Taylor Rawls's Posts (61)
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Interpersonal Communication:
I want to be able to use simple sentences and ask and answer questions in everyday conversation.
Presentational Speaking:
I would like to be able to give a short presentation (3-5 minutes) on a chosen topic, without hesitating or making grammatical errors.
Presentational Writing:
N/A
Interpretive Listening:
I want to be able to completely understand simple sentences and understand the main idea in a presentation (whether that be religious, academic, or something else).
Interpretive Reading:
N/A
Learning Calendar:
Weeks 3/4: Brush up on older vocabulary and learn more religious vocabulary.
Weeks 4/5: Focus on speaking in complete sentences and answering questions that do not just involve a “yes” or “no”.
Weeks 6/7: Learn more religious vocabulary and be able to talk about the weather and the seasons.
Weeks 8/9: Practice asking questions (correct words, facial expressions, etc…) and answering them.
Weeks 10/11: Practice speaking about a certain topic in ASL for a few minutes, instead of just having a casual conversation.
Weeks 12/13: Continue to speak in complete sentences and begin moving on to more complex sentences and questions.
"I Can" Statements:
I can ask and answer simple questions.
I can talk about religion, in a basic sense.
I can talk about the weather and the seasons.
I can understand a few simple idioms in ASL.
I think my learning plan worked very well. I only wish that I had found more resources and that I had found them earlier in the semester. However, the best way for me to learn is just to practice whenever I can, so signing while I was speaking English was what helped me the most. The grammar of ASL is different than English, but I always tried to keep that in the back of my mind while I was talking, so I did not get confused.
Watching videos is also incredibly helpful and one of the best ways to learn new signs and keep up with the ones that you already know. There are thousands of videos on the internet about both learning ASL and learning about deaf culture and they have been great to watch.
Watching videos produced by my religion has also been great, because the interpreters are incredible. Those videos have made it very easy to learn basic religious signs and signs that would be used both in daily life and in a religious context.
All in all, I liked my learning plan and I think I learned an appropriate amount during this semester.
Some people question whether deaf culture can actually be defined as a culture, but it does have a language, folkloric tradition, social institutions, and schools, all of which are distinct social customs associated with culture. I firmly believe that the deaf have a unique culture all their own, that just happens to be within another culture.
I have thoroughly enjoyed learning all about deaf culture throughout the past two semesters. Deaf culture does fit in well within the culture of the country it is in, but it is clear that there are some differences and I have liked learning about them. One thing I really like about the deaf is how honest they are. They don’t beat around the bush and generally say whatever they are thinking. They also are not shy about asking questions and want you to ask questions as well, which makes learning easier. The culture is different, but not so different that a hearing person cannot become a part of it.
It is pretty cool how many deaf organizations exist. There are a lot of organizations that help support the deaf in multiple ways.
The National Association of the Deaf: An organization that deals with civil rights of deaf and hard-of-hearing people.
Deaflympics: This is pretty self-explanatory, but these are international Olympic games for the deaf. Deaflympics is recognized by the International Olympic Committee.
ADARA: “Professionals Networking for Excellence in Service Delivery with Individuals Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.” ADARA allows people who work with the deaf to come together and exchange ideas to enhance the quality of life of the deaf.
American Association of the Deaf-Blind: A nonprofit national consumer organization that has deaf and blind members and also family members, professionals, interpreters, and other interested people. They provide information, services, conferences, advocacy projects, and much more.
There are many, many more, but this is just a few examples of national and international organizations that want to do what they can to help those who are deaf or hard of hearing.
What I have been working on: I mostly been working on remembering what I did earlier in the semester: weather, seasons, religious vocab, basic vocab, and idioms. I have been incorporating all of these into complete and complex sentences.
Statement: I want to continue to use complete sentences and work more on signing multiple sentences in a row.
Strategies: Practicing the vocabulary I have already learned and trying to work them into the conversation, when it makes sense.
Effectiveness: That is the best way for me to learn. I also like to see other people sign, so I know what the sign looks like from the opposite side.
