Hearing... and clueless

Starlet

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I am a hearing female from the Midwest USA, and I live in an area that's not all that diverse... but I love to learn about other cultures. I didn't really start to get interested in deaf culture before watching the show switched at birth, which gave me a question: Is some of the stuff she says really true?

Well, I got my answer in the form of a friend. I made a new friend in the middle of the year who was hard of hearing. You have to talk loudly just for her to hear it as a whisper, is how she described the severity of her impairment. After spending one night in her family, who are 90% deaf or hard of hearing.... I realized that I needed help with my ASL just for the sake of living through visiting her family. She laughed and said she understood the feeling of missing out on something, not knowing all the details. So my friend tried to teach me sign language. Herself, being so used to it and rather hyper... wasn't as good a teacher as I hoped... after about two months, I barely understood the alphabet and numbers... and quickly forgot them :eek3: Oops.

I made the decision to look for alternative ways to learn online as I had done with Spanish! So here I go! What I'm looking for, is to make friends who are fluent in ASL, but wouldn't mind teaching a person completely ignorant of how it works.... I was hoping maybe getting references to free ASL learning sites, and possibly getting help with learning through Skype.

It may seem crazy to learn a new language like this, but my interest has been piqued and my hopes are high to find acceptance into a whole new world that has previously been unknown to me.
 
The best way to learn ASL is in a class, or with an ASL teacher. It's best if the teacher is deaf so that you learn the proper, and natural, facial markers. If you live in a place that doesn't have a strong deaf community or easy-to-attend class, like at a community center or community college, then there are some internet sources that can get you started until you are able to interact with someone dhh. Dr. Bill is a good start.... lifeprint.com

You may also be able to form a friendship here with someone who can skype with you. The disadvantage is in correcting hand shapes as you learn. Nothing beats having an instructor to correct classifiers.

Good luck,
Michael
 
good show switch at birth.it not on british tv to my knowledge but I don't watch much tv I know some deaf brits who do..I seen a few episodes but unable get first.
mmc give you good advice maybe soon wont need to shout..
 
I don't know why you put the N/A as if you don't know where you live in. It would be better to let us know what the name of the town and state so that we can help you find Deaf community.

Small town, you would not be able to find Deaf community except your friend and her family who are Deaf. Most common to find Deaf community or Deaf events are mostly in the big cities. Also there are ASL classes with Deaf teachers in the big cities.
 
The best way to learn ASL is in a class, or with an ASL teacher. It's best if the teacher is deaf so that you learn the proper, and natural, facial markers. If you live in a place that doesn't have a strong deaf community or easy-to-attend class, like at a community center or community college, then there are some internet sources that can get you started until you are able to interact with someone dhh. Dr. Bill is a good start.... lifeprint.com

You may also be able to form a friendship here with someone who can skype with you. The disadvantage is in correcting hand shapes as you learn. Nothing beats having an instructor to correct classifiers.

Good luck,
Michael

Lifeprint with Dr. Bill is awesome. I just started learning because I'd like to help kids later on as a career :) I'm on lesson 4 and I drown myself in books and new signs :) I love it!

Sent from my SCH-I545 using AllDeaf App mobile app
 
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