Sunday, November 20, 2011

Learning Sign Language - What's the Best Way for You?

By Paul Scott


For most people, learning sign language is no priority until they have a need to learn. It's often the result of having a deaf child or career opportunity that requires sign language. Once you learn the language you might just find you really enjoy the language as well as the additional means of communication. Keep these tips in mind for a more enjoyable learning process.

Since sign language is a visual language, flash cards are important tools for learning it. The flash cards should show a visual representation of the hand signal you should make for the word you are learning. They are easy to transport meaning you can either keep them around the house for study or take them with you wherever you go for a quick reference tool. You should use flash cards in addition to any other methods you may be using, such as taking a class or using an online program. The more ways you have to learn the language, the faster you'll pick it up. Flash cards allow you an easy means to reinforce what you're learning wherever you are.

Because sign language uses hand signals for letters and words, you should probably begin by learning the alphabet. Finger spelling is convenient to use when you don't know the sign for a particular word. It's easy to find alphabet charts to help you learn to sign letters faster. Your first priority should be memorizing your letters as almost everything else you need to know when signing builds upon that skill. You can find these charts in bookstores and even print them from the Internet.

It's very helpful to watch sign language as much as possible when you want to learn. Observing others is the next best thing when you can't actually practice it yourself. Try to find videos, TV programs or movies that show people signing. There is rarely a sign language interpreter on today's TV shows as they are generally closed captioned. There are movies where people are signing though. You can also find a variety of websites and videos that display it online. To learn sign language, you have to expose yourself to it as much as possible.

To conclude, depending on your motivations and whether you need certification, there are now many ways to learn sign language. Be patient with yourself as you begin learning this fascinating language, as it requires you to acquire a whole new way of using language.The above tips can make it easier to learn sign language, and you'll find that practice will make you much more comfortable.




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