a couple questions for u both hearing and deaf

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SpiceHD

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how long does it usually take an average hearing person to learn sign language or even abcs? ( for my own experiences... 2 weeks to a month max)

how frustrated does deaf people tend to get when they try to communicate with one who dotn know abcs and sign language? (for me.. depends... if that person was truly trying.. i seem to have more patient for that person than the one who doesnt want to try and acts like communication itself is a chore)

why is it that people who learned them more quickly than others? (i think its moviation)

what about u guys... whats your answers on that?
 
I can't remember how long it took me to learn BSL, it took me a while cos I wasnt able to practice it. I think it varies on different people how long it takes them to learn SL.
I learnt ASL fingerspelling about a month ago, now I know all the letters, apart from P and Q (they both look similer)

Im normally patient when I communicate with someone who doesn't know SL, usually they ask whats the sign for this or that...Im happy to teach them!

I agree that motivation plays a big part in learning SL quickly, but I also think interest in SL and wanting to communicate with the deaf is pretty important too?
 
yes you are right... interest and wanting to communicate does play a big role in learning SL... more they get interested in it, more tehy want to communicate, more harder they work to learn it and i noticed its usually doesnt take much effort on their part since they were so moviated to learn that they dont mind the trying part.

is it possible for hearing to actually want to learn sign language but doesnt work for it? somehow i cant imagine myself wanting something without working at it. i dunno how to explain it.. hope u understand waht i mean :-/

so for those who doesnt learn SL quickly.. does that means they dont want to learn? and if their partner is deaf and they didnt want to learn SL isnt that kinda insulting to the deaf partner?

i know some learn slower than others... i have no objections to that.. but im wondering about those who got to live with deaf person for any length of time and doesnt even try to learn how to communicate...... thats waht im wondering about.
 
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I think there are several factors involved. I learned the ASL alphabet when I was very young because my mom was an interpreter and would sign to us. It's easier for children to pick up on signing than adults (in most cases). It also depends on how much you can/do practice. Also, I know a few people at my school who have problems remembering certain letters in the sign alphabet. I think that for some people, it's just more difficult.
 
i think i learned the fingerspell alphabet in about 3 weeks. and the learn rate for me for anything else depends on how much i use the given signs. Ask Pink if you realyl wanna know anything about my signing. I think i am pretty good for ASL 1 though. i do need major work on alot of things though.
 
SpiceHD said:
how long does it usually take an average hearing person to learn sign language or even abcs? ( for my own experiences... 2 weeks to a month max)

how frustrated does deaf people tend to get when they try to communicate with one who dotn know abcs and sign language? (for me.. depends... if that person was truly trying.. i seem to have more patient for that person than the one who doesnt want to try and acts like communication itself is a chore)

why is it that people who learned them more quickly than others? (i think its moviation)

what about u guys... whats your answers on that?
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Well, it is largely depend on individual. It is like how long it will take for people to learn how to use proper grammar and such.. It took almost a year for my ex-date/good friend to learn how to spell ABC and such... while it took only one and half weeks for my another ex-date to learn how to spell ABC and such.

SpiceHD said:
well they were willing to try and learn... right?
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I cannot say for Ethereal but as long as they are/were willing to try and learn, that which will make everything easier.

Like what you said in one of your posts, motivation is the biggest factor in learning how to sign language or even ABC.
 
Different people learn at different speeds. It depends on subject and their motivation. Also people learn in different ways. Some can read a book/manual (ex: computers) and understand everything; other people need a tutor and hands on training.

I've been studying Sign and Deaf culture for several years. I can chat about many subjects, but struggle with other topics. I'm still not fluent and am limited by work (FT night shift)/school schedule. Interaction with Deaf makes a BIG difference.

If I was in a relationship with Deaf/Hoh, I would do everything I could to learn the language. Communication can make or break it. I also think it's a sign of respect. If you don't make an effort to communicate or meet halfway, how can ANY relationship survive?
 
