Do you want to learn American sign language?

Ai-Media put together a short video with free resources to help you learn ASL (and one TV show. Because Marlee Matlin is in it? I watched The L Word about 50 times and didn’t pick up any ASL … BUT I DIGRESS).

Sign language resources from the video (plus a few others)

Websites

Dr. Bill Vicars‘ website is not the prettiest, but his free videos are popular and accessible. This video alone has been viewed more than 2 million times! He goes a bit fast at times, but you can always pause and rewind if you miss something.

Another resource is Start ASL, which offers free courses, a dictionary, stuff on deaf history and culture, and more.

Then there’s Signing Savvy, which includes videos, an ASL dictionary, and quizzes.

And ASL Pro, which has more than 11,000 signs, games, poems, and songs.

YouTube channels

ASL Nook, a YouTube channel by Sheena McFeely, which involves storytelling, and is aimed at parents of deaf/hard of hearing kids.

Other options for parents and kids are Signing Time (with singing and dancing) and My Smart Hands.

Vicars’ videos are also on YouTube, if you want to go that route.

Apps

For those who want to learn ASL via smartphone or tablet, there’s ASL App, ASL Coach, and Marlee Signs. (Marlee Matlin is EVERYWHERE.)

For Android users there’s ASL American Sign Language, Sign Language for Beginners, and Sign ASL.

Facebook groups

ASL THAT! is a group started by Joseph Wheeler (who looks A LOT like Bill Vicars) for beginners who are learning ASL.

There’s also ASL Practice Pals and ASL & Deaf Community Chat.

And, not ASL-specific, but Cookie Bite Hearing Loss is a community with two goals:

The first is to learn about others’ experiences: what has been frustrating, what has has been helpful, what one might be able to do prevent the hearing loss from becoming worse, and who else may have other family members who are affected.

 

I would also like to learn more about the science. Is there anything new on the horizon that might be helpful for those of us with hearing loss? Is there anything that we can do? For example, are the researchers actively studying families that have cookie bite hearing loss, and might we be able to participate?

Reddit

The subreddit r/DeafSkype enables anyone learning sign language to Skype with deaf sign language users and improve their skills.

There’s also r/ASL, and for Brits r/BSL, and for Aussies r/Ausign.

And, as a general resource, r/deaf is pretty great. I haven’t spent a lot of time there, but did find a potentially cool cell phone captioning service, InnoCaption, (fingers crossed) AND this TED Talk by a deaf sound artist, Christine Sun Kim.

Other resources I’ve missed? Hit me, and I’ll add ’em.