Hello everyone!
The second half of February came with some difficult decisions pertaining to our ASL learning setup. Nibras and I realized two things: having students of different ASL comprehension levels in the same class was not working, and we had a better connection with our ASL translator Kaye than our language partner Reba. While we were contemplating if we should ask to break up our class and switch instructors, I felt a lot of guilt. During my prior research on the challenges of the Deaf community, I had read that even opportunities regarding ASL are offered more to “hearing people” rather than Deaf people themselves. So, not only are Deaf people not given opportunities in the matters of the hearing world, but they are forced to take a backseat in matters of their own community. Our language partner Reba is completely deaf whereas our ASL translator Kaye is a polyglot with a passion for ASL teaching. So, proposing for instructor switch felt like I was exacerbating the aforementioned problem. Ultimately, Nibras and I decided to follow through that decision, but I feel like a part of me will still continue to feel guilty.
Our main agenda in February was to start building our ASL vocabulary and get comfortable with the ASL sentence structure. We first used flashcards to learn signs for different colors and different animals. I never use flashcards while studying so that was a new learning experience for me. I still do not think I learn well with flashcards, so I will probably refrain from using them in future lessons. Next, we directly dived into Barron’s American Sign Language guide to practice signing about scenarios- hence learning new ASL signs in the process. I was quite surprised with how helpful the textbook was, given the fact that ASL relies so heavily on facial expressions. Along with the signs, the book includes arrows regarding how to move your hands in the air and tips about facial expressions as well as sentence structure. Such instructions from the book, combined with our language sessions with Reba, really helped me get comfortable about signing and memorizing the new signs. I have also realized how ASL signs are not at all arbitrary, making it easy to form connections between signs. For example, in order to sign “brown”, you take the sign for letter “b” and put it close to your cheek whereas in order to sign “blue”, you take the same letter “b” sign and turn in sideways in front of your face. So, the same “b” sign is used in all three situations; it is just the positioning of hand that differs. I have also learnt to appreciate how clever the ASL signs are! For example, “eating” is signed with your hand held near the mouth, whereas “sleeping” is signed with two hands near your ears. Deriving from these two signs, “home” is signed by moving your hand from mouth to ear- thus showing how home is a place where you eat and sleep. Similarly, a line of people is signed by holding one hand behind another and moving all ten fingers, giving the illusion of multiple people standing one behind another. “Sheep” is signed by doing a scissor motion on you arm. Vacation is signed by leaning back and holding two arms in the air- resembling lying on a beach while facing the sun. There are so many examples! This understanding of how signs literally try to mimic the action, has further increased my interest in ASL and has made the learning process enjoyable.
Another highlight of my February lessons is that I have finally gotten comfortable with the ASL language structure. I no longer try to sign based on an English sentence in my mind. Instead, I think about the raw message and sign accordingly. This is incredibly important in ASL learning because ASL doesonot have a rigid sentence structure like English does. For example: if I want to ask someone “Where do you live?”, the critical words in this scenario are where, you, and live. Words like “do” do not even exist in ASL because they are considered filler words and will only add to unnecessary visual traffic. The three words: where, you, and live all have their own signs and you are allowed to sign them in any order. For example: “where you live”, “you live where” and “live where you” are all correct sentence structures in ASL. Such fluidity in sentence structure was incredibly hard to get used to in the beginning, but now that I have gotten used to it, it is by far my favorite aspect of ASL.
On the other hand, I still continue to struggle with facial expressions. While I am signing, I always have this confused expression because I am so focused on remembering the signs correctly. Reba often makes me redo sentences over and over until I get the expression right and that helps! I am hopeful that as I get more confident about my vocabulary, expressions will start to come naturally. For March, I will be primarily prioritizing facial expression related resources such as these ones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2W6TVd_xh4&ab_channel=ASLTHAT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVmw7b_h-UA&ab_channel=TheStews
. Out of all the ASL resources available on the internet,, YouTube videos have been most helpful in helping understand things given the visual nature of ASL. I have identified a ton of YouTube videos on ASL facial expressions to supplement my language sessions. Overall, I am pleased with the progress I have made in February and am excited to see what I will be able to achieve by the end of March.
Replies
Hello Susmita! Thank you for sharing this journal entry. I am also saddened by the fact that our ASL learning had to split, but the reasoning makes sense. However, especially with a language with such few speakers at the school, I think it important to recognize and acknowledge the ASL community that we do have. On another note, I am extremely impressed with your understanding of how ASL grammar and structure works. I think the hardest part for me is trying to eliminate the "extra" words in the sentence, and from your description and actions, you seem to have a strong understanding of how to shed the sentence down to its most fundamental components. Well done and keep up the good work.