Learning ASL: A Plan
When I decided to learn American Sign Language (ASL), I thought it would be easy. I thought that learning the basics would be simple and in a couple of weeks I would have a solid foundation. I was wrong. I started out with a really solid plan; I would complete three workbooks I found online and then quickly learn a song. However, because I didn't stick to my schedule I found myself nearing my deadline with little to no knowledge on ASL. I had learned the fingerspelling alphabet pretty quickly, but soon realized that fingerspelling is not a big part of ASL. So, the purpose of this blog post is to offer readers a potential step-by-step process for learning ASL.
1. Master the fingerspelling alphabet.
While fingerspelling may not be the biggest part of American Sign Language, it is still essential to know the alphabet in order to spell names and even understand the signs. Many of the signs used in American Sign Language use some form of a letter. Take the word for "try", as an example:
"try"
This sign is made by making the letter "t" with palms facing toward you and then rotating your hands so that your palms face out. As you can see, knowing the letter "t" is necessary to understand this sign. I found that the best way to learn the alphabet was just to practice, practice, practice. The most useful resource I found to learn the alphabet was Dr. Bill Vicars fingerspelling tutor, from the American Sign Language University. The best tool I found to actually practice fingerspelling was a fingerspelling site also from ASLU.
2. Complete workbooks 1-3 from Start ASL.
When I started looking for an easy way to take notes on basic components of ASL I found startasl.com. They claim to be "the fun way to learn sign language", and I can't say I disagree. Their free online classes provide students with 3 workbooks that go along with their instructional videos (also free). Students complete units in the workbooks that line up with a video. They can then check their answers with a provided link. I really liked that I could rewind the lesson and go back to things that I wasn't sure of. The organization of the workbooks also worked really well for me. I know that this structure might not work for everyone, so really the basic idea of this step is just find a lesson plan that works for you and complete it.
Workbook 1
Workbook 2
Workbook 3
1. Master the fingerspelling alphabet.
While fingerspelling may not be the biggest part of American Sign Language, it is still essential to know the alphabet in order to spell names and even understand the signs. Many of the signs used in American Sign Language use some form of a letter. Take the word for "try", as an example:
"try"
This sign is made by making the letter "t" with palms facing toward you and then rotating your hands so that your palms face out. As you can see, knowing the letter "t" is necessary to understand this sign. I found that the best way to learn the alphabet was just to practice, practice, practice. The most useful resource I found to learn the alphabet was Dr. Bill Vicars fingerspelling tutor, from the American Sign Language University. The best tool I found to actually practice fingerspelling was a fingerspelling site also from ASLU.
2. Complete workbooks 1-3 from Start ASL.
When I started looking for an easy way to take notes on basic components of ASL I found startasl.com. They claim to be "the fun way to learn sign language", and I can't say I disagree. Their free online classes provide students with 3 workbooks that go along with their instructional videos (also free). Students complete units in the workbooks that line up with a video. They can then check their answers with a provided link. I really liked that I could rewind the lesson and go back to things that I wasn't sure of. The organization of the workbooks also worked really well for me. I know that this structure might not work for everyone, so really the basic idea of this step is just find a lesson plan that works for you and complete it.
Workbook 1
Workbook 2
Workbook 3
3. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!
The final thing to do when learning ASL is never stop practicing! I practiced by watching ASL covers of songs on YouTube and signing along with the interpreters. Songs are a good way to practice because they're often repetitive, so you can practice a sign multiple times. There are also tutorials for certain songs which can help a lot. My favorite ASL cover YouTube channel is ASL Anissa. She posts a good mix of genres fairly often, and her videos are always really high quality. My favorite is posted below.
I hope that this plan helps! Thanks for reading!
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