My Journey of learning ASL

For my learning project, I decided to learn ASL. I have wanted to learn sign language for years, and have thought about taking classes in the past. Classes were always very limited and I kept putting it off, SOOO now feels like a better time than ever!

I am pretty limited in what I currently know in sign language, anything I have learned has been through watching youtube, and googling phrases. I worked in a pharmacy throughout my undergrad and learned some of the basics such as “thank you”, “please” and “you’re welcome” to be able to communicate with our deaf and hard of hearing patients. I am happy to know these few signs but they won’t help me hold up a conversation. One part I find tough is trying to learn without the constant practice or use of what I had learned, which I am hoping to change and incorporate in my learning journey over these next several weeks.

I have found a few resources that I plan to use to help with my learning. I recently followed a woman on instagram that is a deaf motivational speaker. She educates her followers about her experiences in the deaf and hard of hearing community and teaches basic ASL to help followers learn basic sign language communication. I also found this app ASL Sign Language Pocket Sign and ASL Bloom. ASL Sign Language Pocket Sign is kind of like Duolingo, but for sign language instead.

My learning plan for this project is starting by learning the alphabet. I know some letters, but knowing them all would help in practicing fingerspelling.

The following weeks I want to learn how to count 1-30 and practice some introductions, such as “Hello, my name is Alycia” and ask others questions such as their name and how their day is. My main goal at the end of the semester is to build my ASL skills and learn common phrases so I am able to better communicate with people in the deaf community. I am excited to track my progress and see how far I come by the end of the semester!