4 answers
Ka'Mari
Student
Memphis, Tennessee
3
Questions
Asked
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i want to teach ASL, but i don't know any sign language, how would i start?
#ASL #teaching #signlanguage
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4 answers
Melody Tharpe
Education - Teacher
166
Answers
Indianapolis, Indiana
Updated
Melody’s Answer
If you want exposure to ASL, http://www.lifeprint.com/ as well as https://www.handspeak.com/word/. It may be very helpful to contact your local library. They often have materials or will know how to reference these materials. I have check out a few ASL books to teach my class.
thank you so much!
Ka'Mari
Audrey Eakman
MS-2, Biochemistry BS
37
Answers
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Updated
Audrey’s Answer
Hi Ka'Mari
I know you asked this a few years ago, so you might not see my response, but as a Deaf person, I am asking you to please not teach ASL. Since you don't know any at the time of writing this, I'm going to assume you aren't a member of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community.
It's really important for the Deaf community that we have control over our own language. American Sign Language is essential to us and our culture, and we're very protective of it. As a rule, we don't feel comfortable with people who aren't part of our community teaching it. We're very open to other people learning it! It's a beautiful language, and the more hearing people know it, the easier it is for us to communicate. But just because you learned ASL does not mean you can teach ASL. As I said before, ASL is very inextricably linked to the Deaf community and our culture. People who aren't part of our community teaching the language hurts us because 1) they will never have the same level of understanding and use of the language as someone who relies on it to communicate, which means they won't teach it as well as a Deaf person could, and 2) Deaf people don't have a lot of easy job opportunities, but one of the ones that we are able to do is teach people our language. The more Hearing people who teach ASL, the fewer Deaf people with those jobs.
Additionally, Hearing people teaching the language that belongs to the Deaf community gets close to cultural appropriation. Try to think about how it would look if a white person were teaching an indigenous Native American language that they never grew up speaking, when they have no connection to that Native American culture.
If you want to pursue a career in ASL, that's great! We need more interpreters, or people in Deaf education (people who teach other subjects in ASL). But please, do not try to pursue a career teaching ASL when you are not Deaf or part of the Deaf community.
I know you asked this a few years ago, so you might not see my response, but as a Deaf person, I am asking you to please not teach ASL. Since you don't know any at the time of writing this, I'm going to assume you aren't a member of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community.
It's really important for the Deaf community that we have control over our own language. American Sign Language is essential to us and our culture, and we're very protective of it. As a rule, we don't feel comfortable with people who aren't part of our community teaching it. We're very open to other people learning it! It's a beautiful language, and the more hearing people know it, the easier it is for us to communicate. But just because you learned ASL does not mean you can teach ASL. As I said before, ASL is very inextricably linked to the Deaf community and our culture. People who aren't part of our community teaching the language hurts us because 1) they will never have the same level of understanding and use of the language as someone who relies on it to communicate, which means they won't teach it as well as a Deaf person could, and 2) Deaf people don't have a lot of easy job opportunities, but one of the ones that we are able to do is teach people our language. The more Hearing people who teach ASL, the fewer Deaf people with those jobs.
Additionally, Hearing people teaching the language that belongs to the Deaf community gets close to cultural appropriation. Try to think about how it would look if a white person were teaching an indigenous Native American language that they never grew up speaking, when they have no connection to that Native American culture.
If you want to pursue a career in ASL, that's great! We need more interpreters, or people in Deaf education (people who teach other subjects in ASL). But please, do not try to pursue a career teaching ASL when you are not Deaf or part of the Deaf community.
Kate Schaefer
Proposal writer
2
Answers
Mineral, Virginia
Updated
Kate’s Answer
Hi Ka'Mari, I also suggest signing up for a non-credit course or workshop that can teach you the basics. My local community college offers introductory courses that allow students to learn the alphabet and basic signs from people who use ASL everyday. It's also a great opportunity to work with other people and pick up their tips for learning and retaining the information. They might also be able to give you insight into how they got into teaching ASL and what they did to prepare. Good luck!
Yasemin G.
Aspiring physician
635
Answers
Updated
Yasemin’s Answer
Hi Ka'Mari I agree with the previous answer! I believe the instructor for lifeprint.com is Bill Vicar. He has amazing YouTube videos as well! I would definitely recommend checking them out. With these materials just keep practicing; also if you are in college there can be ASL courses as part of your language curriculum requirements. I took a year of ASL and loved it! I hope you get to learn more!
Best of luck!
Best of luck!