We've got some Signing Time videos, but I'd like us to learn actual ASL, not just a bunch of signs to assemble into something like SE. Have any of you used a curriculum that works?
I would actually recommend taking a class instead. So much of ASL is in the body language and facial expressions. When we took our class, I'd have to say that my kids learned some very valuable information about the deaf community and how our mannerisms speak in ways we aren't even aware of. Just something to think about. Our instructor directed us to ASLPro, too. Someone else a while back posted a link for a free complete course, too. I'd like to find that one again myself.
YEP! That's why I don't "teach" sign language. I know just enough to know what I don't know. It'd come as nothing but a bunch of vocabulary, which isn't really "language".
This is an interesting website you can look at. http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/ It's a completely free course on sign language and gets into the culture as well. It's a place to start if you can't get in person classes right now. Edited- Oops, a little too slow.
Thank you! Yeah, I so can't afford the classes. $200 for a 6 weeks at our local community college is far beyond my means. And really, how much can you really learn in a 6 week class (meeting once a week for an hour)? I have a deaf friend who knows ASL (though she prefers SE), but she won't teach signs to her friends unless they pay. Plus I have friends who are ASL teachers at that community college. But, again, they don't teach for less than $20 per hour. So is the free course posted above worth it, or is it a matter of "if you aren't learning it within the culture, don't bother"?
I think that free course is pretty thorough. You can actually get credits using it, if you pay. The teacher is a real asl teacher and teaches the culture along with the signs. He also talks about body language too. How facial expressions and such are just as important as the signs themselves. There's even some videos on it. I started doing it, but it was too much info for my interest at the time. I did use the beginning words for babies to teach my older son some signs when he wasn't talking. He knew about 15-20 basic signs in a very short period of time. Maybe your friends will let you practice with them, if you learn it on your own.He also talks about body language too. How facial expressions and such are just as important as the signs themselves.
I had posted on it a few months ago. I had taken a couse in high school ( ok, that was a looong time ago, lol), then continued in another course at the deaf action center right after, so i was comfortable teaching to my sons from the books and websites. I understand that some are not, and prefer to take actual classes. There are pros and cons. I think that you do need a basic knowledge of a lot of the vocabulary before you can even think about actual conversation. The class I attended taught you basic vocabulary to begin with anyways, then transition into a class later. We have the book "The Joy of Signing", and also regularly go to the two websites mentioned. The ASL pro website has a free quiz option where you can make quizzes of however many words you want at a time. I had forgotten about 90% of the actual signs I had learned so I and my husband (who had never learned sign language before ) are also learning with my boys (age 7 and 10). The have picked it up very quickly. We learn 5 words a day, each day doing a quick review of the alphabet and of the words they already learned. I revently rented a dvd from the library. I found that although it was geared towards young children, it was hard for even me to follow along at certain points.
