ASL 1102-002 (9:00) Blog #10: Discussion: How to Succeed in ASL

"Learning is doing. It is an active process in which you must be involved. You do not learn effectively by sitting on the sidelines; you must be involved and participating in what you are trying to learn."

Your high school learning experience took place in a "teaching environment." How much you learned depended largely on the knowledge and skills of your teacher. Now you are in college – in a "learning environment." The responsibility for what you learn is yours, NOT the instructor’s. You are expected to be an independent learner.

You know you need to study. You know it is important. But, maybe it has been a while since they were in classes in high school or college. And very few people have studied a visual language before. So, while you are committed to doing whatever it takes to be successful in learning sign language, you wish you had a better idea of exactly what it does take.

Want to be successful? Here are some study tips.


Study Hints for Sign Language Students

Interact with the Deaf community or even just your instructor and tutors!! You may also wish to join the ASL club on campus! There is nothing that can substitute for seeing the language in use by fluent signers. Immersion in the language setting is acknowledged by all as the best way to learn a language. Take advantage of every opportunity you can.

Review your videotape and workbook.
The purpose of your videotape is to provide experience with the language in natural settings. Follow the directions in the workbook to complete the exercises. Remember, your purpose it to exercise your eyes and mind, not to understand every sign and nuance the first time. Recognize the familiar and use context to fill in the blanks.

After completing the workbook, review the videotape several more times. Sign along with the tape or stop the tape at the end of a sentence and sign what you have just seen. Practice not only the hand shapes, but the posture, facial expressions, and phrasing. Or, after seeing a sentence or dialogue, stop the tape and invent one of your own following the same format just observed. These are good partner activities, where you can get feedback on your accuracy.

Practice fingerspelling and numbers.
Do not go straight through the alphabet, or say the letters as you spell. Practice spelling letter or word combinations: bat, cat, sat, mat, hat, attic. Many games can be played with fingerspelling rather than spoken or written words: Boggle, Password, Scattegories, etc.

Make sure that you work with a partner to practice reading fingerspelling, which is much more challenging than producing the letters yourself. As you improve, begin fingerspelling within phrases and sentences.

To practice numbers, play bingo or math drill games. Look up phone numbers in the yellow pages. List birthdates. Fingerspelling and number comprehension are among the most difficult skills for the sign language learner. To become proficient you must practice with others routinely.

(Hint: If it is impossible to get together with a partner on a regular enough basis, consider making videotapes for each other. For example, fingerspell the names of restaurants, movies, streets in Atlanta, the 50 state capitals, the names of people at the Oscar broadcast, etc. These categories make it easier to think of items to add to the list, and give the reader context in which to comprehend the word that is fingerspelled. A study group could easily make enough tapes to rotate and practice with all semester. Then, the tapes could be donated to the department for use by future students.)

View sign language videotapes. The Clarkston campus library has a large collection of sign language and interpreting videotapes for viewing and checkout. Public libraries may be another source.
Watch the videotapes and note new vocabulary items.

Notice the natural "accent" of ASL. What is the signing space? What expressions and body movements are used? Try to copy what you see on the screen. First the expressions and movements, then the signs, then the two in combination.

Notice the sentence structure. You may want to take notes and see how the word order in ASL differs and resembles English.

Watch a selection, signing along with it, until you feel familiar and comfortable with it. Then, videotape yourself signing the material, and compare your production to that of the original tape.

Look for one specific feature of ASL while viewing a selection. For example, you might want to find instances where the verb is modified to show who is acting and what is being acted upon (directionality). Or, find instances where a classifier is used to describe a thing or an activity. Note use of a specific classifier (for example, the vehicle classifier) and list how it is used. Watch the signer's mouth movements and note what movements accompany what signs, and for what purpose. Select features you have discussed in class.

Retell the story you have watched. Videotape it for completeness and accuracy.

Remember: you are training your brain to new ways of thinking and your body to new ways of communicating. It takes time, repetition and concentration. But, you can do it! And the rewards are tremendous, when you find yourself communicating with a new friend in a new language.

Okay, now lets talk. I mean really talk. This is all easier said then done right? Here we are in our second term already and things are picking up and may feel like they are moving really quickly. I am using ASL as our targeted language for the majority of the class meeting now since we have completed our first half of the semester. Is this easy for you? Of course not! I know that. I know this is very challenging for you. I know it takes a lot of concentration and dedication to stay focused for an hour regardless what class you are in. I know that I often express what I am seeing from you during class. I want you to know that I am not the only ASL teacher that notices your every move and has something to say about it!

I want you to watch this clip. It was made by an ASL teacher. She too wants you to be aware of what you are doing and how it can hinder your learning process.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB060N1SvkM&p=94A0B899751BDC09&playnext=1&index=23

After watching this, I want you to think about what yourself in class. What will you change? How will you help yourself learn? What is working for you? What have you done to memorize vocabulary and grammar? What helps you during class? What hinders you? What do you struggle with?

For your second post I want you to give advice to each other.

Learn from each other you are all in the same boat!

Monica