ASL – How Hard Can It Be?

Hi All!

I have always wanted to learn American Sign Language (ASL), especially since watching the show Switched at Birth a few years ago. If you have never heard of that show, it features a deaf main character and a handful of deaf supporting characters – mostly played by deaf or hard-of-hearing actors. So, I have decided to dedicate this learning project to learning ASL. I have tried to learn ASL in the past but have got busy and not gotten fair or stuck with so I really don’t remember much.  I know the alphabet, so I can finger spell and a couple of other basic signs like hello, please, and thank you. 

At this point in time, my plan is to learn the most commonly used signs by watching videos from different channels on YouTube, using short, free online courses in ASL, looking up words in an ASL dictionary, and using quizzes to test my knowledge.

I plan to start with the Sign Language 101 website and some of their introductory videos. This website has a bunch of free videos to help teach different things topics in ASL. They also have paid courses that you can enroll in and different books you can buy. I am only planning on using free videos on this site. The videos I was thinking of starting with are titled:

• Words you already know
• Body language
• Facial expressions
• Language tip: reading signs
• Language tip: hand shapes and positions in ASL

Other websites I have found that I plan to use include

• Sign School Website 
  • A website that contains multiple different games and quizzes to help a person learn ASL.
• Start ASL Website
  • They have a free beginner course called ASL-1 as well as paid harder courses. They claim to be a reliable source and teach you full ASL if you complete all the courses they offer.
• ASL Dictionary App by Lingvano 
  • You can look up words, and it will show you a quick video on how to sign that word.
• ASL Meredith – Youtube Channel 
• 150 Essential ASL Signs Part 1 on Youtube 
• Learn How to Sign – YouTube Channel 

I have done a lot of reading to try and find reliable sources of ASL, and I hope these websites and videos fall under that category. I have not decided on what resource I will use next or what video, as I want to pick my next resource based on where I am in the learning stage.

If anyone has learnt ASL and has any websites or resources they have used and found helpful, please send them my way!

To close off my blog post, I decided to include a short video of myself and the few signs I already know.