Firelily99 Posted July 2, 2014 Report Share Posted July 2, 2014 I am weighing my options for whether or not I want to enroll in the fall at a local college to learn American Sign Language. I've dabbled in it in the past and think it would be fascinating to learn it. Have you ever considered doing something like that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lasonax Posted July 2, 2014 Report Share Posted July 2, 2014 I don't think I'd ever use it... So I don't think I will ever learn it either.Surely it would be fun to know how to "speak" sign language and all, but really... The only reason I could ever have for that would be if some family member got deaf, or I just wanted to be "cool" / "you never know".I think I'd rather just spend my time on a language that I'd have more use for, or well... I think I'd rather even learn a dead language than sign language to be honest. It just feels rather uninteresting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FosterTXT Posted July 2, 2014 Report Share Posted July 2, 2014 Learning sign language has always crossed my mind, but for whatever reason I just haven't committed from actually learning it. I took a small after school course when I was in high school, but that only lasted 2 weeks so I was really able to learn sign language in its entirety. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dylr88 Posted July 2, 2014 Report Share Posted July 2, 2014 I have considered it since I learnt the basics in high school, there was a deaf classmate of mine who I tried with the help of an assistant teacher, not sure what you call her rank but she helps people with disabilities. I used to find it fascinating to be able to try out sign language, and it feels great when I get a response. Nowadays I never have the chance to use it, and I don't think I ever will, I can still remember some basics, now, maybe I might consider trying to learn it in the future just out of interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Determined2014 Posted July 3, 2014 Report Share Posted July 3, 2014 I have considered it since I learnt the basics in high school, there was a deaf classmate of mine who I tried with the help of an assistant teacher, not sure what you call her rank but she helps people with disabilities. I used to find it fascinating to be able to try out sign language, and it feels great when I get a response. Nowadays I never have the chance to use it, and I don't think I ever will, I can still remember some basics, now, maybe I might consider trying to learn it in the future just out of interest. Yes I have considered learning sign language, I actually had begun learning it, but something happened to my tutor,so I never found another tutor, but it was coming on well, it was easy to follow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firelily99 Posted July 3, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2014 I actually would have use for it not only in my personal life but also professionally. There is a shortage of interpreters so I know that I would not lack for work in doing signing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate Posted July 3, 2014 Report Share Posted July 3, 2014 There was a time when I planned to learn sign language and was very excited about it. I learned a few basic things with it but then moved on to spoken languages before I finished.I'm not sure why that happened... sign language fascinates me when I see it, but I guess the bottom line for me is that I'd never get to use it like I could spoken (or maybe more accurate, *written*) language. With the 'Net, I wouldn't even have to know anyone to physically speak with, it could all be done on social media and email, etc.In the past, to use a language, you needed to know someone to speak with... isn't the Internet amazing?! :amazed: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sn1 Posted July 4, 2014 Report Share Posted July 4, 2014 i had no idea there was different language sign languages lol, but nah i dont think i would have the time to learn it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firelily99 Posted July 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2014 I never thought that I would need to use it very much but lately it has come up a lot. I regret not having learned it on those moments, even just the basics would have helped me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babyleans Posted July 8, 2014 Report Share Posted July 8, 2014 Yes i have. My first misconception was that all deaf people use the same sign language. I have to admit that was ignorance on my part. After learning that there were different sign languages, i decided to learn the american one (ASL). Unfortunately i didnt have enough interest to stick it out to the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
licklozay Posted July 17, 2014 Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 I have once before try to learn sign language and I found it very good and very interesting. It's good to be able to communicate with people in a different level. Unfortunately for me I moved out of the city that I was in where I was learning sign language. The new place that I'm in doesn't have a place where I can study sign language and so it's a bit tricky for me and it's a bit of a challenge to be able to continue learning sign language without a teacher or community in which I can learn the language and develop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidney Posted July 18, 2014 Report Share Posted July 18, 2014 I never thought that I would need to use it very much but lately it has come up a lot. I regret not having learned it on those moments, even just the basics would have helped me.So if you think that you really would need to learn it, then why not start learning it right now right? Why hesitate when you can definitely benefit from the added knowledge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trellum Posted July 19, 2014 Report Share Posted July 19, 2014 Yes i have. My first misconception was that all deaf people use the same sign language. I have to admit that was ignorance on my part. After learning that there were different sign languages, i decided to learn the american one (ASL). Unfortunately i didnt have enough interest to stick it out to the end.I thought so as well when I was little, but some years ago I found out the truth I went to school with deaf kids, so I got to see how they used sign language to communicate and learn at least a few words. I guess it must be easier to learn another sign language once you already know a sign language. It's just my guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pesto Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 If I'm remembering properly, learning any sign language involves different learning capabilities than learning a conventional language. Learning sign languages relates more to kinesthetic abilities and intellect, whereas other language learning invokes different intellect. While I seem to work well enough with conventional languages, I seem to do very poorly with picking up and utilizing sign languages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trellum Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 I was actually thinking the other day that the only way I would ever make the effort to learn sign language is if one of my kids is born deaf. Otherwise there is no way I would ever learn it, unless there were more job opportunities offered to people who could speak sign language. I wasn't this clear in the first reply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosa Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 Once when I was in the US on vacation I visited a church that was offering free lessons and from the first class my interest was sparkled. Unfortunately, I didn't come home and complete it and so I have forgotten most of what I learnt but I would be very much interested in fulfilling that goal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firelily99 Posted July 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 Its interesting the number of times that I have thought about taking it, ruled it out only to have a situation come up where I needed to know ASL. I think it would be fascinating to be an interpreter and I doubt that there would be a shortage of work for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pesto Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 Something else interesting to note about a sizable of people who were born deaf and have communicated solely by means of ASL is that some of them have difficulty writing sentences with standard English syntax. ASL actually has a different sentence structure than typical English, and I imagine that writing skills isn't something that is touched upon as much in Deaf classrooms.Some of the beliefs in the Deaf (note the capital D) community in the U.S. (and I suppose in some other nations) are, well, a bit perplexing to me, to be honest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lei / Latifa Posted August 16, 2014 Report Share Posted August 16, 2014 Yes. Currently, I am trying to teach myself sign language. Also, I think I am going to join a sign language club in fall. Can't wait. I think it's sad so many people don't think about learning the language for the deaf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TDolce Posted August 16, 2014 Report Share Posted August 16, 2014 Over the years, I have studied sign language. I have no one with which to practice any new skills, so they are always forgotten. If you have the opportunity to take a class and learn with others, I suggest that you take it. During the semester, find other students who wish to maintain the sign language skills and try to stay in contact after the class is over and continue using what you have learned. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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