The benefits of learning and studying sign language using ASL video teaching tools are solid.  They are extremely cost-effective and allow the student to learn at his/her own pace.  With busy lifestyles, the convenience of one’s own scheduled study time can be priceless.  But should sign language videos be the solitary source of learning this incredible language?

Have you ever noticed how much better you are at signing when you are practicing at home in front of the mirror than when you practice when someone is watching?  Isn’t it funny how your brain seems to shut down and erase everything you know once you are signing to an actual person who is watching you?  Nerves. That is not something that can be duplicated or substituted.  The only way to over-come the “hand-stuttering” and “mind-binding” that comes from an audience, is to practice with other people.

If you live up north, you may find it difficult to understand someone from the deep south.  Both people speak English, but the accents, the drawls, and even the slang can make understanding more of a chore.  This is also a benefit of communicating via your sign language with other people – even signers have “accents” and “drawls”!  One person’s fingers move very quickly and fluidly, and another signer’s fingers move more harshly.  These subtle differences can make your brain have to work twice as hard to understand others.  This in turn, makes you a better sign language communicator.

So, while learning ASL through online videos or sign language dvds is very helpful, nothing replaces the raw, one-on-one, face-to-face interaction.  So be encouraged, be brave, and go find some real people to watch sign, and show off those great skills of your own!

Until next time – Be blessed!

What if American Sign Language was offered as a language option in every school? It would be offered alongside the old standbys like French, German, and Spanish.  I suspect there would be lot’s of kids willing to learn.

For over 2 million Deaf people in the United States, it could mean that everyday living might get a little easier.  Imagine the scenario where the front counter person at McDonald’s actually understood ASL, ad was able to respond. Think about how much easier that would be.

The public school system as a whole is not there yet.  However, the homeschooling community could be.  Parents who look to provide quality educational material for their homeschool children might want to consider American Sign Language as a teaching option.

There is plenty of quality material available to learn sign language.  The best of the options will provide you with clear video, an ASL dictionary, so you can actually see the signs in motion, as well as a curriculum for which you can follow and test your skills. You can start by learning simple things like the ASL alphabet, ASL numbers, or ASL signs for family members or commonly used phrases.  It would be a great home schooling experience.

The homeschool community has an opportunity to become a fore-runner in teh goal of teaching more people to use American Sign Language.  The skills learned will be applicable for life.  In addition, it may also help to spur the public school systems of the United States into action.  Please consider adding ASL to your home schooler’s curriculum this year.  In addition, please consider sharing a link to this article with your home school friends.

Have a testimony you’d like to share about The Learn Sign Langauge Video Series? Send your written or video taped experience to ayalasigns@aol.com

Be blessed!

Sunny,   I wanted to drop you a quick note:   Its been a little over a year since I started signing. I started signing because my new roommate is deaf, and I had always wanted to learn. I ordered several DVDs from you to help get me started. Learning the basics from your DVDs help me build on a solid foundation. I now have many deaf friends and am able to ‘keep up’ with most of the conversations though my learning is still in progress. Im learning to find my own sense of style in signing as I continue to expand my vocabulary. However, your DVDs, your method of teaching, is what captured my interest and help establish my confidence to learn this wonderful language. I just wanted to say THANK YOU! I recommend your DVDs to any of my hearing friends who have expressed an interest in learning sign.   Thanks Again!!!   Parker Davis Washington DC

Imagine the feelings of the person who is deaf. More often than not, they are left with the task to trying to find a way to communicate. What if it could be different? What if we got proactive and learned some basic sign language?

Assuming this sounds like a good idea, where would one begin? Many people start out trying to learn the alphabet. The logic behind this is that you could spell some basic words. The difficulty will be trying to finger spell quickly.

A different approach could be to learn some basic question starters. This approach is often used by journalists and writers to get a good article going. The basic starters signs could mimic this. So, you would need to know the signs for who, what, when, where, and why.

Here are the signs for the 5 basic question starters:

Who: Place the right hand in the shape of an ‘L’ on the chin, touching with the thumb. Slightly move your index finger in twice.

What: Raise palms face up and shrug your shoulders.

When: Point index finger of left hand straight up and use the index finger of the right hand to draw a circle in a clockwise motion around the left finger.

Where: Wave your right index finger in the air left and right.

Why: Start with placing the fingers of your right hand on your forehead then bring your hand down and away from the face while curling your fingers to make the sign for the letter ‘Y’.

In the next article, we can start to add some basic words to this process.

Till next time,

Sunny Ayala

Sunny Ayala is a teacher, a trainer, a coach, a Chaplain, and a wife who loves to help people reach their goals. Her other passions include fitness and life coaching, promoting the Libertarian party, and writing. She is the owner of http://thesignvideos.com a company that specializes in instructional material for learning sign language. You can reach Sunny at ayalasigns@aol.com or @signvideos on Twitter.