I searched “ASL” on unsplash and this photograph popped up. It does not have anything to do with ASL, but it is stunning, so kudos to Piermario Eva.

Over the course of the last two and a bit months I did my best to contribute time to learn American Sign Language. Although that may seem like a good chunk of time to learn the beginnings of a new language, I felt like I struggled with the task when combined with other schooling, work, and making time for exercise and outside time. I have always wanted to learn ASL, thus I took this as a sign of an opportunity. I did my best; however, I definitely am not where I wanted to end up with my knowledge.

There are still positives to having this experience of learning. I have brought in a new language into snippets of my life; I also found out that there are others in my cohort that also know ASL, so at times, we are able to communicate little things to one another using sign.

The negatives of the experience can be categorized into two sectors. Number one is the issue of time. It was really difficult to dedicate practice time to learn aspects of a new language while also balancing all the factors in life. I knew that it was going to be difficult from the start, but I definitely bit off more than I could chew. Being in school, working, and still trying to be a functioning human being is difficult in itself sometimes, so it is just a balancing act. The second issue is exposure. Because I was doing this inquiry on my own, not in a class setting, I did not have anyone to communicate to, or practice with. No one in my household can sign, so I was left to practice on my own. A lot of learning a language is exposure. Having the ability to try and converse with others is a huge part of learning a language. I think that is what I would consider to be the biggest flop of this process.

Overall, I am really proud that I made the effort in trying to learn ASL because it is something that I have been so interested in doing for so long. I am sad that it did not go as planned, but I found some great resources in the mean time for trying to stay connected with the ASL community before I can make the time to take some in-person classes.

Learn How to Sign is a resource that has always helped me and will continuously help me throughout my learning. I really appreciate the speed of the content. I have included it in my final reflection because it is the one resource that I will continue to use.