I'm not sure if ESL is the same as American Sign Language, but I would recommend an ASL class in case it isn't. I used to work with developmentally disabled adults, some of whom were deaf, but it's been so long that my sign language is rusty enough to have rotted through. So, I can't be much help with feedback, but I do have a suggestion. Once you start picking it up a little, how about volunteering somewhere you can use it? :)

That's great that you are eager to learn sign language.

I have always had this crazy notion of having a deaf Significant other that I can sign with

Of course that never happened, and my fiance's hearing is fine...

Some public schools are now offering ASL as an alternative to learning French, Spanish, or Latin - kids can fulfil their language requirement with ASL.

Good luck with learning sign language! I think it would be a great thing to know!

Uh, ESL is English as a second language, it's not sign language. You need to look for ASL or Ameslan. It's standardized and you can pick up a lot of it from a good text. The gestures all have a logic behind them, and because you can actually see what you're doing, as opposed to having to hear a foreign language, it's actually a bit easier to self-teach yourself. I managed to learn a couple of phrases just on the fly, and I still remember most of the alphabet. It's really not very hard at all.

dargie

I took three semesters of sign language in college (for much the same reasons, just always felt a calling for it and never knew why) and was even going to be an interpreter at one point. It just never happened.

I'm now teaching my 2 year old daughter to sign and it is so awesome to see her little hands forming the signs. It is too cute.

I agree that with the logic behind most signs that you could easily self teach yourself most basic signs, but despite what a lot of people think ASL (American Sign Language) IS a language in its own right. It has its own sentence structure and there are "grammar" rules and everything. For these things, I would suggest taking an ASL class from a local college.

Email me if you have any other questions. (=

"Uh, ESL is English as a second language, it's not sign language."

The link that was originally provided was to "English Sign Language," which was why I said ESL. Thinking back on it, though, I may have seen what I was expecting to see, and it may have really been something like "English Second Language." Or something like that.

Okay, time to tackle a few misconceptions. I'll mention first that I'm currently a student at Gallaudet University, studying for my interpreter certification. (My first real professional interpreting gig is coming up this Saturday - woo!)

dargie said:
"You need to look for ASL or Ameslan. It's standardized and you can pick up a lot of it from a good text. The gestures all have a logic behind them, and because you can actually see what you're doing, as opposed to having to hear a foreign language, it's actually a bit easier to self-teach yourself. I managed to learn a couple of phrases just on the fly, and I still remember most of the alphabet. It's really not very hard at all."

I beg to differ. First, you will pretty much always be looking for ASL - nobody calls it Ameslan. It is *not* standardized! It is a true language, rather than a transliteration, but there are regional differences, and on top of that everybody has pretty much their own "accent" to their signing. (The same way speaking people all have different voices.) They're not typically called "gestures," they're signs, and they certainly don't all have a "logic" behind them. Many are what are called "iconic" - they resemble or reference the word being signed - but there are a great number of words where you'd never guess what was being said from the sign itself. I do admit that it's not difficult to teach yourself signs - I did for ten years before ever taking a class, and I tested out of the first few levels. What's important to remember, though, is that - as a language - ASL has its own grammar, syntax, etc. Learning signs or phrases does NOT mean you are learning ASL, they are very different creatures. There are a variety of manually coded systems - Signing Exact English, Linguistics of Visual English, Signed English - that more resemble English grammar. As for it not being very hard at all...well, that's making it sound too easy. Individuals with an aptitude for languages will have no problem, but if somebody struggled through Spanish or French in high school, they're going to struggle in ASL classes as well.

Jolene is right about taking a class. Many community colleges and even county programs offer a few levels of ASL. (It's best to have a deaf teacher, if possible.) If that's not possible, I recommend Lottie Reikehof's book "The Joy of Signing." Many Deaf people look down on that book, but it really is useful because most signs have a mnemonic along with the definition.

I'm also happy to answer any additional questions. This is basically my life's work, so toss anything my way.

Ditto everything that Meredith said. I'm a self taught signer too, and almost passed the NAD test (national test to qualify interpreters, I missed by a few percentage points) by myself. I've 'terped as a sub at local schools and really enjoy it. Very similar to you, I just felt a desire to learn the language way back in middle school and then set about doing so. If you're serious I'd recommend "The Green Book" I can't remember the actual title, maybe Meredith knows? It's very good with grammar and syntax and explaining the sentence structure.

The best way to learn? Use it! Find someone with whom you can sign! Good luck!

Check with the local hospitals, expecially during the summer/fall months. :)

I've taken a couple ASL courses that way. One was 100% free, just had to buy a book on ASL for it.

The other course was around 15$ and included print-outs for training from.

Thanks to everyone for the great advice, it has really helped. I will keep y'all posted as things progress, and hopefully I will find a basic class soon.

You all are great!