These Hands were Made for Talking
This week I decided to learn ASL letters and the word deaf. I wanted to start small because…
- I think learning sign language letters is where it all begins and if I can’t sign at least I can spell out the word.
- I wanted to feel a sense of accomplishment when i was finished with this weeks lesson.
I started with the ABC’s. I watched The ASL Alphabet: American Sign Language Letters A-Z and used The ASL app for assistance when I felt stuck. I am somewhat familiar with signing the alphabet so it was a good refresher. For some reason however I had a super hard time remembering F and G. I could go over the alphabet multiple times thinking oh yeah this it, I got it! But, when it came down to it I always forgot the F and the G.
To assist my learning I decided to try practicing signing the letters while singing the ABC’s in my head. This honestly made a world of difference. Not only was I able to remember them better, but I now know them all by heart, even out of order! As I say that, I should mention that as you can see in the video below I almost forgot the T, which is a letter I never struggled with while I was learning. Strange how the brain works that way as soon as there is a camera pointing at you…
Although I did not learn as much as I initially wanted, I know that I am making progress and that is all I can ask of myself! I think I repeated signing the ASL letters several times a day, which honestly is more than I thought I would.
So, without further ado, here is a video of me signing the ASL letters to the ABC’s song. I also included subtitles in my video because I thought it added an extra element especially for people who may be deaf or hearing impaired.
I really enjoyed learning the ASL letters, I work with children every day and even they had fun singing the ABC’s and trying to learn ASL letters along side me while I was only learning myself. This just goes to show you don’t need to be an expert at something to be able to share it with others.
I am really looking forward to continuing with this learning project and I can’t wait to share it all with you!
Julie! It is so cool you are learning ASL! It sounds like you have been working hard to practice and challenge yourself to take it to the next level! It is great that you have already been able to put this into practice – by singing and signing the alphabet with the children you work with!
I like your positive attitude – when you said that if you cannot remember a specific sign, but you can spell it out instead with the letters of the alphabet – it made so much sense to me. It seems like a wonderful starting place.
Best wishes on your journey!