There’s an ASL class starting, do you want to join? A few years back, I was asked this question. I didn’t have much experience with the language besides fumbling through the alphabet, so I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into. Well, I decided to join the class, and I have never regretted that decision. But because this was the first language I had tried learned, my experience was full of stories I’d be laughing at for a long time.
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Starting ASL Class
I showed up to the class and picked a spot away from everyone. Then I sat quietly as the teacher began explaining basic signs. I wasn’t expecting her expressions though. Apparently when you sign, you don’t just use your hands. You use your face as well. So you can imagine my surprise when she began teaching the sign for alligator and started baring her teeth like a hungry dog.
This was something I knew I needed to work on because facial expressions to ASL, are like changing your tone of voice when talking with your voice. To this day I still struggle with the expressions. But after a few years of practice, I’ve finally learned how to do a really good squinting face when asking a question. I’m so thankful for all of the people who helped me get past this expression hurdle.
How Not To Sign “Nice To Meet You”
After I had been signing for a few months, I decided to go to start going to a deaf event with my class. When I got there, I started signing to a person across the room and made a glorious mistake. I tried to sign, nice to meet you, by slid one hand down the other (like I was making it rain) then putting both hands into the shape of D in the alphabet. Touching them together, I turned one hand down to point at the person while keeping my hands together. I should have known something was off when he started laughing at me, but he never told me what I did wrong!
So, weeks later when I was at my class, I was going over the signs I knew and did, what I knew, was nice to meet you. My teacher started waving her hands and saying no repetitively. Then she explained what I had been signing. Literally speaking, I had been signing “nice to date you person who fell over”. So yeah, it was at that moment that I realized why my greeting to the person at the event was so funny. We all had a pretty good laugh as I began realizing how many people I apparently “dated”.
Finding Out How Useful ASL Is
I does take a little bit of time to get used to this language, especially for English speakers because the sentences are backwards. Instead of “I’m going to the store” you would sign ” to the store I am going”. This is the biggest difference between ASL and English. But once my family and I grasped this concept, it’s full potential was realized.
We were helping my mom get an airplane ticket to see her sister, but due to a lack of time, we needed to go exploring through the airport to figure out the fastest way to TSA. As we were coming down the escalator my mom looked up at us, and my dad began signing to her from across the airport. So instead of shouting and freaking people out, we were able to just wiggle our fingers and give her a code to help her out. It was pretty cool.
What I wish I Did Differently
Another lesson I learned with ASL, that’s the same with any other language, is that you need to practice it. By practicing it, you can see where you can improve and you can continue to get better. Constant practice in ASL also allows you to build up muscle memory and it relaxes your fingers so you’re able to sign clearer, and faster.
I worked at ASL for about a year before taking a little break. Worst, decision, ever. By the time my summer break from ASL was over, I went back to the class and everything had changed. I couldn’t remember more than a couple sentences in ASL. The teachers had changed, and the structure of the classes were completely different. I gave up after about two months, and decided to start learning on my own.
That’s It!
Flash forward three years later, I was able to find so many great tools, and learn from so many great people, that I am now conversational in ASL, and I’ve even taught a class. This was an amazing experience. From my first few steps into the world of ASL, to my mishaps, to striking out on my own. I can’t wait to see what happens as I learn Spanish.
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P.S. Are you learning a new language? What have you found that’s helped you learn it? Let me know in the comments below!
P.P.S. Would you like to see my ASL resources in the next post? Let me know in the comments!