Software? Classes? DVD?
I already go to Community College… so I’ll check it out and see if they offer Sign Language classes. I need some electives anyway… I’ll probably get a book, too, so I can refer back to it after the class…
So basically I want to pick all of the answers, lol.
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The best way would be to enrole in a community college class during the summer or school year. Also, look around in your community for perhaps smaller, more in depth group signing classes. Books can be ok, but sometimes they’re hard to fully understand how to convey the correct sign. Check out this site: http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm
Good luck!
A class. Most ASL classes are taught by immersion – the teacher only signs, not speaks.
I was learning it by a book… and then my partner moved away and had no one to practice it with…
I would say in this day and age… Classes and DVD
here’s a few other options:
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=TSHA,TSHA:2006-07,TSHA:en&q=learn+asl
If you can, I would take classes. It’s literally hands-on (only a little pun intended), which makes it easier to learn. In most beginning classes, the teacher will speak and sign. As you get into more advanced classes, the teacher usually just signs.
I also like the fact that the first user posted that website. I actually go to MSU and use it that site all the time.
I guess by personal experience the best way to learn sign language is to have a friend who is deaf and knows and has to use it.
i brought a book,,, ive tought my 18 month old nearly 25 signs,, and even myself, lol,, im learning heaps from it xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Absolutely, positively, without a doubt, no question about it, you need to take CLASSES.
The top reason being that sign language is three-dimensional, while books, software, DVDs, etc. are not. There is much more to sign language than just hand shapes and hand movements. Sign language can be modulated by facial expressions such as raising or lowering eyebrows, poking your tongue through your teeth, or even releasing a puff of air from your mouth. Each of these can “modulate” what you are doing with your hands to convey a new and specific meaning. The movements that you make with your hands can also greatly be modulated by the speed and manner in which you do them, and these are things that two-dimensional reference materials just can’t convey accurately.
Speaking of accuracy, sign language is a conceptually accurate language, while English is not. Consider the word “have” and its many definitions:
To own or possess: I HAVE a computer.
To experience: I HAVE fun at the beach.
To hold in mind: I HAVE more questions for you.
To need: I HAVE to get some sleep.
etc.
Each of these would use a different sign, but if you were to look up “have” in a book, software or DVD, it might give you the inappropriate sign for the situation. This is why sign language interpreters are called “interpreters” and not “translators.”