Question:
Hello Dr. Vicars,
I am bothered somewhat because I have began studying ASL at a local college and
I am afraid I am not very good (at least not yet). I am getting better but only
at my pace which seems to be slower than the class. Call me the runt if the
litter because that is the best way to explain the feeling.
The reason why I am texting is the hopes that I could get some information about
if Deaf men and women actually appreciate when people try ASL?
I see some videos where Deaf people get annoyed when people use ASL too slow or
some of them just think it rude that we try to sign when we don't have the
fluidity. On the other token, I know that it is rude to speak when you know sign
yet some videos I watch show people speaking and signing at the same time. It is
bothersome because I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings or offend them and
this causes me to freeze up and can't move let alone sign.
Is there any advice that you could offer me to help me out; anything really
would be greatly appreciated.
- Curtis Rudolph
*(12/02/2019)
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Hello Curtis!
I recommend you visit this page and read some student to student peer advice:
https://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-layout/reflections.htm
Since you are taking ASL at a college, check to see if the same class is offered
in multiple sections and if so try attending more than one section of the SAME
class. If the other section is from a different teacher, inform the other
teacher that you are already taking the class from "Professor Soandso" and ask
if it would be okay to sit in the back (or wherever) and get more exposure.
There is no guarantee the other teacher will do that but if you approach them
nicely they might approve. The point is that if you are half-as-fast as the
other students then you are going to need twice-as-much exposure and practice.
In your comment you mentioned the conflicting behaviors and attitudes you see in
the Deaf Community. My response is simply: Exactly! The Deaf Community is full
of conflicting behaviors and attitudes. Compare it to "the ocean." The ocean is
both a beautiful and a scary place. It is both a wonderful and a dangerous
place. It is full of harmless creatures and also deadly creatures.
Your choices in how you approach the ocean are going to determine your
experience of the ocean.
You are taking an ASL class. That is like going to the beach and dipping your
toes in the water. Getting involved in the Deaf Community is like going into
deeper and deeper water. It is less scary when you have the proper knowledge,
preparation, and skills.
If you want to avoid freezing up when talking to someone you need to have
practiced signing to the extent that it becomes "muscle memory." If you sign
"HOW YOU?" (How are you?) a thousand times in a mirror you won't need to
consciously think about signing it any more.
Visualize meeting a Deaf person in your mind and then physically sign "HOW YOU?"
If you do that literally a thousand times in practice -- I can pretty much
guarantee that it will be so ingrained in you that your hands can do the
movements even if your mind is "frozen."
It is the same concept employed by the Army in how they train young people to
"keep moving" when being shot at.
As scary as it is to meet a Deaf person -- it simply doesn't compare to being
shot at by someone who is trying to kill you. The Army sergeants drill the
soldiers again, and again, and again, and again, and again (add another hundred
or thousand "agains" to this list) until the soldiers reach "zombie level"
wherein they can function and keep moving even when the bullets are flying past
their heads.
So, if you want to be able to sign without freezing up regardless if there is a
Deaf person in front of you or bullets whizzing past you -- simply practice,
practice, practice -- until you reach zombie-level.
__________________________
(Reference: Rudolph, C. (12/02/2019), Publicly posted comment, Vocabulary
Expansion Series (21) American Sign Language (ASL), Comment section. Web:
https://youtu.be/-bCM6dbIkag Retrieved: 12/02/2019)
Notes:
Notes: