Introduction

When I was in high school, I was told that if I took two years of a foreign language, I would satisfy my foreign language requirements for college. Although I didn't have an ear for French, I decided to go ahead and complete the two years so I wouldn't have to worry about foreign language credits in college. I suffered through those two years, but I passed and went on, happily thinking I was done with French forever. Little did I know, a surprise was in store for me when I entered college.

My adviser informed me my two years of French did not satisfy any college requirements for foreign language and I would still be required to take four semesters of a language. I was stunned! Had I not just endured two years of French in high school thinking that would be the end? Alas, as most situations go in college, I had to do what my adviser said. I decided to continue with French.

It didn't take long for me to realize I didn't learn much French in high school. Yet again, I was forced to suffer through French class with constant interrogations in French from my professor. Finally, the semester was over and I abandoned French. After my first college semester of French, I was terrified of all languages other than English. A few semesters later, I started carpooling to school with a friend. She told me she was taking Sign Language for her foreign language credits and loved it. I decided it sounded like fun and would give it a try. Now, the real story begins.

Learning ASL

My first semester of ASL turned out to be a lot of fun. My professor was deaf, which I hadn't expected. I wondered how she would teach Sign Language to a class of hearing students? Through many, many overheads, notes on the board, gestures and role-play situations, she taught us the basics of ASL. I never had so much fun in a class before! I couldn't wait for the next semester to begin so I could learn more signs.

The first three ASL classes I took required us to attend deaf events. This was a terrifying prospect to me. I thought, "So, we're supposed to go talk to deaf people, even though we have precious few skills in conversation?!" After the first event I attended, the Deaf Expo at Palmer Events Center in Austin, my fears subsided a little. With each event, it became easier and easier to communicate, not to mention more and more rewarding. I started to recognize different people from deaf events at other deaf events, and they recognized me! A little fear still persisted (and continues to) at each event, but jumping into each situation with a positive attitude helps enormously.

I recently completed ASL IV, and we were not required to attend any deaf events. The semester was mostly focused on the rules of ASL, what they mean, why they mean what they do, and how they relate to different areas of ASL. The past semester taught me just how complex ASL is - a person could spend their entire life researching the language. Even though I have completed my foreign language requirements and now graduated, I hope to continue taking classes in ASL.

Resources

The best resource to find out what events are going on in the Deaf community in and around Austin is to sign up for the Deaf Events Newsletter. You can do this by going to the Deaf Events Newsletter website. There you can sign up for the newsletter which comes once a month. This is an invaluable resource if you are interested in attending deaf events. You must keep in mind that you should only go to events if you have a respectful interest in the Deaf community.

Another resource is the ASL Online Dictionary. If you're just learning ASL, or even if you've taken several ASL classes, this is a fabulous resource. Here you can click on any letter of the alphabet and a list comes up with words that start with that letter. Search for the word you're looking for, click it, and a short video pops up showing you the sign for that word. Below the video is a written explanation of how to sign the word (or phrase).

If you live in Austin and are interested in learning more about the Deaf community, you're in luck. Texas School for the Deaf is located on South Congress Avenue and frequently has events happening. Kids from all over Texas travel to Austin to attend the School for the Deaf. An interesting fact about the school is that their campus is closed on weekends. During the week, students live in dorms on campus, but when weekends arrive, the school busses, flies, or drives all students home for the weekend in order to save money from keeping the school open.