Friday, November 18, 2011

3 Useful Tips to Learn Sign Language

By Benjamin Hunter


Many people who aren't hearing impaired never consider learning sign language until they have a reason to do so. It's often the result of having a deaf child or career opportunity that requires sign language. In any case, you may find that you enjoy sign language once you get accustomed to it, as it gives you a whole new way to communicate. What follows are some hints and guidelines to remember while learning this very useful language.

Just as you can learn almost anything online, so can you learn sign language via the Internet. You'll find a variety of language programs online for every language, even sign language. Many of them offer online classes that you can download directly to your computer. Video instruction is vital with sign language because the entire language is a series of hand movements and gestures. The hand movements may seem foreign and uncomfortable at first but with practice will feel much more natural. It's worth investing a little time to research programs to find the one that's best for you. After you've chosen your program your biggest obstacle is going to be actually putting it to good use.

It's a good idea to begin learning sign language with the alphabet since there are signs for words and letters. Finger spelling is a skill you can use to help you learn how words are formed, and also as a communication tool when you don't know a particular word. You can speed up your letter learning by purchasing a sign language alphabet chart. Your first priority should be memorizing your letters as almost everything else you need to know when signing builds upon that skill. It's easy to find these charts online for print or to purchase them from local bookstores.

Because words aren't spoken, you have to realize that facial expressions are very important when learning sign language. The literal meanings of words are conveyed with the hands, but deaf people are accustomed to expressing themselves with their facial expressions more than people with normal hearing. Therefore, as you learn to communicate through sign language, you need to be sure that your facial expressions match your words. Similarly, eye contact is very important when communicating with the hearing impaired. Though some of these aspects of learning sign language are challenging, it is good to know about them.

Learning sign language does take time and effort just like any other skill-but if you're committed to it, it's not that hard. The more time you spend practicing, the faster you will learn. The principles we covered above will help you as you begin to study this fascinating language. Before you know it, you'll discover that you can sign without thinking about it-but it will take work to get to that point!




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