Week Two – I can tell you have practiced. Letters are learned and number memorized through 20. Good job. This week we learned a little bit about deafness and learned the signs to describe a deaf person-whether they are deaf or hard of hearing and of course, the sign for “hearing” and a little bit about deaf culture. Don’t forget to check out the CODA BROTHERS. But, I warn you, if you are a parent of a child that is in the class, not every one of their videos is appropriate, but I feel it’s worth including here not only for you to be able to watch their very natural use of sign language, but also the stories they tell are most definitely a “slice of life” according to a deaf perspective. They are funny, too. Review our conversational phrase here:

What is your name? 

Hello American Sign Language students!

Week 1 – That was fun learning the letters of the alphabet in American Sign Language. What we learned today was ALL the letters-there are 26 of them. And the beautiful thing is there is no capital letters to memorize, no cursive letters to learn, and for right now-with your limited knowledge of signs, you can spell your way through a conversation with a hearing impaired person. And, unlike other sign languages, all the letters are done on one hand. Decide which hand will be your dominate hand (usually the one you write with) and then stick to that. And don’t bounce your letters. Keep them smooth and fluid. A terrific start! Next week we will review the letters, and add numbers to our repertroire.

Don’t forget to review our first conversational phrase “Hello! How are you?” :  http://youtu.be/-ru5xZJJb4o