SpiceHD said:
how long does it usually take an average hearing person to learn sign language or even abcs? ( for my own experiences... 2 weeks to a month max)

how frustrated does deaf people tend to get when they try to communicate with one who dotn know abcs and sign language? (for me.. depends... if that person was truly trying.. i seem to have more patient for that person than the one who doesnt want to try and acts like communication itself is a chore)

why is it that people who learned them more quickly than others? (i think its moviation)

what about u guys... whats your answers on that?
Click to expand...


As people have already said, age and motivation are big factors. It took me like a day to learn the alphabet when I was in elementary school, because I was younger and I thought it was really cool; sadly, I didn't get to learn more until fall 2003. (about 7 years later) I am really motivated, so for me, learning new signs is pretty easy. However, learning ASL is another story. I almost never see pure ASL when I am at deaf events, or if I begin to, when someone finds out I'm hearing, they switch to PSE. I appreciate the gesture, and in the necessity of rapid communication it does work better, but it makes it REALLY difficult to really get the ASL grammar down. Even my ASL teachers (many deaf) sign using PSE most of the time, at least in class.
When I have seen deaf people who have had to communicate with hearing who know no sign language, I have seen generally positive responses from the deaf people, only changing if the hearing person is rude. For example:
Deaf Expo, Anaheim, CA, 2004 - There was a hearing man who was running an ice cream stand. A deaf person was in line ahead of me and the hearing guy asked him what he wanted, (voiced); the deaf man signed, then realized it was no use, pointed to a picture of what he wanted. When asking about "cup" or "cone" rather than pointing to them, the hearing man simply voiced it, seemingly annoyed at the deaf person not understanding, but eventually the message was conveyed. While the hearing man was making the ice cream, a second deaf man walked up to the first one and the two just started signing (I am paraphrasing) "hearing?... oohhh, that's strange. here, oh well." All is okay, until the hearing man answers his CELL PHONE and starts essentially ignoring the deaf man. The ice cream worker starts putting toppings on that the deaf man didn't want etc. and the hearing man was too busy talking to notice. Oy! That made me so embarrassed to be hearing. YAR! In general, I think deaf people are used to having to deal with hearing people and are fairly nice and calm about it because it is part of their daily lives, being constantly unhappy would hurt them more than the hearing people.
Answering the last question of why some learn faster than others, although a lot has to do with age and motivation, there are other factors. If one has already learned a second language, learning a 3rd is easier. Every language one learns, the easier it gets. Also, the more practice someone gets, no matter the motivation they have, the faster they will learn. (However, those who are more motivated tend to reach out more.) Another factor can be physical though. There is a woman who took ASL II & III with me, and is now retaking ASL III. I have never met a hearing person who has been more motivated to learn sign. However, this woman had to have eye-replacement surgery when she was 21. Not only is this woman in her later 40's, but she is watching signs through foreign eyes and has a really difficult time seeing, mimicking, and receiving signs. She is learning sign becaus she wants to communicate with deaf-blind people using whatever method they prefer, which sometimes includes ASL, or other 3 dimensional signing systems.

On a final note, what really motivated me to learn ASL, and continue using it for the rest of my life, was learning from a deaf teacher. Seeing a Deaf person sign, seeing how much the Deaf love their language, how much they can do with it, and how invaluable it is, I just... I can't think of a better language to learn.
 
For me, I can't remember learning the alphabet really, because I was pretty young. I took a sign language class in college, and the teacher was very good at explaining why a certain sign was the way it was. He taught us to remember signs that way and through songs that we signed every week, and so it was easier for me to remember. And he told jokes about things he had done wrong, which helped alot too. Then I was kind of tossed into interpretting. (I was there, the interpretter was late-not her fault if I remember right-and a group of deaf/hoh told me to interpret until she got there... didn't feel like I could say no under the circumstances, and so there I was!)

I'm learning some ASL, but its taking longer b/c no one is really teaching me and I don't pick things up well from just reading them in a book.
 
My experiences.....

Hello all. I'm new here and hearing. My wife is HOH.

