Monday, August 1, 2011

Learning Sign Language


Deaf culture is once again making itself known through television. The new ABC Family show Switched at Birth shows a deaf teenager (played by Katie Leclerc) who finds out she was switched at birth. Now she must interact with her biological parents who are not familiar with the deaf community or American Sign Language (ASL). I highly enjoy the show, because even when the actors sign fast with their hands, I am able to learn a new word or phrase in ASL during each episode. This is important to me as I have meet a couple of deaf individuals but could not sign more than a handful of words or sayings. Only what I had learned by working with an eight-year-old child who had Down Syndrome.

We were taught in school to find ways to included everyone who lived within the community where we work. Reaching out to those with disabilities or impairments is very important. I would like to be able to effectively communicate with the patrons I come into contact while working as a librarian. This means learning another language, and not just those of traditional languages (such as Spanish). I gathered some resources to share with you, as well as references for this article. I hope you find this blog very informative. 

One last note, American Sign Language is used in the United States, parts of Canada, and some other limited locations. ASL is not a world wide language for all deaf and hard of hearing people. There is an International Sign Language that was organized at the World Congress by the World Federation of the Deaf. The International Sign Language is basically an accumulation of most (if not all) sign languages around the world. There are different sign languages for specific countries and sometimes for specific languages.

Learning to Sign- Free Websites
“Mission Statement:    Our mission is to serve the needs of the ASL Educational Community. We strive to provide free, easy-to-use reference and learning tools to enhance in-classroom learning for ASL Educators and their Students.”

Very much like ASL Pro, however, this site has a lot of ads. Still a great source as it provides videos and information at several different levels: individuals, teachers, home school, and baby sign language.
  • A clear breakdown of what the site has to offer can be found here.
“A resource for ASL students and teachers.” Very through and organized website, excellent for information and encouragement.

And for those who are very visual oriented, here is a resource for learning ASL through children’s music videos. Watch Sign Time on YouTube or check out their Nick Jr. webpage here
  • The Nick Jr. page is set to the video “Feelings”, it’s my personal favorite that was quick to learn.

Resources:

The Red Notebook is a starting point for libraries to look up for information regarding the deaf community and library services….Public information on deaf culture, sign language, kinds of hearing loss, auxiliary aids and adaptive services is also available on the Internet and shelves at your library.”

For an enriched understanding of deaf people, their culture, and further sources for understand or research.

This is a great resource for other languages or countries. Though there is an International Sign Language that was created it is not used as much as the other sign languages used in individual countries.

References:
International Sign Language, explained by Handspeak

ABC Family's Switched at Birth

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