I expected to be teaching Conversational American Sign Language (ASL) in April at the Waldo Library. But many of our plans have changed for safety reasons during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we can still meet online and I can share my knowledge and love of ASL with you! (Picture at left: Mom and daughter at Library making the sign for "flower.")
American Sign Language is a visually perceived language based on a naturally evolved system of articulated hand gestures and their placement relative to the body, along with facial expressions, head movements, shoulder raises, and movements of the body. It is the primary sign language used by deaf and hearing-impaired people in the United States and Canada, devised in part by Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet on the basis of sign language in France
Staying at home is a great time to learn a new language. Gallaudet University, the world's only Deaf college, offers free online learning through ASLConnect. You can trust Gallaudet to teach authentic ASL. Be careful of other online resources that are homemade! Many YouTube videos using ASL are created by hearing people who are not ASL fluent. Another free, online reliable resource is Signing Savvy.
The LIbrary has a limited number of excellent downloadable books on ASL and Baby Signs.
Please subscribe to the Library’s YouTube channel to view "Sign Language Fun with Ms. Ann" videos. Be safe. Be kind. The following PSA talks a little about how to accommodate Deaf folks like me who lip-read in a time when many are wearing masks.
Originally Posted by AnnL on May 2, 2020.