Life From The Front - Dispatches From Viking Bay: Signing With Confidence
A thank you all Deaf people that have made me feel so welcome
Feel free to visit the link above, but the text is here if you would to read it here.
Signing With Confidence
Anyone learning a new language will know that, during the early months especially, your confidence will rise and fall according to which day of the week it is - and possible, whether it's morning or afternoon and how awake you feel.
That's certainly how I feel; my confidence really does vary every day. I always feel energised after my classes, which reminds me how passionate I am about BSL, but because I don't get nearly enough practice for my liking, my confidence has been known to take a battering from time to time.
I don't think that BSL users realise how much their conversations with me help reverse that fall in confidence. Their willingness to talk to me, and their willingness to tutor me on signs I don't know, means I feel I can approach them without hesitation.
This last week or so, I've been having a "lack of confidence" moment. I wish I could pin it down to any particular cause, except to say that I've not had much practice this week and was really feeling it. Over the weekend, I'd done some revision, but also been trying to research some volunteering opportunities within the Deaf community; sadly, not many exist for Level One students, or at least not many in my local area.
Something then happened today that really raised my confidence ten-fold - I had a conversation with a Deaf person whose first language was BSL. Now, from her point of view, it was just a normal conversation that lasted no more than five minutes, but to me it was so much more than that - and I wish I'd told her!
For the first time, truth be told, it felt like I'd slipped into BSL and it felt natural. As we signed, I found myself almost - tantalisingly almost - thinking in BSL rather than English, and that was phenomenal. It caught me completely off-guard - and immediately my confidence was through the roof. I also managed to use humour during our conversation, and that can be a difficult enough topic in my native language, let alone a new one!
All that from a brief conversation the signer wouldn't have thought about after she left! I really do wish I'd told her!
So, to all BSL signers out there who take the time and patience with me to help me improve, I say "thank you" for your willingness to help a Level One signer improve his confidence - whether you're aware you're doing it or not!
A thank you all Deaf people that have made me feel so welcome
Feel free to visit the link above, but the text is here if you would to read it here.Signing With Confidence
Anyone learning a new language will know that, during the early months especially, your confidence will rise and fall according to which day of the week it is - and possible, whether it's morning or afternoon and how awake you feel.
That's certainly how I feel; my confidence really does vary every day. I always feel energised after my classes, which reminds me how passionate I am about BSL, but because I don't get nearly enough practice for my liking, my confidence has been known to take a battering from time to time.
I don't think that BSL users realise how much their conversations with me help reverse that fall in confidence. Their willingness to talk to me, and their willingness to tutor me on signs I don't know, means I feel I can approach them without hesitation.
This last week or so, I've been having a "lack of confidence" moment. I wish I could pin it down to any particular cause, except to say that I've not had much practice this week and was really feeling it. Over the weekend, I'd done some revision, but also been trying to research some volunteering opportunities within the Deaf community; sadly, not many exist for Level One students, or at least not many in my local area.
Something then happened today that really raised my confidence ten-fold - I had a conversation with a Deaf person whose first language was BSL. Now, from her point of view, it was just a normal conversation that lasted no more than five minutes, but to me it was so much more than that - and I wish I'd told her!
For the first time, truth be told, it felt like I'd slipped into BSL and it felt natural. As we signed, I found myself almost - tantalisingly almost - thinking in BSL rather than English, and that was phenomenal. It caught me completely off-guard - and immediately my confidence was through the roof. I also managed to use humour during our conversation, and that can be a difficult enough topic in my native language, let alone a new one!
All that from a brief conversation the signer wouldn't have thought about after she left! I really do wish I'd told her!
So, to all BSL signers out there who take the time and patience with me to help me improve, I say "thank you" for your willingness to help a Level One signer improve his confidence - whether you're aware you're doing it or not!