Building on what I have learned: All of this is the culmination of what I have learned this semester. I am trying to be able to at least have a minimal basic conversation and have a conversation about religion and the weather.
What I have been working on: I have been working on learning idioms that are typical to ASL, but that we do not have in English.
Statement: I want to be able to incorporate ASL idioms into my conversations.
Strategies: Practice, practice, practice. I have just been practicing them when I have the chance and using them in conversation, when it is appropriate.
Effectiveness: This works well. The best way to remember the signs is just to use them when applicable and use them while also speaking English.
Building on what I have learned: I am continuing to learn more idioms and continuing to use the vocab I have learned throughout the semester.
I am not sure how related this is to culture, but I think this would be the best forum for me to talk about it.
There are tons and tons of apps, websites, programs, etc...to help people learn ASL. Some of these are sub par, but some of these are amazing and I would not know near as many words in ASL if I did not have them. However, there is one issue I have and I have not yet found any way to remedy this. Because ASL is not a written language (and because it relies entirely on sight), there are plenty of English to ASL translators, but there are no ASL to English translation devices. I would love to be able to sign into the camera on my laptop or phone and have some application that will tell me what that sign means.
I am able to ask the meaning of signs when I am speaking with someone, but there are many instances in which asking someone is not possible, like if I am watching a video with no subtitles or if I am at church watching someone sign.
I think it would be really helpful for those learning ASL if there was some way for us to ask the Internet what sign we are using. It could also potentially prevent some embarrassing situations.
What I have been working on: I have been working on learning weather terms and practicing talking about the seasons. I have been continuing to learn religious words and signs that I would use on a daily basis.
Statement: I want to speak in multiple complete sentences.
Strategies: I have been practicing with other speakers and watching videos without captions.
Effectiveness: As mentioned before, watching videos without captions is a good way to gauge how much I am learning.
Building on what I have learned: I am continuing to put the vocabulary I am learning into complete sentences. I am also continuing to find resources that can help me learn more words and more about the culture. YouTube is becoming a great resource, especially with finding videos without captions.
One of my favorite things about ASL and deaf culture is that they have a whole set of sign specifically for children. Just as hearing children learn simple words (and sometimes even make up their own words for things), deaf children are shown simplified signs for the things that would need to say the most often, like “mom,” “dad,” “yes,” “no” and others.
Even babies who are not deaf can often understand sign language far before they begin talking and many parents recommend teaching babies ASL so they can communicate before they are able to use their voice. There are also some studies that show that children who learn how to sign as babies have a higher IQ and greater literacy as adults, but there hasn’t been a lot of research on the subject yet.
Even though all babies can learn ASL, it is especially important for deaf and hard-of-hearing children to learn ASL, so they do not run into any (or fewer) learning delays later in life.
What I have been working on:
I have still been working on religious vocabulary and speaking in full sentences. I know all the seasons and am working on numbers larger than 10. I am also trying to get better at recognizing finger-spelling. If the speaker deliberately slows down, I can catch the word or name, but I can hardly ever catch the word if the speaker is signing at normal speed.
Statement:
I want to be able to speak in full sentences.
Strategies:
Even if I do not understand every word in a sentence, I have become much better at guessing the meaning of a sentence or group of sentences using context clues. I am able to recognize signs that I have learned and I can also guess what some signs mean just by how it is signed or which letter hand-shape is used to sign it.
Effectiveness:
Using context clues is very good for helping me understand others, but it does not help me when it becomes my turn to speak. However, everyone is very accommodating and will show me signs or repeat themselves when I need it.
Building on what I have learned (language):
I have continued to learn more religious vocabulary and have practiced putting full sentences together.
Building on what I have learned (strategies):
I have been trying to find different apps that could help me learn. There is one that a friend told me about that helps you practice finger spelling, which is something I need to work on.
For my teaching activity, I taught my friend some basic phrases in ASL:
“Hello.”
“Goodbye.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“How are you?”
“I’m good.”
“I’m fine.”
“Thank you.”
“Please.”
“Sorry.”
