We all have fingers so let’s use them! -ASL
On a daily basis, humans constantly use their hands and fingers so I thought “why not learn to use them to communicate as well”? For my learning project, I have chosen to learn American Sign Language (ASL) not only for my own knowledge but also to potentially be able to help someone else! I believe that learning ASL will forever be a lifelong skill and will help me as well as others have more than just one way of communication.
I will be learning ASl at the beginner level, as I have never had the chance or opportunity to teach or learn it! However, I have learned a few baby sign language skills (very few) from a previous job where I worked with infants/toddlers with disabilities. I feel as though this opportunity will create more sense of comfort for myself when working with children or people with hearing or language disabilities.
Some of the ways I will teach myself and gain knowledge of how to correctly sign will be by watching free online youtube lessons from Learn How To Sign ASL, along with other fun and interesting learning videos on Youtube, quizzing myself through free online tools, and downloading free ASL apps onto my personal phone. I am SO excited to become more involved in a new language and can not wait to start learning! I plan on carrying my knowledge into the preschool classroom where I work and teach the children as I am learning! this will not only be a great learning opportunity for me (and the children) but as well a great teaching opportunity too!
Hello Jasmin!
I find learning ASL essential in creating positive and inclusive environments for all of our students! I feel it is important for educators to become familiar with some ASL practices as we have so many diverse students in our classrooms we want them to feel safe and become successful in our classrooms. With that being said it is important to find ways we can support these students so I am so glad you chose to learn ASL for your project even if it is just the basics! It is so important for us to learn to understand our students and ensure they have a positive experience in our schools!
I am excited to learn with you on this journey and so happy that you are bringing this into your pre-k classroom as well. I find students are highly influenced at a younger age when it comes to learning a language and knowing ASL is such a useful skill that everybody should know or at least have some understanding of! Thanks for your post I look forward to seeing what more you have to offer!
Cheers,
Noelle
Hi Nicole,
I’m so excited to see that more of us are choosing ASL for our learning projects! At my work, I use ASL on a very occasionally basis, but one student I work with has a goal of learning the alphabet in ASL, so this project came at perfect timing for me! I have to use some basic signs for some functions in the classroom and school, but I can definitely attest to how useful it can be! Plus, it’s a fun teaching technique for classrooms even if they are no students who require ASL to communicate. I’ve used it to teach music before and the kids loved it!
I also really like how you’ve included links to the resources you’ll use. I forgot to do that in my first post, but I’ll definitely take a look at the resources you’ve linked. Best of luck!
Hi Nicole!
I aboslutely love that you are using this learning opportunity to pursue a new language! Although I’m not working on ASL for this specific project, it is one of my goals to learn it in the next few years. I’m excited to follow your journey and see what types of resources you share, so that when I have some extra time I can learn ASL as well. This skill will definitely benefit you throughout your career as an educator, as you are bound to meet someone who relies on ASL to have a voice.
I love the plant theme you created!!
I taught myself how to sign because of having to switch positions to work 1-on-1 with a student who had non-verbal autism. He was struggling to communicate feelings due to those around him not understanding that actions can reflect someone’s behaviour more when they are unable to speak or show what they are feeling or thinking inside. This student showed me the harsh treatment of those with disabilities n educational settings. After myself and another staff taught ourselves I was able to teach it to him when we were alone through repetition and important pictures (mom, sister, Woody from Toy Story, name) posted around his cubby and workspace that have images of the way to sign the words. Letters were the best area we started with because they allowed him to be able to also watch our mouths as we signed, spoke and gave him the letters to see. After accomplishing the basics we hen taught the class. This child is now verbal and faces no issues with being excluded from other students from them being “scared” of him yelling when he was just trying to play because they understand autism from our lesson & they discovered a better way to communicate with him for the time being. This child is in a classroom full-time now rather than being pulled out to be taught away from peers.
Teaching is a rewarding occupation because making a change is rewarding, but can also change the life of the people you are encountering. I often receive video updates from his mom of him reading out loud in class for English or more advanced drawings of his family that he was just showing interest in when I moved away and I cry every time because it makes my heart feels hugged!
Good luck! ASL is a blast once you get the basics. ASL helped change the life of one of my students!