Learning American Sign Language

At school when I meet a substitute for the first time, I get the 'wow sign language; that's so amazing; I want to learn that' speal. They don't know that I've heard it six hundred times, so I smile and nod and wish them well. Occasionally someone supprises you. When 'it' happened, I was so glad that I had smiled and nodded. This someone actually learned some sign language, then enrolled in a night course to learn more. Then they did what any normal person who wants to learn sign language does. Moves away. It's really simple. I am the only interpreter in my county. Learning sign language here would be like moving to Atlanta, Georgia, to learn Greek. If you are stuck out in the boondocks and want to learn sign the internet is wonderful. If I had to start all over and didn't have someone to teach me (not a good situation), I would go to Lifeprint.com and study under Dr. Vickers. He has a completely free online program for learning sign language. I would probably go ahead and buy some of his support CDs to help me study at home and maybe even pay and get college credit. I would also frequent youtube.com. If you type in 'ASL Vlog' as your search. Viola! Deaf people like to talk. Video logs are amazing ways to improve, but there is a learning curve. It may take as long as the second semester to actually understand what they are saying. Since the speaker is not in front of you, asking them to slow down doesn't work;however, rewind does. If I had to start again, I would want someone to point me that way. Of course, the best way is simply to move to where Deaf people live. It's so much easier to learn that way. Btw, if you do go to youtube, make sure you type in ASL and not sign language. Americans aren't the only ones that use the site and you may be completely lost trying to understand something and not realize it's one of the other 500 or so sing languages that are out there. I remember watching a song and not understanding anything. I then read the caption about how this group of teens from London was competing...... BSL and ASL don't mix, sorry we're French. (see previous post). So, my advice is to move and if you can't move take a class. Then find someone to talk with. That's the best part.