I've been working on learning to sign for 2 years now. Over the last 18 months, I've been talking with deaf friends for at least 4-6 hours/week. I'm still learning.

It took months before even a few words became 'automatic'. At 1 year, I was signing certain things without having to 'think about it first'.

'Reading' ASL is still my weakness. I'm spoiled. All of my deaf friends speak. I sign as a courtesy to them and to make the conversation work at a speed that approaches what I can do with other hearing people. Only recently have I been able to have successful conversations with 'non-verbal' deaf people. It's an accomplishment that I'm proud of, but I still have a long way to go.

For me, it's 2 years and counting. I have a vocabulary of somewhere around 200 - 300 signs, but still don't consider myself 'fluent' in SL. I mostly speak ESL, and don't use ASL word orders. I guess time will tell just how long it takes before I can 'master' the language.

blessings to all,

brianb
 
Took me a few hours to fingerspell. Fingerspelling was easy. Reading it wasn't!

I was able to become conversant in sign within six-weeks.

The very first sign class I took was SEE while in high school and it was taught by a deaf man. When I spoke with him after I learned ASL, he told me the school system forced him to teach ASL because they didn't believe ASL was a real language. I forgot evertything from that class.

Fast forward a few years and went to Continuing Adult ED class and took sign again. The instructor was very motitvated, but after a while - the other students and I noticed he contridicted himself often. After finishing the course, discovered the guy was a complete and utter meathead. He was hired by a school district to be an interpreter and didn't last very long. But he gave us basic conversational vocubulary and I was able to build on it.

One day at work, decided to take a break on another floor and was shocked to see two deaf women signing to each other. Well, the only free chair available was at their table and I simply asked if I could barrow the chair to join my friends at break. Viola! Soon I was chatting with them.

I became friends with the two deaf women and they suggested I go to their church because they it sponsored a sign language classes. The classes offered were beginning (they were basically only shown the signs), intermediate - SEE, and the final one was pure ASL. The SEE and ASL classes were taught by highly respected deaf adults in the community. After the fourth week of the ASL, it all fit into place.

Took the ASL class a few more times. After I took the class the second time, the instructor told me I signed like a deafie. Third time I took the class, the instructor would ask me to voice when a hearing student just didn't seem to grasp what a sign meant.

The absolute best method we used for vocabulary building in ASL class was a fun game. The instructor would give us a handshape - example A - and then each of us would show a sign using the handshape and then fingerspell what the sign meant. If a sign turned out to be a SEE sign, the instructor would make a face and then start pointing to the SEE classroom.
 
One of the best way to learn sign language is to actually socialize with them besides classroom exercises. I have seen some student interpreters and veterans interpreters at social deaf events.
By interacting with the deafs and at least acknowledge that you're interpreter (rookie or veteran), or interested in learning sign language, some of the deafs are willing to accommodate ya.
You'll learn sign language and the flow of the communication better by socializing them at deaf events like Deaf Professional nites, deaf sports tournaments, etc, than just classroom exercises.
Good luck and hope you enjoy learning and practicing sign languages.

:)
 
lol i dont need to learn or practice sign language... as u see im deaf myself... i was asking cuz i want to teach few people sign language and was a bit frustrated thats all.
 
I was learning sign language, and actually I think I was doing pretty well. I guess it's back to Motivation. I would have continued learning, and am told that by now I'd be fluent, but........ :dunno:
 
I have a question for deaf people, concerning hearing people that are learning to sign. When you do see a hearing ASL student at a social event for the deaf, do you welcome them openly and would you encourage them to come out, if they're wanting to learn to use ASL in social situations or to help them understand better? Or does it bother you when someone like that comes out?
 
i cant speak for everyone but myself it would please me very much to see hearing people to try and learn because that usually means they are giving us a chance and is willing to try and understand or perhaps to make few friends... it also usually means they are open minded and is very interested. So i would do anything to help hearing who wants it.

sometime it is hard for me not to "push" hearing people but its only because i truly want to make it work not just for myself but for any other deaf people they might bump into.
 
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