I also think that I will learn quicker if they only use sign language. This will help with progression because even if I’m not able to understand what my mentor is saying, I’ll have an understanding of what signs they use for whatever they sign. I don’t think that I will spend much time with my mentor learning signs, and instead, do the memorizing independently. I’m also not sure about meeting time yet. I would like to organize that with my mentor rather than by myself so that I take their availability into consideration.

I don’t think support will be much of problem. There are a lot of people who have also decided to learn ASL. I think this will really help with motivation because we can all compare. We’ll also always be able to sign when we want to, in order to practice. I think without support, it would be much harder to memorize, because I’m most likely to use sign language with other people rather than by myself. A big part of learning sign language is developing muscle memory for forming signs with your hands, so signing as much as I can, will help with that. There isn’t much support from adults that I can receive in order to improve my experience learning sign language, other than my mentor.

During the break, I went back to the list of signs that I learned, and I managed to remember an eighth of what I learned, which is extremely little. I learned around 200 signs from a few years ago, and I would like to learn the signs that I have forgotten first. I think that because I have already learned these signs, it won’t be as difficult to re-remember them. I will also continue using the youtube videos I’ve used from before, as they are still a good way for learning important signs. Although, I don’t think I will focus too much on these as I won’t be able to use them without knowing the grammatical structure. I also read a little about sentence structure and grammar and it seems very consistent, so once I get a better understanding, I don’t think it will be difficult to memorize and apply to forming sentences.

I will learn ASL in steps to ensure I don’t miss out on important information. I want to learn basic conversation signs, so that I initially get an understanding about the different syntax and grammar. I think that is the most confusing part of learning sign language, so I think it’s important that I understand that first. If I decided not to learn that part first, I think it would be very difficult to progress with learning new signs. This is because I wouldn’t know how to correctly put different signs together to form sentences. I would also use the first few sessions discussing Deaf culture and what it really is. I also have a couple of questions about sign language so I would also spend the first session asking questions. I would also like to practice fingerspelling for a session or two to see if there is any way to improve or correct how I fingerspell. My goal is to at least fingerspell one letter per second, and I think that it will require a lot of practice.

Sign language is a useful skill to know and is interesting to learn about. It can even turn into a career later in life. I’m really excited to learn about everything related to sign language. I’m also excited to put in effort to hopefully reach my ambitious goals, such as having an over 2-minute-long conversation without breaks. I will also make sure to take my time in order to accurately sign. I’m looking forward to seeing how much I learn in the next 5 months.