The activity went very well. Most of the phrases just involve one sign and even the ones that are longer sentences involve three signs at most. My friend had a slight struggle with “Nice to meet you” because of the positioning of the fingers for the sign “meet,” but she got the hang of it very quickly. Hopefully, she will remember some of them and will be able to briefly communicate with a deaf or hard-of-hearing person if she ever has the chance in the future.
Effective of learning plan and activities: So far, things are going well. I am continuing to look for resources that can help me, both with the language and with the culture. Watching videos is incredibly helpful and something I plan to keep doing.
Discuss changes: I don’t think I will make any changes at this point to my learning plan. I just need to continue practicing and learning new words and phrases. I only wish I was able to have more interaction with the deaf and those who know ASL throughout the week. It can be hard only practicing twice a week, but the good thing about ASL is that I can speak English and sign at the same time, so I can still practice, in one sense of the word.
What I have been working on: I am continuing to learn more vocabulary, both religious and basic day-to-day things.
Statement: I want to be able to sign complex sentences.
Strategies: Practicing fingerspelling. Repetition. Watching videos of people signing (without captions).
Effectiveness: It is really helpful to watch videos without captions, because then I can figure out exactly what I do and do not know.
Building on what I have learned: I am just continuing to learn basic signs and learn how one sign can mean multiple things.
What I have been working on:
So far, I have been working on religious vocabulary and the seasons. I want to focus on using complete sentences in the near future.
Statement:
I want to be able to recognize more words when I attend the ASL church.
Strategies:
The best way for me to memorize new words in ASL is repetition. Muscle memory plays a large part in learning new words.
Effectiveness:
I think the above method is very effective, as long as I remember to practice the words every day. If I forget a day, I sometimes forget a sign or two.
Building on what I have learned (language):
The more words I learn the closer I will be to putting together full sentences. One of my problems now is I can put together a sentence, but there is normally always one or two words that I don’t know the sign for and I have to either ask or just finger spell it.
Building on what I have learned (strategies):
I need to work more on practicing my ASL every day. No one around me understands ASL, but I think it would be beneficial for me to sign the signs I do know as I’m having normal conversations. This will also help me recognize which words I should learn the signs for.
I would actually just like to become more involved in ASL culture this semester. I learned quite a lot about it last semester, but because my grasp of the language was not that great, I had a hard time interacting with deaf people without the help of a hearing person.
Culture for ASL can be slightly difficult because many aspects of the culture are similar to the U.S. However, there are a few differences, like how untrustworthy the deaf community is of the hearing community. The church I attend does have deaf people that also attend, but most of the people there are hearing people that have just learned ASL. This makes it slightly difficult to make friends with the deaf ones, because there are not that many.
However, I would like to learn more about how the deaf interact with the hearing and how the deaf interact with each other. I hopefully will be able to learn about this by interacting with the deaf and with the hearing that know ASL.
Interpersonal Communication:
I want to be able to use simple sentences and ask and answer questions in everyday conversation.
Presentational Speaking:
I would like to be able to give a short presentation (3-5 minutes) on a chosen topic, without hesitating or making grammatical errors.
Presentational Writing:
N/A
Interpretive Listening:
I want to be able to completely understand simple sentences and understand the main idea in a presentation (whether that be religious, academic, or something else).
Interpretive Reading:
N/A
Learning Calendar:
Weeks 3/4: Brush up on older vocabulary and learn more religious vocabulary.
Weeks 4/5: Focus on speaking in complete sentences and answering questions that do not just involve a “yes” or “no”.
Weeks 6/7: Learn more religious vocabulary and be able to talk about the weather and the seasons.
Weeks 8/9: Practice asking questions (correct words, facial expressions, etc…) and answering them.
Weeks 10/11: Practice speaking about a certain topic in ASL for a few minutes, instead of just having a casual conversation.
Weeks 12/13: Continue to speak in complete sentences and begin moving on to more complex sentences and questions.
(I’m planning on continuing to learn ASL even after I graduate, so that’s why the last few weeks are focusing on more complex sentences, instead of just practicing what I already know.)
